The Computational Media (CM) Department engages in boundary-pushing research and education that integrates technical, interpretive, and design work to create human-centered media that address complex problems for societal impact.
These are the core values we hold, which form the foundation on which we perform work and conduct ourselves as scholars, researchers, and members of communities:
- Impactful: We create media, experiences and ways of understanding that have an impact in the world we live in.
- Socially responsible: We actively perform research and education that benefit society at large and advance social goals.
- Open: We embrace diverse ideas, disciplines, approaches, concepts, and methods in our work and community.
- Boundary-pushing: We are forward facing while being reflective of the past.
- Collegial: We engage in partnership across our communities in a respectful manner.
- Address “messy” problems: We are unafraid of handling real-world problems that are naturally messy.
#5
best game/simulation development program in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 2024)
9th
undergrad game design program (U.S. News and World Report, 2022)
#10
best school for game & interactive design bachelor's degree (College Factual, 2024)
#19
in the top 25 public augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) schools in the U.S. (Animation Career Review, 2022)
Humanizing artificial intelligence
A new study shows how AI chatbots like ChatGPT perpetuate biases when performing empathy—highlighting gaps between human and AI responses.
CM research news
Using technology and games to build climate resilient communities
Linda Hirsch, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz who is supported by the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience, is exploring how technology can help individuals and communities prepare for and recover from climate-related hazards.
A fresh look at TikTok: short food videos encourage long-term healthy eating habits in teens
Research from UC Santa Cruz human-computer interactions scholars is revealing how online habits translate into offline actions
Keysight Technologies partnership gives capstone students hands-on experience
A new unique capstone project involves both undergraduate and graduate students.
Ph.D. opportunities
Computational Media faculty are recruiting Ph.D. students for the 2024-25 academic year
Explore potential Computational Media career paths
- UI/UX Designer
- Interactive Designer
- Game Designer
- Multimedia Developer
- AR/VR Specialist
- Product Manager
- Front End Developer
- Professor/Researcher