West Allegheny High School students will trade the books for virtual reality headsets as part of a new collaboration with Chatham University.
Chatham and West Allegheny will launch a dual enrollment program in virtual reality and immersive design fields next fall.
The program will allow West Allegheny students to take immersive media courses at their high school, said Brian Dwyer, director of undergraduate admission and recruitment at Chatham. Upon completion of each course, students will earn three college credits from Chatham.
The immersive media program covers a broad range of design and technology, said Hunter Dyar, immersive media professor at Chatham.
Students learn about virtual and augmented reality technology, 3-D modeling, game development engines, writing and design thinking.
“We take a human-centered design approach to the intersection of art and technology,” Dyar said.
Careers in immersive media are expanding, Dyar said. Jobs include roles in simulation and training, real-time film and video, live music and theater and video game development.
“This major was created in 2019 in response to conversations with the industry of, ‘We need people who are better able to solve new problems with new technology, and better able to figure out how to solve problems with technology that we’re still inventing,’” Dyar said.
Dual enrollment classes will be taught by a West Allegheny teacher using materials created by Chatham faculty. For West Allegheny students, the cost for a three-credit class is $250, Dwyer said.
“You’re essentially getting three college credits at less than a third of the price,” Dwyer said.
Students have the potential to earn up to 12 credits, between the two Chatham courses, and two Advanced Placement computer science courses. Credits earned in the program are transferable to Chatham.
Chatham offers dual enrollment with a number of high schools, Dwyer said, but West Allegheny is the first for the immersive reality program. West Allegheny school officials did not respond to a request for comment.
“Students think, ‘I can do this. I can not only major in this, but I can make a career out of this, I can make a life out of this,’” Dwyer said. “That’s something where we really value how students come in and shape themselves in that way.”