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IGETC Foreign Language (required for UC only)

Satisfies Global Citizenship

• Prerequisite: None.

Using the communicative approach, this course stresses the fundamentals of pronunciation, grammar, practical vocabulary, useful phrases, and the ability to understand, speak, read, and write simple Italian. Using fundamental sentence structures in the present and past tenses, students practice speaking and holding simple conversations in class and writing compositions. Lectures and discussions are included covering geography, customs and culture in Italy. The course is conducted in Italian except in cases of linguistic difficulty as determined by the professor.

IGETC AREA 3B (Humanities), Foreign Language (required for UC only)

Satisfies Global Citizenship

• Prerequisite: None.
• Advisory: Italian 1*.

This course is a continuation of Italian 1 and completes the elementary grammar. The course stresses the fundamentals of pronunciation, grammar, practical vocabulary, useful phrases, and the ability to understand, speak, read, and write simple Italian. Using fundamental sentence structures in the present and past tenses, students practice speaking and holding simple conversations in class and writing compositions. The course includes the reading of simplified texts with emphasis on oral expression and further study of Italian history and culture. The course is conducted in Italian, except in the case of linguistic difficulty as determined by the professor.

*The advisory for this course is comparable to two years of high school Italian.

IGETC AREA 3B (Humanities)

Satisfies Global Citizenship

• Prerequisite: None.
• Advisory: Italian 2*.

This course is a review of Italian grammar with special emphasis on idiomatic constructions and expressions. It includes the study and reading, in and out of class, of selected passages from Italian literature. Basic literary analysis and vocabulary building are developed using the selected readings. Emphasis is also placed on the use of learned structures in compositions. This course is conducted in Italian except in cases of linguistic difficulty as determined by the professor.

*The advisory for this course is comparable to three years of high school Italian

IGETC AREA 3B (Humanities)

Satisfies Global Citizenship

• Prerequisite: None.
• Advisory: Italian 3*.

This course reviews and refines grammatical concepts covered in the previous levels and further explores other moods and tenses such as the compound tenses, the imperative mood and indirect discourse. Culture, literature, vocabulary enhancement, and conversation are core elements of the curriculum. The course increases awareness of the Italian culture, history, literature, geography, and customs, including socio-political practices and cultural artifacts through reading and writing assignments, as well as oral presentations. It is taught in Italian except in cases of extreme difficulty as determined by the professor. It prepares students for literature and civilization classes.

*The advisory for this course is comparable to four years of high school Italian.

• Prerequisite: Italian 2.

This course provides an opportunity to acquire intermediate fluency in spoken Italian with emphasis on natural, colloquial usage. New vocabulary and idiomatic phrases will be emphasized, and the students will hold conversations in Italian during each class. This course is conducted in Italian except in cases of linguistic difficulty as determined by the professor.

Applied and service-learning field experience within a public agency, educational institution, and citizen volunteer groups is a requirement of this class.

• Corequisite: Any course in Italian.

This course -- taken in tandem with another course in the discipline -- enables a student to apply course content in a meaningful and relevant way to a particular activity. In this hands-on course, students engage in applied learning through unpaid experiential activities organized by the student (in conjunction with SMC’s applied/service learning center) and approved by the instructor. Students will develop a customized reading list relevant to their particular activity, complete a minimum of 15 hours of volunteer work with that activity, and submit academically-sound written reports regarding the activity. By applying course material to their experience, students develop a deeper understanding of the discipline.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

With the prevalence of the computer in contemporary culture, Interaction Design has emerged as a practice that determines how people engage with technology. This course examines the specific field of Interaction Design; its history, human-centered design principles, and screen-based interaction patterns. Students learn how to design the behavior of interactive digital interfaces and gain an understanding of how design decisions impact a user’s experience and the overall success of a product. Students analyze historical examples, contemporary user interfaces, and their own designs. Students also learn how to design, justify, and articulate using human-centered design principles and screen-based interaction patterns.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 310.

Microinteractions, found in every user interface, are designed moments (e.g. log in, copy and paste, on or off) that are an integral part of every interface. This course reveals these seemingly invisible interactive controls, providing an overview of specific platforms, paradigms, and affordances. The studio prepares students to create task oriented end-to-end user experiences and interaction flows. Students learn how to design at the micro scale, exploring appropriate forms, states, feedback, and loops based on different contexts and user goals. Through iterative methodologies, students learn to refine the details of a specific feature interaction. Collaborating directly with users and fellow classmates, students prototype, critique, and test existing interaction examples and their own microinteraction designs. Students develop a critical understanding of how interactive forms communicate and influence a user’s behavior.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

This design course focuses on the storytelling component of interaction design with a special focus on prototyping and motion graphics. Exploring different types of prototyping, from paper prototypes to digital, screen-based prototypes (e.g, web-based tools, video prototypes), students use storytelling to describe experiences in interaction design. Students use a hands-on approach to design a better experience for end users by sketching, storytelling, experimenting, making and testing. Students create prototypes at different levels of fidelity using appropriate tools and technologies.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 350.

This course provides a hands-on introductory experience to the history, contemporary methodologies, and emerging practices of Product Design. This studio teaches students to think through “making” and includes in-class workshops on 3D modeling and rapid-prototyping. Students cross design disciplines and toolsets, using 3D forms to solve problems, act out new capabilities, and connect to other devices, objects, and people. The projects in this course are fast-paced, collaborative, and experimental.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 330.

In this course, students work with a variety of organizations addressing a community need to design and develop a project with social impact. Students apply a variety of user experience and interaction design skill sets to work collaboratively with community stakeholders in identifying and helping to solve a need. Through this experience, students recognize and demonstrate many interaction design practices related to research, analysis, concept, design and prototyping to work on a project designed to serve a community need.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

This course contextualizes project management for interaction designers. Project Management for Design provides a comprehensive overview of current design development processes and tools used to successfully deliver a high-quality project on time. Students will learn to clearly communicate with clients and manage the design process while integrating design objectives into the overall development timeline. Students will develop leadership skills, learn to plan, organize, motivate, and control resources based on project goals.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 330.

Students design for the complexities of large scale systems, services, and digital networks. The course provides a survey of current system design, information architecture, and topics in interaction design such as The Internet of Things. Working in teams modeled after professional studios, students conduct exploratory ethnographic research to form novel strategies, concepts, maps, user narratives, and models for our increasingly complex world of networked objects, spaces, and people. This course encourages students to leverage team brainstorms and critiques in order to develop consistency through an entire ecosystem.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 430.

This course provides the interaction design student the opportunity to develop work under the supervision of the instructor on a one-to-one basis and to develop the skill to talk about their body of work in a professional setting. Emphasis is placed on developing a portfolio that displays a comprehensive understanding of industry expectations for a UX/interaction designer.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 360.

Students explore the design of user interfaces that blend digital and physical interactions. Working with creative technologies such as microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators, students create functional prototypes that explore new interaction techniques, principles, and strategies. This course immerses students into prototyping through hands-on class workshops and research into contemporary examples such as the Internet of Things, Smart Objects, and Voice User Interface (VUI). Students explore the expressive capabilities of technology through user observations, affordances, and converting physical action into digital information.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 430; Prerequisite/Corequisite: Interaction Design 410 (Interaction Design 410 can be taken concurrently with Interaction Design 470).

This course focuses on an industry-sponsored project in which students use their integrated skills to create a forward-looking design in response to a real-world brief provided by the industry partner in collaboration with the faculty. This is a capstone course where students work in small teams and build on the knowledge and skills they acquired in earlier course work. The course is organized around a project that requires student teams to explore various design concepts and alternatives as well as explore recent practices, tools, and systems that may be related to the project. Students will design and produce a prototype as part of a team. Considering the pace of the development of the project, this requires students to engage in a considerable amount of independent as well as team-based learning.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Interaction Design 460.

This course introduces the students to a set of emerging technologies, new interfaces and developing mediums which will shape the design landscape 5 to 10 years from now -- focusing on machine learning, computer-mediated realities and immersive environments. The goal of the course is to help the students prepare for the jobs that might not even exist yet and to equip them with the tools and methodologies that will help them to quickly learn and adapt to the rapidly changing nature of digital design.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

This course is for upper division students interested in doing an independent research project in the field of Interaction Design. NOTE: The student must receive approval from the Department Chair prior to enrolling in this course.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

This course is for upper division students interested in doing an independent research project in the field of Interaction Design. NOTE: The student must receive approval from the Department Chair prior to enrolling in this course.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.

• Prerequisite: Admission to the Bachelor of Science in Interaction Design.

This course is for upper division students interested in doing an independent research project in the field of Interaction Design. NOTE: The student must receive approval from the Department Chair prior to enrolling in this course.

This course is open only to students who have been admitted to SMC’s Bachelor of Science program in Interaction Design. See ixd.smc.edu for more information.