MS in Creative Technology & Design: Experimental Practices
Prepare for an inspiring career with a degree from the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
The professional MS in Creative Technology & Design (CTD) focused in Experimental Practices offers mentoring in creative inquiry paired with science and engineering training for students interested in inventing through sound design, interactive media, motion capture and more.
Our 2-year master's course sequence is built for flexibility and rigor, allowing students with prior experience in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and other technical disciplines to transfer their skills into their creative interests, and for students with music performance, composition and other creative backgrounds to develop technical skills they can bring to their careers.
The University of Colorado Boulder is the #11 engineering graduate program among public university peers in the U.S., according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings for 2025-26.
Program Benefits
Inspiring Experience
Small class sizes offer hands-on project-based learning with mentoring and collaboration. Core classes empower you to build a strong foundation in design, technology and leadership. Elective options in ATLAS and across campus allow you to deepen your focus in many future-foward disciplines.
Creative Collaboration
ATLAS and College of Music together provide a community of researcher-creators that welcome our MS students. ATLAS students share their work in the Soundworks concert series-forum, a meeting space for the creation and performance of new and original works by student composers, improvisers, performers and collaborators in the College of Music and CU Boulder community.
Learn & Work
Most students work at least part-time while in the program, including opportunities for roles at ATLAS, across campus, along the Front Range and in remote positions. CU Boulder offers many resources to assist you in finding roles, and the course schedule offers flexibility to match your needs.
Creative Community
Community is one of our great strengths. Invent the future by participating in labs and studios at ATLAS and the College of Music. Engage with industry leaders through roundtables, instruction and mentorship. Build lasting creative partnerships and foster deep bonds through collaboration, learning and social events.
Portfolio Development
Our curriculum leverages project-based learning with an emphasis on presenting your work. Guided by course and project assignments as well as direct feedback from working professionals, we help you develop a strong audio and visual portfolio that tells the story of who you are and what you do.
Future-forward Careers
Our students are uniquely positioned for the evolving job markets of the future. No single technology will fully equip students for the field—instead we help you build a technical toolset and an approach to life-long learning and problem solving as your creative career evolves.
Selected Experimental Practices Electives
Experimental Practices names a concentration within the Creative Technology and Design degree at ATLAS that equally supports students from creative disciplines and students from engineering and science backgrounds in their efforts to harness new media technologies for the exploration of expressive possibilities. Supporting Experimental Practices in new media spaces such as the ATLAS B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance requires multiple, interweaving technological platforms. Equipment including motion capture cameras, multichannel speaker arrays, and surround video projectors provide immersive and interactive experiences for artists and audiences, and a rich body of creative works and critical thinking has grown over the few decades these technologies have been made available to the creative community. Additionally, the technical challenges these mediums pose challenge engineers and scientists seeking to explore the creative applications of their body of knowledge. Special hardware and custom-designed software integrate sensor input, data streaming, and sound, video, and light projection, often requiring a team approach to project development. This course takes the integrated new media platform developed by the B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance as an example toolkit for the development of immersive and interactive creative work. A series of workshops supported by B2 and ATLAS community members will present each technology comprising our toolkit: lighting design, video projection, spatial audio, motion capture, and networked video. Students will complete technical studies of each technology in small groups. A thread of seminar-style meetings will provide historical and critical context to each technical tool.
This one-credit course introduces students to the hardware, software, and networking infrastructure underlying B2’s multi-channel sound capabilities. Students will learn about the 40.4 speaker system and the 5.1 Myers system in the Black Box, and the 7.1 speaker system in SL1. Students will gain experience using and understanding Dante networked audio and how to route audio inputs and outputs over the network. Students will also gain an understanding of encoded spatial audio models such as Ambisonics and Binaural audio. This course will cover using Max/MSP, Ableton, and Reaper as platforms to develop multi-channel audio compositions.
This one-credit course introduces students to the hardware, software, and networking infrastructure underlying B2’s Large-Format Projection. Students will learn how to use Resolume Arena and Mad Mapper to create large multi-projector surfaces and map projections to more complex geometries. They will also learn how graphics cards (GPUs), stand-alone display controllers, and multiple projectors work together to create complex large-format projections and projection mappings.
State-of-the-Art Equipment
The program allows you access to the most innovative playspace in the region for creating immersive experiences, including:
- 44 channel Ambisonic spatial audio system
- 270° video projection
- 20-camera Qualisys motion capture system
- LED lighting systems that boggle the imagination
Expansive Possibilities
When advanced technology and art combine
Internationally acclaimed theater artists, the Q Brothers, developed a motion capture-based animated version of their production Othello: The Remix at the B2 Center for Media, Arts & Performance, using the same facilities our students have access to.
Check out this behind-the-scenes video for a taste of what it's like to explore your practice at ATLAS.
"I completed my graduate degree at ATLAS in 2017 by designing a 360 degree immersive performance in the Black Box theater. That moment allowed me to springboard into creating and producing large-scale multimedia performances and works that have gained me global recognition. While the pandemic changed my career trajectory, taking me into teaching and working as an audio director for an AI music technology startup, I have in the past year been returning to my artistic endeavors.
It has been so nice to come back to the B2 and to have a chance to explore the updated technologies including the 40.4 channel audio system and the Mocap system in the collaboration with Cellista on Elegie's Enigma: A Tale of Lost Souls and Digital Echoes. The process has given me the opportunity to explore emerging AI tools and technologies as well as a chance to expand on my creative processes in immersive audio and creative technology. I am excited to see how I can use these new processes in my future endeavors."
Monica Bolles, MS Creative Technology and Design
Community Showcase
Anna Pillot's "INbalance | IMbalance"
An aerial work production exposing the performer's inner world
Soulé Déesse's "Hermafrodek"
A sculptural exploration of surrealist gender-bending Afro-futurism
Brad Gallagher's "Cowbird"
A multi-media dance-controlled musical performance leveraging motion capture technology