The School of Art + Design exists in a digital milieu. Even though the products of our labors are often physical, the processes by which we arrive at solutions to design problems, and the way we pre-visualize and evaluate our work cross into the virtual realm.  Whether it is the use of social media to schedule a meeting of a student organization; having an online critique with a studio teacher via email or Skype outside of regularly scheduled class time; or the creation (and the occasional playing) of casual games on a smart phone; information technology and digital media are thoroughly embedded in the student and faculty culture at NJIT's School of Art + Design.

Work is archived digitally on Kepler, a proprietary and password protected application of Microsoft SharePoint that allows us to keep track of all work done in all classes by all students.

A wide array of required and elective courses deal explicitly with digital graphics. All students learn about and use both two-dimensional and three-dimensional computer graphics in the very first year in foundation classes. The very first course, Color and Composition, utilizes multiple media including computer graphics. There are computer labs that are explicitly restricted for foundation class use (Campbell 236C, 236D, 236G) that are open 24/7 throughout the semester (except for the Thanksgiving holiday and winter break).

Three additional computer labs are available in the College of Architecture and Design: the CoAD Teaching Lab in 650 Weston Hall; the Physical Computing Lab at 661 Weston Hall; and the Art + Design Animation Lab in Campbell 236G. The Game Lab is also located in the second floor corridor in Campbell Hall, just across from the Foundation Labs.

Elective courses are offered on both an ad hoc and regular basis. Some of the recent offerings include lab-based courses in Augmented Reality, Physical Computing/Robotics, and Creative Web Design.

All studio design courses require the use of computers in class and students are required to purchase a computer for use in studio. All Art + Design students except Digital Design students purchase the computer between the first and second years. Digital Design students purchase the computer between the second and third years. More information about the computer requirement for Art + Design students may be found at: http://ist.njit.edu/compreq/.

That page is updated regularly and contains links to the specifications of the required computers for students as well as answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

More information about labs and computer resources within the College of Architecture and Design may be found at http://design.njit.edu/forstudents/computing.php.

The digital prowess of Art + Design students has been recognized nationally. Princeton Review cites NJIT as having one of the best undergraduate programs in which to study game design. Digital Design students have been accepted to the prestigious and competitive Student Volunteer Program at ACM/SIGGRAPH, the largest international computer graphics conference. Industrial Design students utilize digital fabrication methods to prototype products they design in studio and seminars. The Interior Design program is the first one in the United States to have a student selected and granted scholarships by Autodesk to receive training as a “student expert” in Building Information Modeling (BIM). The complete integration of digital media into the life of all programs in the School of Art + Design and the continued innovation at NJIT in the context of a research university are among the distinguishing characteristics of an education in the College of Architecture and Design.