The graduate certificate in Digital Cultures enhances digital literacies at the graduate level through a program that engages with critical approaches across disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and professions. Enrollment in the certificate is open to any student who has been admitted to a UWM graduate program.
The certificate is managed by an interdisciplinary committee with representation from Anthropology, History, English, the Center for 21st Century Studies, and the UWM Libraries Digital Humanities Lab, among other related areas.
For more information, please contact the program director, Dr. Stuart Moulthrop (moulthro@uwm.edu).
Admission Requirements
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Admission
Students wishing to pursue the Digital Cultures certificate must apply using the Graduate School’s online admissions application system. There will be two admissions cycles per year, with deadlines of December 15 and June 1. Only students concurrently enrolled in a UWM graduate degree program and those who already hold a UWM graduate degree may be admitted to the certificate.
Application
- Students wishing to obtain this certificate must declare their intention by applying to the program office or director.
- All graduate certificate applicants—even those already enrolled in a UWM graduate program—must apply to the Graduate School.
- Graduate degree and previously admitted graduate non-degree students who decide to pursue a certificate program must submit the application before completing 6 credits in the certificate sequence.
- Applicants must possess a baccalaureate degree and have a minimum 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average to be admitted into a certificate program.
Credits and Courses
The Digital Cultures certificate requires completion of a minimum of 15 graduate credits.
Students must complete at least 6 credits of Required Core Courses, listed below. Students must take DAC 700 once, and must take DAC 701 and DAC 788 at least once each. Students will repeat either DAC 701 or DAC 788 one additional time to complete the 6 required core credits. Students may take additional repeats of DAC 701 or DAC 788, but credits in those courses will not count toward the required or elective credits for the certificate.
In addition, students must complete an additional 9 credits selected from the list of eligible elective courses below. Of those electives, at least 3 credits must be at the 700-level or above and students must take at least two different course numbers to complete their electives. Up to 3 credits of independent study may be approved by the director of the Digital Cultures certificate for inclusion among the electives. Approval should be noted on the student’s program of study before application for certificate conferral.
Elective course substitutions may be approved by the certificate director on a case-by-case basis.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| DAC 700 | Core Seminar in Digital Cultures | 3 |
| DAC 701 | Digital Cultures Colloquium | 1 |
| DAC 788 | Digital Cultures Practicum | 1 |
| Repeat DAC 701 or DAC 788 for one additional credit | 1 | |
| Elective Courses | 9 | |
| Cultures of Online Games and Virtual Worlds | ||
| Anthropological Applications of GIS | ||
| Theories of Social Action: Theater, Ritual, Game | ||
| Emerging Digital Technology: | ||
| Professional Practice II | ||
| Representation I | ||
| Representation II | ||
| Intermediate Digital Studio: | ||
| Creative Coding: | ||
| Creative Interfaces: | ||
| 3D Environments and XR | ||
| Creative Electronics | ||
| Digital Media Workshop: | ||
| Advanced Creative Technologies | ||
| Advanced Electronics and Sculpture: | ||
| Motion Graphics | ||
| Digital Imaging for Fabric | ||
| Research in Universal Design and Fabrication | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Photography (Topics: Photography and Digital Imaging; Studio Lighting) | ||
| Advanced Photography & Imaging: | ||
| History and Theory of New Media Art | ||
| Seminar in Mediated Communication | ||
| The Digital Mirror | ||
| Rhetoric of/and the Internet | ||
| Digital Engagement Seminar | ||
| Information Design | ||
| Rhetoric, Writing, and Information Technology | ||
| Media Studies | ||
| Seminar in Digital Studies: | ||
| Intermediate Media Arts Module: (Topics: Observational Documentary; Experimental Documentary; Appropriated Media; Landscapes/Filmscapes; Visual Effects) | ||
| Experimental Documentary | ||
| Observational Documentary | ||
| Visual Effects | ||
| The History of Milwaukee | ||
| Research Methods in Local History | ||
| History and the New Media | ||
| Information Ethics | ||
| Instructional Technologies | ||
| Digital Libraries | ||
| Electronic Publishing and Web Design | ||
| Introduction to Urban Geographic Information Systems for Planning | ||
| Using Urban Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Planning | ||
| Advanced Social Science Seminar in Women's and Gender Studies: (Topics: Digital Cultures and Sexualities) | ||
| Total Credits | 15 | |
NOTE: Once approved, the courses FILM 763, FILM 764, and FILM 782 will replace the subtopics of FILM 420 at the graduate level. Additional 700-level Film courses will be proposed for two remaining subtopics of FILM 420, Filmscapes/Landscapes and Appropriated Media.
Additional Requirements
Transfer Credit
Outside transfer credits (graduate level work taken outside of UW-Milwaukee) are not permitted to count for this certificate program. However, based on the current UWM Transfer Credit Policy rules, UWM graduate courses may be eligible to:
- Transfer into this certificate if they have not been used to satisfy any degree or certificate requirements, OR
- Double-count toward a UWM graduate degree program and this certificate, OR
- Double-count between this certificate and one other UWM graduate certificate.
Grade Point Average Requirement
Students wishing to earn a Digital Cultures certificate must complete the required 15 graduate credit hours with an overall GPA of 2.75 or better.
A minimum cumulative 3.00 grade point average in certificate courses taken at UWM is required.
Articulation with Degree Programs
- Credits and courses required for a certificate may double count toward meeting UWM graduate degree requirements subject to the following restrictions:
- Degree programs must approve the courses from certificates that can double count toward the degree.
- All credits taken in completion of certificate requirements may count towards a UWM graduate degree as long as they do not contribute more than 90% of the total credits needed to obtain the degree. (Note: Students in PhD programs must still complete the minimum residency requirements)
- Certificate courses used toward meeting degree requirements must be completed within the time limit for transfer credit.
- Courses completed for a degree may be counted toward a subsequent certificate, subject to all certificate policy requirements.
- A course may count toward no more than one certificate and one degree.
- Students may not earn a certificate subsequent to a concentration in the same area.
Time Limit
Certificate program time limits shall be established as follows:
- 18 or fewer credits/Three years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
- 19 or more credits/Four years from initial enrollment in the certificate sequence.
For certificates that are designed as add-ons to degree programs and are awarded concurrent with the degree, the time limit shall be the same as that of the degree program.