Dr. Kyong Yoon
DAHU Theme Coordinator
250.807.8897 dahu.ok@ubc.ca
Digital Arts & Humanities
Master of Arts (MA), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Use digital technologies to explore questions central to the arts and humanities; applying arts and humanities frameworks to digital tools and technologies.
Why study Digital arts & Humanities at UBC Okanagan?
Digital humanities work involves researching, teaching and learning about the humanities in a digital context—whether that’s building and using software, websites and datasets to display information, or digitizing, preserving and using other technology-focused methods like augmented and virtual reality.
Digital Arts is a highly integrated practice combining strong theoretical frameworks with specific acts of making in graphic design, digital photography, digital video and audio editing, web design, 2D and 3D animation, digital writing, and mobile application development.
Combining the two fields in one degree facilitates dialogue between creative and humanistic studies — a conversation that is central to the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.
The MA interdisciplinary degree in digital arts and humanities draws upon a well-established network of researchers as the foundation for this program. Graduate students have access to the expertise of diverse, nationally and internationally recognized researchers from a variety of faculties and disciplines in a coherent, thematic framework.
Program milestones
establishing a faculty supervisory committee
completing coursework
preparing, presenting and defending a thesis research proposal
completing thesis research and writing, and defending the work
Coursework requirements
18 credits of coursework are required, including:
Proseminar in Interdisciplinary Studies (IGS 524)
Theme Seminar in Digital Arts and Humanities (IGS 502)
One research methods course, (IGS 501 or IGS 506, or another methods course approved by the supervisory committee)
Additional coursework, selected in consultation with the student’s supervisor (9 credits)
THESIS REQUIREMENTS
Students are required to submit a Thesis Proposal of 2,500 words with a four-page bibliography to the Graduate Programs and Planning Committee; it is developed in consultation with your supervisor. The thesis requires an oral defense administered by the College of Graduate Studies.
The PhD degree is centered on participating faculty and students convening on a regular basis to share ideas, learn about each other’s work, identify opportunities for collaboration, and broaden their interdisciplinary expertise. Faculty scholars all have experience with digital arts and humanities research, and are committed to the interdisciplinary nature of the program.
Program milestones
Establishing a faculty supervisory committee
Selecting and completing coursework
Preparing, presenting and defending a dissertation research proposal
Passing an oral candidacy exam
Completing dissertation research and writing, and defending the work.
COURSEWORK REQUIREMENTS
12 credits are required for the PhD degree, including:
Proseminar in Interdisciplinary Studies (IGS 524)
Theme Seminar in Digital Arts and Humanities (IGS 502)
One research methods course, (IGS 501 or IGS 506, or another methods course approved by the supervisory committee)
Additional coursework, selected in consultation with the student’s supervisor (3 credits)
Research undertaken in this graduate program brings together the Humanities, aspects of the Social Sciences, and the Creative Arts. It employs computing technologies and makerspace methods to address such topics as social justice, access, sustainability, heritage, ethics, labour, ecology, creativity, curation, collaboration, interaction, making, pedagogy, and reading, while posing vital questions about computing technologies themselves.
Graduate students can pursue these and other faculty research and teaching interests: Our research focus includes: Creative Writing, Cultural Studies Data Visualization, Digital Humanities, Digital Media, Indigenous Media Arts, Media Studies and Visual Arts.
This IGS degree draws on the expertise of nationally and internationally recognized faculty researchers with experience with interdisciplinary digital arts and humanities research. Our research focus includes: creative writing, cultural studies data visualization, digital humanities, digital media, indigenous media arts, media studies and visual arts.
Role:
Departments:
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Ifeoma Adaji | Assistant Professor | Computer Science, Digital Arts and Humanities | ifeoma.adaji@ubc.ca | 250.807.8332 | FIP 303
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Designing and developing behavior change systems and persuasive technologies such as serious games and mobile/web applications; modelling the behaviour of online users in social networks and e-commerce systems; data science; social computing; ethics and trust in persuasive technologies.
Courses & Teaching: COSC 360 Web Programming. Winter, Term 2 2022/2023; DATA 540 Databases and Data Retrieval. Fall, Term 1 2022/2023; DATA 530 Computing Platforms for Data Science. Fall, Term 1 2022/2023; COSC 421 Network Science. Fall, Term 1 2022/2023; COSC 121 Computer Programming II. Winter, Term 2 2021/2022; COSC 419F/COSC 519F Social computing. Fall, Term 1 2021/2022.
Diana Carter, PhD | Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies | Digital Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Languages and World Literatures, Spanish | diana.carter@ubc.ca | 250.807.9872 | CCS 323B
Research Interests: Sociolinguistics; language, gender identity and education; corpus linguistics; bilingual code-switching.
Courses & Teaching: Beginners’ Spanish I and II, Advanced Beginners’ Spanish I and II, Intermediate Spanish I and II, The Sounds of Spanish, Spanish & English in Contrast, and History of the Spanish Language.
Jodey Castricano, PhD | Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies | Digital Arts and Humanities, English and Cultural Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sustainability (IGS) | jodey.castricano@ubc.ca | 250.807.9196 | CCS 323E
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: 19th-century studies, including gothic studies and psychoanalysis (Freud/Jung); critical animal studies; ecofeminism; critical and literary theory, film and media studies; feminist and queer theory; ethics; social activism.
Courses & Teaching: English; Cultural Studies
Jonathan Cinnamon | Associate Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Geography, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | jonathan.cinnamon@ubc.ca | 250.807.8014 | ART 264
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: digital geographies; data studies; GIS and society; science and technology studies; urban studies; surveillance; digital and visual methods; alternative urbanism.
Matthew Davis | Lecturer | Digital Arts and Humanities, Digital Humanities, English and Cultural Studies | mdavis14@mail.ubc.ca | CCS 346
Aleksandra Dulic, PhD | Associate Professor | Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Media Studies, Sustainability (IGS), Visual Arts | aleksandra.dulic@ubc.ca | 250.807.9771 | CCS 171
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Visual art, new media, video, drawing 2D; media for social change; climate change; interactive art; experience design.
Courses & Teaching: Visual Art; Media Studies; Digital Media
Graduate student supervisor. Will consider Psychology grad students (Psychological Science stream) for Sept 2025 intake.
Research Interests: Creativity; concepts, especially how they combine and adapt to new contexts; origins of modern cognition; cultural evolution; computer models of the above. I'm not currently accepting graduate students; however, please don't hesitate to contact me if you are exceptionally knowledgeable about and interested in my group's research program.
Courses & Teaching: Psychology of creativity and humour; evolution of human cognition.
Suzanne Gott, PhD | Associate Professor | Art History, Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Global Studies | Suzanne.Gott@ubc.ca | 250.807.9671 | CCS 176
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Exploring issues of gender, comparative aesthetics, display, and performance; and in investigating continuities and/or transformations of precolonial art and aesthetics in colonial, postcolonial, and contemporary art and visual culture
Courses & Teaching: Art History & Visual Culture
Neha Gupta | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Digital Arts and Humanities, Global Studies | neha.gupta@ubc.ca | 250.807.8403 | ART 259
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Geospatial and Digital Methods in Heritage; Postcolonial, decolonial, anti-colonial and Indigenous studies of heritage; Archaeology in India and Canada; Data Governance and community governance of data; anti-racism. I welcome interest from prospective graduate students for research supervision on topics related to these areas. Accepting graduate students for Sept 2024 start
Courses & Teaching: My teaching focus is in digital methods and archaeology. I have developed and offered the following courses; ANTH 103 Introduction to World Archaeology, ANTH 210 Archaeological Inquiry and Practice, ANTH 310 Digital Methods in Archaeology and Heritage, ANTH 319 Archaeology of Early State Societies, ANTH 490 Special Topics: Digital Anthropology, IGS 502 Seminar in Digital Arts and Humanities
Research Interests: Sultanate, Mughal and Late-Mughal era (Nawwabi) visual culture; Digital Islamic Art History; Interpretation in Digital Media for Botanic Gardens and Museums
Courses & Teaching: World Art History; Art Histories of the Islamic World & South Asia; Digital Humanities; World Literatures
Research Interests: Active learning techniques for computer science; developing tools for learning, computational thinking and design thinking; application of HCI tools and techniques to improve teaching and learning.
Fiona McDonald | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Digital Arts and Humanities, Global Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | fiona.mcdonald@ubc.ca | 250.807.8127 | ASC 266
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Visual anthropology; anthropology of art; sensory ethnography; material culture; curatorial studies; museum studies; textiles; oral history; contemporary Indigenous art; informal science learning and the environment; anthropocene; water rights; open access and digital publishing; North America & Aotearoa New Zealand.
Courses & Teaching: Visual & media anthropology; arts-based ethnography; anthropology of art; fieldwork methodologies; cultural anthropology; ethnography.
Research Interests: Multimedia cultural memory; feminist and intersectional digital humanities; critical and creative making; digital pedagogy; twentieth-century literature and culture; high, middlebrow, and popular modernisms; literature of the Spanish Civil War; women’s writing; adaptation and media-specificity; dance, movement, and physical culture; celebrity culture; life writing; comics and graphic novels
Courses & Teaching: Digital Humanities; English
Elena Nicoladis | Department Head, Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges, Psychology | elena.nicoladis@ubc.ca | 250.807.8461 | ART 322
Research Interests: Bilingual first language learning; second language learning; gestures
Francisco Peña, PhD | Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Languages and World Literatures, Power, Conflict and Ideas, World Literatures | francisco.pena@ubc.ca | 250.807.8044 | CCS 163
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Literary Studies, Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, and History of Ideas; literary study of the Bible; influence of the Bible in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish literature; Jewish/Christian relations in Medieval Iberia.
Courses & Teaching: Wold Literature; Spanish Culture and Literature; Ancient and Medieval Mythology, Biblical Literature, and Judeo-Spanish and Converso studies.
Christine Schreyer | Associate Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges | christine.schreyer@ubc.ca | 250.807.9314 | ART 368C
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Linguistic anthropology; First Nations language and culture; land claims and Aboriginal Title; ethnolinguistics, ethnohistory, social memory, oral history, landscape, and traditional land use studies; works with First Nations communities on language issues such as language maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages
Courses & Teaching: Linguistic anthropology; language documentation and revitalization
Karis Shearer, PhD | Associate Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, English, English and Cultural Studies | karis.shearer@ubc.ca | 250.807.9776 | CCS 162
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Modern and contemporary Canadian and American poetry; literary audio; literary archives; media studies; feminist theory; sound studies; oral history; digital humanities; editing and publishing; history of higher education, particularly the development of Creative Writing as an academic discipline in Canadian universities.
Courses & Teaching: English; Digital Arts & Humanities
Research Interests: New media art, immersive art and storytelling, virtual reality, physical computing, critical design, geo location, visual art, interactive art, climate change, satellites, orbital environment
Courses & Teaching: Media Studies, Master of Design
Research Interests: Poetry (verbatim, concrete, confessional, spoken word), novel, short fiction, creative nonfiction/memoir, experimental short film and videopoems, writing with digital media (ie Twitter, Instagram, video, podcasting, audio installation, YouTube, etc.), with particular focus on queer oral history and memoir, as well as small town and working class stories.
Courses & Teaching: CRWR 474 Writing with Media, 472 Editing and Publishing, 470 Novel, 250 Screenwriting, 216 Poetry, 210 Power of Story, 160 Fiction and Drama
Research Interests: Music Information Retrieval, Interactive Sound Art, Sound Design, Task Analysis, Machine Learning
Courses & Teaching: Media Studies; Computer Science
Bryce Traister | Dean | Digital Arts and Humanities, English, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies | bryce.traister@ubc.ca | 250.807.9357 | CCS 323C
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: American Literature, especially the colonial and antebellum periods; religious studies; American Cultural Studies; science fiction.
Research Interests: Old English Language and Literature. Paleography and the digital editing of texts. Mystical Theology and suffering. Tolkien.
Courses & Teaching: Old English Language and Literature, Chaucer, Middle English Mystical Writings, Latin.
Annie Wan, PhD | Associate Professor | Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Media Studies | annie.wan@ubc.ca | CCS 380
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Innovating Artistic and Socially Motivated Design through Creative Media by means of Gamification in Digital Heritage Preservation, Museums Archives and Digital Conservation; Employing Creative Media for the Socially Disadvantaged by means of Adopting Extended Realities and Intelligence Technologies for well- being.
Tania Willard, MFA | Associate Professor | Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges, Visual Arts | tania.willard@ubc.ca | 250.299.5835 | CCS 366
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Visual Arts, Curatorial praxis, Indigenous contemporary art, land-based art, Indigenous resurgence, relational aesthetics, socially engaged practice, BIPOC and diversity and equity practices in contemporary art.
Courses & Teaching: Visual Strategies and Research, Indigenous Land-based Art, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Indigenous Art Intensive
Wendy Wong | Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Global Studies, Political Science | w.wong@ubc.ca | Landmark 4, 6th Floor, Rm. 624, 1628 Dickson Avenue V1Y 9X1
Courses & Teaching: Human rights; global governance; international relations
Kyong Yoon, PhD | Professor | Cultural Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, English and Cultural Studies, Global Studies | kyong.yoon@ubc.ca | 250.807.8897 | CCS 175
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Digital media, mobile communication, migration, Korean popular culture, and youth culture.
Courses & Teaching: CULT 215 Cultural Industries; CULT 312 Internet Culture; CULT 313 Transnational Asian pop culture; CULT 410 Asian cinema
Ying Zhu, PhD | Associate Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Faculty of Management | ying.zhu@ubc.ca | 250.807.9836 | EME 4147
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Dr. Zhu’s primary research interests include digital marketing, branding, consumer behavior, business analytics, and social networks. She has two streams of research: 1) investigating the impact of technology on consumers and the antecedents and consequences of consumer use of technology (e.g., AI, Metaverse) and 2) examining the effectiveness of different marketing strategies (e.g., digital marketing, business networks) and the importance of branding (e.g., brand extension).
Courses & Teaching: MGMT 441 Marketing Strategy
MGMT 442 Consumer Behavior
MGMT 461 Service Marketing
MGMT 100 Introduction to Business
Facilities and Labs
We have a number of faculty run research spaces in FCCS funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. Many of our faculty members hold active Social Science and Humanities Research Council grants and benefit from Arts Council funding at civic, provincial and federal levels.
The AMP Lab, led by Dr. Karis Shearer is located in FIP 251. this research space houses projects that engage in the work of the humanities–adding value to cultural artifacts through interpretation and analysis–in a digital context.
The ReMedia Infrastructure for Research and Creation is led by Dr. Emily Murphy, who engages with ways that people have used their bodies in cultural production. Projects in ReMedia study comics, literature, performance, social media platforms, memes, and modernist robots.
The Critical Future Studio/Lab (CFS/L) led by Dr. Megan Smith, is a creative studio that produces innovative immersive experiences. The space hosts research on future-orientated themes that tell stories about the world, our data, climate change and the environment.
The Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL) is a CFI funded space, led by Dr. Miles Thorogood, that explores simulating the creative process in sound design to develop state of the art models and algorithms for developing new computational tools used in workflows in the video game, animation and virtual reality industries.
The Digital Arts and Humanities theme currently includes students at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels. View our list of students and alumni profiles for you to discover more about them and their research.
Connect with your peers
The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) cares about the experiential learning and well-being of our students, and about fostering their academic and research excellence.
In fact, FCCS is a significant generator of artistic and cultural events with one of the most active and robust communities on campus and off—in Kelowna, the Okanagan Valley and beyond. Follow our DAHU program on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on events and connect with our community on campus and beyond.
Theses and Dissertations
Find all UBC Okanagan student publications on the University’s digital repository for research and teaching materials. EXPLORE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Careers and Outcomes
During their degree, students will have the opportunity to:
conduct original research
learn to become effective educators
work as Teaching Assistants, as well as acquire knowledge in the professional practices of writing for publication, academic CV development, grant writing, networking, and community-engaged research skills.
Our masters students will gain a host of skills that prepare them for careers in:
education
consulting
governmental and non-governmental organizations
industrial sectors, and more
With the research, teaching, making, and analytical skills they gain in the Digital Arts and Humanities theme, our PhD students will be prepared to pursue academic and alternative academic career paths.
Paid TA positions allow graduate students to develop skills in teaching, supervision, facilitation, and student assessment. Teaching assistants may lead seminars, help teach undergraduate courses, or assist in student evaluations and marking. Teaching assistants are mentored by their supervisor and via the Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Research Assistantships (RA)
As paid research assistants, graduate students assist their supervisor or other researchers in conducting high-level research, which often contributes to the student’s thesis. RAs are typically funded by the supervisor’s external grants, contracts, and sometimes, other sources of funding.
UBC Awards
The College of Graduate Studies administers merit-based graduate awards at the Okanagan campus. The College manages a number of award competitions each year and administers payment of all internal awards and selected external awards.
External Awards
All prospective graduate students (Domestic and International) should explore and apply for external awards and fellowships, including awards offered by Canada’s three research councils: CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.
Graduate scholarships and awards may also be available from foundations, private companies or foreign governments (check with your country’s education authority).
Admission and Applying
Applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors before starting their application. Admission to the program requires the support of a faculty supervisor, as well as meeting program-specific criteria for admission requirements.
Admission Requirements
A complete application package will contain:
Online application and application fee
Unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended are required for the application package, however, if admitted, students are required to submit official transcripts to the College of Graduate Studies.
English language test (for non-native speakers of English)
CV or resumé
Two letters of reference (applicants may submit the online application form at any time during the call for applications – doing so triggers the invitation to referees – and continue to upload supporting documents until the deadline.)
Please provide one example of your scholarly writing, such as a term paper or a substantial scholarly paper AND/OR submit electronic portfolio of artistic work (3-5 samples of artistic production and/or links to digital work).
How to Apply
Applying takes time. Students are advised to start the application process two months in advance of the application deadline.
For full consideration, students should submit all application materials by the following deadlines:
Intake
Application Deadline
Domestic applicants
September
January 15
International applicants
September
January 15
Applicants who wish to enter the program in the second semester of the academic year or in the summer semester should consult with the theme coordinator to determine if accommodation is possible.
At UBC Okanagan, you gain all the benefits of attending a globally ranked, top 5%
university while studying in a close-knit learning community. 50% of graduates,
from all across the globe, choose to stay in the region.
A diverse natural region with sandy beaches, beautiful farms, vineyards,
orchards and
snow-capped mountains, the
Okanagan is an inspirational landscape perfect for those seeking leisure or
outdoor
adventure.
UBC's Okanagan campus borders the dynamic city of Kelowna, a hub of economic
development with a population of
more than 150,000 people— the fourth fastest-growing population in
Canada.
