Iovine and Young Academy to offer four new minors

USC’s Iovine and Young Academy announced four new minors to be introduced in Spring 2019.

Students will have the option of taking classes geared towards a product design, disruptive innovation, designing for experience or multimedia for designers and entrepreneurs minor.

“[These minors] represent key elements of the Academy’s uniquely integrative Bachelor of Science curriculum,” Iovine and Young Academy Dean Erica Muhl wrote in an email to the Daily Trojan. “We are extremely pleased to finally be able to offer them to all majors at USC.”

While Iovine and Young has offered “The Practice of Design” and “The Art of Japan’s Golden Age of Animation” as general education courses for non-majors, the introduction of these four new minors give USC students the opportunity to take more classes in the Academy.

“The addition of minors has also been planned from the beginning, and we have been designing and launching portions of the necessary coursework each semester for several years now,” Muhl wrote.  

The product design minor gives students the opportunity to learn about the creation of consumer goods and services and the application of acquired knowledge and skills in the areas of user research, according to the IYA website.

The multimedia for designers and entrepreneurs minor offers students the skills and knowledge necessary to become entrepreneurs, content creators and experienced designers through a developed understanding of multimedia arts.

“It is our hope that the minors will prove even more useful to students by providing not just greater access to Academy coursework, but also to the maker and ideation spaces coming in Iovine and Young Hall in Fall 2019,” Muhl wrote.

Jean Daniel LeRoy, a sophomore in the Academy, said he recommends that students consider pursuing the new minors.

“[It is] a hands on curriculum, which is a big reason why I joined the Academy, as well,” he said.

Those who choose to take classes for a disruptive innovation minor will learn about inventions that have radically changed society. These programs will allow students to cultivate an understanding of techniques and methodologies of innovators, according to the Academy’s site.  

The designing for experiences minor introduces the field of interaction design and universal design theory to students. The minor is intended for students who wish to specialize in data visualization, app design and social media development.

“[The minors] are an opportunity for any students to get active. There’s not a lot of awareness of what it is like inside of the Academy,” LeRoy said. “This program will help make it more accessible to everyone else.”

To apply for the minors, students must complete a minor prerequisite courses with a minimum of a B-minus grade and be in good academic standing at the University.

The Academy notes, however, that students have the ability to petition to substitute classes taken in another USC college to cover the prerequisite requirement.