Bachelor's Degree program comes one step closer to SMC

On January 20, Santa Monica College was chosen by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to be one of fifteen community colleges to begin offering bachelor’s degrees pending a final review of the proposed programs in March. SMC's BA proposal would offer a degree in Interaction Design.

According to SMC President Chui L. Tsang, more details concerning the program will be announced later on, but he did present a goal for when it should be up and running.

“We want to work out when exactly we will have the upper division courses ready because we already have students in the pipeline in some way because they are finishing up their AA degree in the [Interaction Design] area,” he said. “We hope to be able to begin offering courses in this area as early as the Fall of 2015.”

In addition, he confirmed that the currently closed Academy of Entertainment and Technology satellite campus would be playing a major role in the BA program’s place at SMC. “The renovated building will be where the program will be held. It will help this program tremendously because with the renovation we will also be bringing in the most updated equipment,” said Tsang.

“For some people, a city college is all they have access to,” says second year SMC student Joany Perez. “So a program like this could help people who maybe can’t get enough financial aid elsewhere to further their education,” she added.

The BA program could not have come at a better time, local tech companies like Microsoft, Disney, and Sony Pictures Entertainment have all shown support for SMC’s proposed BA degree program in light of the importance of it in today’s tech industry.

“Design and technology are continuing to converge and this requires a new breed of designer who understands the user and user-centered design,” said SMC Design Technology professor Jamie Cavanaugh. “A four-year degree in Interaction Design allows our students to develop the skills needed in this field and to be better prepared for the workforce,” she said.

For any students interested in learning more about the Interaction Design program, updates will be e-mailed to anyone who follows the Design Technology Department’s mailing list located here.