Published May 26, 2026

Beyond IMA: Finding Inspiration Across NYU Schools

Jade

Class of 2028

Admitted Students Student Voices

I consider myself a multi-media artist. I like to experiment with all forms of media in art. Interactive Media Arts (IMA) at NYU has allowed me to learn about immersive storytelling across various mediums. The major is so broad–students get to learn a bit of everything!

My Path

Interactive Media Arts is a unique major that mixes art and technology in both the analog and digital world! When applying to NYU, I primarily had experience in film so I was worried that I wasn’t the most ideal “IMA Student” due to my lack of experience in coding. However, what I love most about IMA is that they accept students of all backgrounds and teach students different arts of art from all levels!

The IMA curriculum is a mix of digital and physical classes. All IMA first years are required to take hypercinema and creative computing. Hypercinema is all about telling stories in different mediums like animation, photography, video, and more. Creative computing focuses on wiring and creating art with code. The primary materials we use are Arduino breadboards and p5js.

Here is my p5js code when we learned to create shapes with code!

Here is my hypercinema film where we had to make a film based on a given genre!

This semester I’m taking video art and physical computing. Video art is one of my favorite IMA classes so far. In this class we learn about the medium of video which is more than just filmmaking. It’s projection art, holograms, and 3D motion graphics! For physical computing it is a step up from creative computing and we work primarily with code to create projects with sensors and more!

Here is a photo of a hologram I made for class using the pepper ghost illusion technique!

Here is the behind the scenes of a basketball hoop light switch that I made with my partner for our midterm!

Opportunities at NYU

Being a Tisch student opens the possibility of taking classes from other schools! For example, last semester I took a class in art history as a free elective within the College of Arts and Science. I’ve also taken a prose and poetry class within CAS as well.

One of my favorite non-IMA classes I took last semester was Love, Actually which is a psychology class all about love and relationships! This was a CAMS course which means my professors were professionals currently in the field of psychology. My two professors were psychiatrists!

On the last day of classes I brought my two professors some candy and a card!

During my first year I also took an anthropology class focused on global public health. I never thought I would be interested in a class like this but I ended up really enjoying it!

Me in my first large lecture class!

This semester I’m taking my first Stern class for my minor called Entertainment and Media Industries which is the foundation class. My professor often talks about when he worked at HBO and helped greenlit iconic shows like The Sopranos!

Finding my voice

Through IMA I often felt some imposter syndrome. I was concerned about not finding my “niche” as many other IMA students did. I found myself liking different things rather than just focusing on one topic. Although as the semesters progressed throughout my almost two years at NYU, I discovered that this is the time to experiment!

As an up-and-coming artist, understand that I do not need to limit myself to one label and one art form. I can continue to find other ways to express myself in my art!

Using my resources & gaining confidence

I was initially too shy to attend office hours; I felt embarrassed to ask for help. However, when I finally I went to office hours with my professor, I felt so supported! I was able to go in with as many questions as needed and not only were they answered, but I left feeling supported in my work. This taught me that asking questions is actually good and it’s important for the learning process.

This year I have been working on more group projects and I learned how helpful this is to my learning experience as well. For example before my basketball hoop project mentioned earlier, I had no idea what a “time of flight distance” was! We helped each other by pooling our knowledge.

I have also loved getting to experience college field trips! I have been able to attend the studio of artists which has been so inspiring and insightful. I look forward to having even more of these experiences!

Here is me at my professor’s art exhibit!

Here is my at artist Taezoo’s work studio!

It wasn’t until a super inspiring IMA class where we had a guest speaker, Ari Melenciano came to class to share her artwork. Melenciano reminded us that we as artists do not need to limit ourselves to one label. We can create all kinds of art! This opened my eyes to limitless discovery at IMA. I did not need to stick to one specific art medium or style, I had my whole life for that! It encouraged me to not see my self as one “type” of artist. Now as a college student, this is my main time to experiment and find what I enjoy.

Jade

Class of 2028

Jade (she/her) is a sophomore at the Tisch School of the Arts majoring in Interactive Media Arts. Representing The Bronx where Jade was born and raised, she takes on the role as an Admissions Ambassador meeting future prospective students on a weekly basis. Here she loves to talk to students about her “never heard of” major whilst sharing her experience as a first year student! She loves to attend museums in the city, going to concerts, and spending time with friends. If she is not on the Manhattan campus doing work, you can find her on the Brooklyn campus where she takes classes in a mixture of arts and technology. Some of her favorite classes include learning about chatbots and the ever-changing era of AI!