Idzik Computing and Digital Technologies Minor

Why pursue a Computing and Digital Technologies minor?

The Idzik Computing and Digital Technologies (CDT) minor is a blended program cutting across departments in the College of Arts & Letters and partnering with the College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science & Engineering. In this innovative interdisciplinary minor, you will take CDT courses in both colleges to enhance your technical skills and increase your understanding of the ways in which technology can contribute to both personal and professional life.

CDT will enrich your liberal arts education, broaden your perspectives, and give you skills and experience that prospective employers will value tremendously.

“Coding, editing video, design — it really is just the tip of the iceberg. What’s below the tip of the iceberg is participation, critical thinking, and being able to collaborate. You really need to be a well-rounded, Renaissance, Internet-era kind of person.”

Program tracks:

The CDT elective courses are organized into four categories reflecting the diversity of disciplines within the College of Arts and Letters along with areas of technology expertise that are attractive to potential employers. Specialization in a track is not required, but may help you gain depth by taking all of your elective courses in a single track. Please consult with your advisor about which approach best fits your goals.

User Interface and Experience

Widely adopted and effective technologies address users' needs in ways that meet their goals and resonate with their consumer identities. The user interface and experience track allows you to focus on how technology systems should be designed to enhance and maximize the user experience, align design elements with desired outcomes, and conduct research to ensure success.

Cyber Safety and Security 

The rapid pace of technology change has upended legal practices established for a pre-digital world, created financial and personal dangers across the population, and put organizations in a state of near-constant threat. The cyber safety and security track helps prepare you for this changing landscape by addressing the vulnerabilities, threats, protections, investigative processes, and legalities associated with constantly evolving technology ecosystems.

Digital Arts & Humanities

Creating and using technology is a uniquely human endeavor. New technological tools offer new possibilities for creative practice and critical engagement with visual culture, sound, and text. This track helps you expand your range of tools for artistic and humanistic research through the use of digital media and fosters your exploration of the ways in which technology impacts a wide range of disciplines.    

Technology Development and Management

Technology development is a team sport, requiring the coordination of a broad range of specialties and perspectives. The technology development and management track allows you to focus on the ways in which technology solutions are conceptualized, developed, managed, and maintained.

Admissions Process

Arts & Letters Students

Students enrolled in, or declared for, the College of Arts and Letters are admitted following the completion of an advising meeting with the program director that can be scheduled here or by contacting cdt@nd.edu.

Students from other colleges

Limited resources and high student demand requires yearly application-based admission of non-Arts & Letters students contingent on current program size and resource availability.  

How to Apply

Interested students should consult with their academic advisors and complete the online application form. Applications for program enrollment in the Fall semester should be submitted no later than the last Friday before the preceding Spring Break. Application decisions will be communicated before the pre-registration process begins. Considerations that will influence a decision to admit a non-AL applicant to CDT will include factors such as the applicant's current college and program of study, the case made in the application for how CDT complements a student's major(s) and career goals, as well as the quality of the students performance record thus far at Notre Dame.  The application process is competitive and admission cannot be guaranteed.

Spring 2023 Application Deadline: Friday, March 10th, at 5 p.m. EST.

 

How to Enroll in CDT Classes

Students already in the program, who want to enroll in classes with no open CDT slots can put their names on the The Fall 2023 Approval and Waitlist Request Form.

Students should note that it may be possible to enroll in certain CDT classes even without being a program student. If seats remain in those classes late in the registration cycle after CDT students have registered, seats may be opened to those on this waiting list. While preference is given to current CDT students on the list, in some cases non-CDT students may be granted permission to enroll.  If you have any questions, please email the program staff at cdt@nd.edu.