Savannah College of Art and Design offers new four-year degree in Immersive Reality

Immersive reality. Extended reality. Augmented reality. Whatever you want to call it, it is safe to say technologies like virtual and mixed reality are here to stay in the AEC industry.

As architecture, engineering, and construction firms around the country work to integrate some form of extended reality into their daily work flow, anyone with a background in the technology is quickly becoming invaluable. Which means firms may want to keep an eye on the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) as it recently became the first college in the country to offer a four-year degree in what it refers to as ‘immersive reality.’

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The program, which launched with the Fall 2018 semester, combines coursework, classroom experience, and sponsored SCADpro projects to provide students with technical skills across physics, scripting, programming, and visual effects compositing. According to the programs webpage, “With an understanding of all facets of the design process, [students] develop and produce narrative-driven experiences and programs across immersive reality platforms.”

Students will be taught on industry-standard tools, which includes a full suite of VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear. The new degree program is one of three new SCAD B.F.A. programs recently launched.