Master in Digital Arts and Creative Coding

The Master's Degree in Digital Arts and Creative Programming responds to the growing need for professionals capable of addressing the evolution of digital technology from a critical, creative and interdisciplinary perspective. This programme offers pioneering training that combines creative programming, robotics, electronics and digital fabrication with artistic and cultural research.

In this master's degree, technology is understood as a building material. Free experimentation and error are encouraged as an essential part of learning, teaching students to think and create from the foundations of computational thinking. Through the use of free software tools, students learn to communicate with machines from a conceptual and practical approach based on creative code. This allows them to develop a deep understanding of technology, beyond proprietary platforms, and to use creativity as a driver of constant adaptation and critical thinking in the face of future technological changes.

The programme promotes the creative, responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence, understood as a field of experimentation and reflection on the relationships between humans and machines. It advocates addressing new technological challenges through free, hands-on thinking, placing emphasis on material construction and learning through practice as a form of knowledge.

Classes constantly alternate between the keyboard, campus workshops and group discussion. In addition, the integration of students into the local cultural fabric is encouraged through extracurricular activities in the city (openings, talks, visits to exhibitions, community events, etc.), participation in festivals and exhibitions, mentoring in projects and assistance in preparing documentation for open calls and workshops with guest artists.

In a world where digital experiences, virtual environments and interactive creations are transforming the way we perceive and relate to each other, this master's degree encourages critical thinking and creative skills and provides the technical competencies necessary to imagine and build new forms of interaction and human experience.

Module 1 - Technologies of thought

This module establishes the conceptual foundations of computational thinking that are necessary to develop creative technological projects that are not only innovative but also critically grounded. It introduces the theoretical, historical, and artistic frameworks that articulate the relationship between art and technology, addressing materialism, digital ecologies, and sustainability.

Through critical analysis, experimentation and speculative fiction, students acquire the intellectual tools to imagine and construct technological practices with creative and ethical meaning.

• Theoretical, historical and artistic frameworks. References and contexts.
• Materialism and art. Material ecologies, technopolitics and aesthetics.
• Computational thinking and digital culture.
• Algorithmic logic and creative programming (creative coding).
• Technodiversities, permacomputing, digital sustainability.
• Contemporary artistic creation and research methodologies.
• Algorithmic culture and playfulness. Gaming, simulation and experimentation.
• Critical analysis. Media theory, computational aesthetics, technological ethics.
• Speculative fiction. Designing futures, art and imagined technology.

Module 2 - Audiovisual ecosystems

This module offers practical and experimental training in off-screen audiovisual creation, exploring real-time video, light, sound and immersive environments. It introduces mapping, control and light simulation techniques (DMX, 3D), as well as sound synthesis, generative audio and sound design using digital tools.

It addresses virtual reality and augmented reality as spaces for sensory interaction and expanded perception. Students acquire the technical and creative skills to design multisensory audiovisual experiences and immersive, art-based technological projects.

• Real-time video.
• Off-screen audiovisual
• Perception and perspective, mapping, pixel mapping.
• Lighting design, control and simulation (DMX, 3D environments)
• Light, perception and emotion
• Generative audio and sound design
• Psychoacoustics and perception, immersion and musicAI.
• Live coding
• Virtual reality, augmented reality, simulations and 3D digital environments
• Video games and GameArt

Module 3 - Spatial computing, creative electronics and digital fabrication

This module introduces electronic programming and interactive system design using Arduino and other open platforms. It explores tangible, full-body interaction, integrating sensors, artificial vision and artificial intelligence to create physical and reactive experiences.

Through prototyping, digital fabrication and creative robotics, students learn to materialise ideas into sensitive and expressive devices. Communication protocols (OSC, MIDI) and generative graphics are also covered, providing a solid foundation for the development of projects in technological interaction, spatial computing and kinetic art.

• Electronics programming and creative robotics using Arduino.
• Physical computing (tangible interactive systems).
• Interaction design theory and interactive communication.
• Programming in Python.
• Wireless systems for physical and whole-body interaction.
• Artificial vision technologies (computer vision with AI, OpenCV, depth cameras, 3D sensors, etc.)
• Prototyping, digital fabrication and creative robotics.
• Vector and 3D design for use with digital manufacturing machines.
• Practical training in the use of digital manufacturing machines such as laser cutters, milling machines (CNC) and 3D printers.
• Communication protocols: OSC, MIDI, etc.
• Generative graphics

Module 4 - Master's Final Project

The Master's Final Project (MFP) is conceived as a multidisciplinary project that integrates innovative technologies, processes and languages through critical and coherent discourse.

The MFP can take the form of an interactive installation, digital scenography, an experimental video game (art game), an interactive object or any other format analysed throughout the master's programme.

The MFP is carried out in groups of 3-4 students and must be presented and defended before a panel of experts and professionals from the sector who will evaluate its interest and execution.