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Email academic.registry@tcd.iePlatforms for digital media applications are constantly evolving - moving from desktops to mobile devices. The skills required for designing digital media applications have expanded and now include both technical and creative skills.
This one-year Interactive Digital Media programme aims to provide a foundation which will allow graduates to build on knowledge gained at undergraduate level to allow them to work in the digital media sector. The course will help students combine their existing skills with the technological knowledge needed to design and develop digital media applications.
Students receive a foundation in the theory and practice of creating and developing applications using all digital media types. While we welcome applicants with technical qualifications, the course is also appropriate for graduates without a computer science background, because of the important skills they can bring to digital media. The course concentrates on teaching the theory associated with developing and implementing digital media applications rather than teaching how to use off-the-shelf applications. Students are exposed to programming languages and platforms as well as methodologies for the creation, capture and presentation of text, graphics, audio and moving images. The range of backgrounds and skills of the students each year facilitates exchange between different disciplines.
Interactive Digital Media is an interdisciplinary field that combines elements from media studies, communication, computer science, and design. This field is ideal for those who are passionate about technology and communications, as well as those with a creative mindset looking to create and design digital media. It could be particularly beneficial for anyone interested in media production, digital marketing, web design, game design, or app development.
This course has been running since 1996 and now has more 400 graduates working in the digital media and related sectors, both nationally and internationally. The M.Sc. in Interactive Digital Media enables graduates to work and stay current in the digital media sector. Graduates work in many roles across the digital sector, including design, development, content, analysis, research, entrepreneurship and leadership.
The full programme, comprising 90 ECTS credits, takes one full calendar year to complete and leads to the qualification of M.Sc. in Interactive Digital Media, a Level 9 award under the Irish National Framework for Qualifications (NFQ).
Formal teaching is divided into two 12-week semesters, running from September to December and then January to April. Research proposals are submitted in November and agreed by mid-December with students then commencing their research project. After the research paper and coursework is assessed at the Exam Board in May, students then go on to complete a final project.
This programme is different in that it focuses on teaching theory rather than on applications. Students are exposed to programming languages and platforms as well as methodologies for the creation, capture and presentation of text, graphics, audio and moving images.
Basic computer science courses are offered for students with no formal background in programming and students with experience in programming are taught specialised programming for interactive digital platforms.
Core taught modules include: Programming for Digital Media; Authoring for Digital Media; Contextual Media; Audio, Video and Sensor Technologies; and Visual Computing and Design, Research Paper: Final Project.
Each student must also submit a minor research dissertation paper of 12,000 words, followed by a final project as a collaboration between groups of students.
Click here for further information on modules/subjects.
A brief introduction to the M.Sc. in Interactive Digital Media programme at Trinity College Dublin by Dr. Mads Haahr.
September 2025
31 July 2025
A 2.1 (60-69%) grade or higher from a reputable university is required, although exceptions can be made on the basis of considerable professional and/or creative experience. Students are accepted from a wide range of disciplines, ranging from Computer Science and Engineering to the Arts, Humanities and Design.
English Language Requirements
All applicants to Trinity are required to provide official evidence of proficiency in the English language. Applicants to this course are required to meet Band B (Standard Entry) English language requirements. For more details of qualifications that meet Band B, see the English Language Requirements page here.
Click here for a full list of postgraduate fees
To apply, click on the relevant Apply Link below
+353 (0)1 8962418
https://www.tcd.ie/scss/courses/postgraduate/interactive-digital-media/
Register your interest in studying at Ireland’s leading university, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin.
The programme gave me the flexibility and support to pursue my own path within the digital realm. I was able to refine my individual interests through the thesis component while also benefitting from a core suite of classes.
Senior Security Policy Advisor for the Government of Ontario’s Cybersecurity Division
When I came across an ad for the Interactive Digital Media course at Trinity, I was finishing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science at a university that only provided very technical courses. It never occurred to me that computer science could be combined with the creativity and diversity of topics in digital media. The course lecturers focused on topics involving the Arts introduced me to methodologies and a way of thinking I was unfamiliar with, while the technical lectures taught me about web, audio and video technologies I had little knowledge of. Every assignment made me more resourceful and opened my eyes to the possibilities in the field of digital media. The course taught me to think outside of the box when it comes to computer science and it made me confident to use my knowledge about technology to recreate it and reshape it in new ways.
Designer at FieldAware
