Interactive Media (Games and Health) (MFA)

The Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media with an emphasis in Games and Health is administered in conjunction with the Creative Media & Behavioral Health Center (CM&BHC). Students do not apply to this program separately.

Students must apply first to the Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media. Students may describe their interest in the emphasis in their application, but it is not required. Upon admission and enrollment, students who are interested in the emphasis should plan to take courses from the Health Emphasis Foundations & Research Core. The CM&BHC director can approve a probational admission to the emphasis, which will be awarded upon completion of the emphasis core courses and a thesis in an area that aligns with the center’s vision and mission.

The curriculum is based on center crosscutting initiatives that represent the broadest descriptions of our vision and mission. Students benefit from emerging research, tools, and methodologies that converge at the center, as well as the wide range of backgrounds represented by faculty, students, and visiting scholars. Research is prioritized based on factors, including potential impact and benefit to society and overall alignment with center priorities. Some center initiatives include:

• Sports and Exercise for Wellness: investigation of novel assessment and treatment techniques using entertainment and technology for improvement of health outcomes related to obesity, nutrition and physical activity
• Healthy Brain Architecture: production and dissemination of innovative storytelling products toward promotion of healthy behavior for brain development and affect regulation during the entire human lifespan
• Social and Sensorimotor Play: investigation of novel assessment and treatment techniques using interactive play for improving social skills, visuospatial navigation and motor coordination in physical space
• Games for Health: promotion, development and assessment of innovative games with behavioral health applications
• Storytelling for Mobile Health (mHealth): mobile interactive entertainment with general health and wellness applications, or a specific chronic illness focus
• The Future of Health Care: re-imagining the patient/user/player experience within and beyond healthcare settings

This emphasis aims to provide specialized training and hands-on experience to enrolled MFA students toward design, development and evaluation of interactive entertainment for health and happiness. Students will obtain a broad perspective on theory, methods and practice through an intensive overview of core concepts of science with a lifespan perspective on brain development, lifelong resilience, wellness and illness. On a practical level, students will learn how to: (a) perform transdisciplinary formative research (e.g., literature reviews, prior art analyses) in order to establish background data and rationale for design and evaluation; (b) tailor intervention design and program design requirements to target population using transdisciplinary methodologies (e.g., ethnography, surveys, observation studies); (c) iteratively develop and/or adapt existing interventions focused on health and wellness in transdisciplinary team environments; (d) design and administer small studies for ecologically valid assessment of interventions (e.g., feasibility pilots, experimental designs, pilot clinical studies).

The degree requires 50 units and is a terminal degree. The degree is an intensive option suitable for research-oriented students who seek creative careers with a particular interest in education, healthcare, or social impact and will likely not pursue further studies. For students who do not wish to complete a thesis project, who want to focus less on creative expression, or who may pursue doctoral or health professional training, we recommend the non-terminal 36 units MA in Cinematic Arts with an emphasis in Media Arts, Games & Health .