phd in virtual reality

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

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Be The Pioneer: Immerse Yourself in the Fundamentals of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR)

The benefits associated with XR technologies for industry and for society are too great to ignore. Imagination and technology combine to create mixed reality experiences that change the way we communicate, learn, play, and work. Over the next decade, every industry will adopt aspects from this suite of immersive technologies — notably retail/ecommerce, education, IT, entertainment, manufacturing, and healthcare. Now it’s your turn.

The Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality program from MIT xPRO provides a foundational understanding and conversational fluency in the principles of XR technologies, an umbrella term that includes AR, VR, and MR. Over the course of eight weeks, you will:

Acquire the essential vocabulary and knowledge of XR concepts to communicate meaningfully with different stakeholders.

Gain introductory practical experience with XR system development and better understand how to generate XR system development ideas and communicate with developers.

Expand your knowledge of XR system elements, including design principles, approaches, and processes, taking into account users’ needs and values.

Apply XR concepts and design principles to create a high-fidelity XR prototype.

Ensure your technologies are inclusive and designed to promote social good.

Explore the broader implications of XR technologies, including the new opportunities they provide, enabling you to make recommendations to stakeholders, clients, and other key audiences.

Drawing on faculty expertise, case studies, and peer interactions, you will develop a deeper understanding of XR system elements, including design principles, approaches, and processes, learning to consider users’ needs and values in XR design to create XR prototypes.

Who Is This Program For?

This eight-week program is ideal for seasoned professionals who want to expand their capabilities and explore the rapidly growing field of XR technologies.

Design Professionals: UX, UI, and XR designers seeking to expand their capabilities to include a technical understanding of how to integrate visual design elements, user needs, values, and considerations of social impact into the design and development of XR systems for their organization or client.

Developers: Unity developers, app developers, and 3D developers focused on VR/AR apps and experiences seeking to expand their technical knowledge of XR technologies and understand their wide range of practical applications and unique development requirements.

Technology Adopters: Professionals who are interested in the application of XR technologies to improve the customer experience and/or to reduce costs, time to market, and learning curves.

Prior knowledge of Unity, C++, and C# programming languages are helpful, but not mandatory.

*Participants must be 18 or above to apply for this program.

Key Takeaways

Over the course of this eight-week program, you will learn the principles of designing effective and engaging XR experiences that are inclusive and promote social good. Specifically, you will:

Gain introductory and practical experience with XR system development to better understand how to generate XR system development ideas and communicate with developers.

Expand your knowledge of XR system elements, including design principles, approaches, and processes, considering user needs and values.

Ensure that your technologies are inclusive and designed to promote social good.

Explore the broader implications of XR technologies, including the new opportunities they provide, to make recommendations to stakeholders, clients, and other key audiences.

Program Topics

Program highlights.

Explore applications for different immersive technologies with an industry thought leader, MIT Professor and Director of the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality, D. Fox Harrell.

Get access to exclusive interviews with industry pioneers in digital storytelling, UX design, multimedia art, and product innovation.

Gain practical experience by defining, visualizing, and pitching your XR game concept, punctuated by building a prototype.

Learn to apply the principles of AR and VR with Unity and Qlone.

Accelerate your professional development through personalized feedback, active support, and network development.

Participate in live weekly office hours with learning facilitators.

Earn a verified digital certificate and four Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from MIT xPRO.

System and Applications Requirements

To experience VR apps, you will need to purchase a VR headset, such as a Merge VR Headset or Google Cardboard VR Headset (compatible with most iOS and Android smartphones. Preferred; phones from 123mm to 156mm).

To experience VR/AR apps, your mobile phone must have an iPhone Operating System 11 or latest (iOS) or Android Operating System (OS) Oreo or latest; with a camera.

Other headsets that may be used to experience VR/AR include HTC Vive, Oculus Go, Meta Quest, Sony PlayStation VR, and BOBOVR.

In addition, as you progress through the program, you will need to install trial and/or free software required for making XR components, such as Unity Personal and Qlone. For example, to view the 360-degree prototypes you will make in Module 3, you will need to download the VR Media Player for Android or the VR Player for iPhone users.

Program Faculty

Professor of Digital Media & Artificial Intelligence, Comparative Studies Program and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL); Director of the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality

Professor D. Fox Harrell’s research focuses on pioneering new forms of computational media, such as interactive narrative technologies, virtual and augmented reality systems, ...

Guest Speakers

Co-Founder and Producer, Atlas V

Antoine is a French producer with 15 years of experience creating immersive works, transmedia documentaries, short films, music videos, and high-end commercials. His company s...

Director of Product and Innovation at Arrow Electronics | Digital SaaS; Research Affiliate at MIT

An inventor, engineer, and entrepreneur at heart, Vik desires to positively change how we interact using technology. He leads engineering teams through the full product journe...

Former Head of Digital Experiences, wow

Allison Crank is a UX designer and researcher exploring the intersection of art, technology, and architecture. Currently, she works as a freelance UX designer for video games ...

Documentary Media Artist and Fulbright Research Fellow, Seoul Institute of the Arts

Andrea is an interdisciplinary researcher and multimedia artist based in Los Angeles. Her work explores avatar embodiment, virtual idols, and cultural theory, with a focus on ...

Featured Learner Testimonials

About mit xpro.

MIT xPRO's online learning programs leverage vetted content from world-renowned experts to make learning accessible anytime, anywhere. Designed using cutting-edge research in the neuroscience of learning, MIT xPRO programs are helping professionals build their skills on the job. To explore the full catalog of MIT xPRO courses and programs, visit  xpro.mit.edu .

About the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality

The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality pioneers innovative experiences using technologies of virtuality. Such technologies, ranging from Virtual Reality (VR) to Cinematic Reality (CR) and beyond, all use computing to construct imaginative experiences that overlay our physical world. It is important to create and deploy such technologies effectively as they are now used every day to communicate, express, learn, play, and work. Professor Harrell is Director of the Center for Advanced Virtuality and faculty director of the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality.

Certificate

Get recognized. Upon successful completion of this program, MIT xPRO grants a certificate of completion to participants and four Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This program is graded as a pass or fail; participants must receive 75% to pass and obtain the certificate of completion.

Note: After successful completion of the program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed, at no additional cost, in the name you used when registering for the program. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of MIT.

Registration for this program is done through Emeritus. You can contact us at [email protected]

Financing Options

Climb Credit*

We offer financing options with our partner, Climb Credit*.  Click here to learn more .

*Applicable for US Residents

Flexible Payment Options For All

Flexible payment options allow you to pay the program fee in installments.  Click here to see payment schedule .

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at  [email protected]  or  Schedule a call  with one of our Program Advisors or call us at  +1 401 443 9591  (US) /  + 44 189 236 2347  (UK) /  +65 3129 7174  (SG)

Early Registrations Are Encouraged. Seats Fill Up Quickly!

Flexible payment options available. View payment plans

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Fully Funded PhD Scholarship: Gambling on 5G: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Gambling Disorders

simulations enable virtual reality environments (VREs) that utilize low-latency video streaming, multi-user sessions, and real-time data collection. These advancements promise a revolution in how CBT can be

2025 RTP round - Virtual reality -based exposure therapy for spider phobia: Exploring the mechanisms that contribute to fear reduction.

recently, psychologists have used virtual - reality based environments to effectively deliver exposure therapy for specific fears with some evidence demonstrating its efficacy for spider phobia. Virtual

PhD Position (f/m/d) | Partners in Crime: Understanding Peer Offending through Virtual Reality

-Louis van Gelder) is seeking to recruit a PhD Position (f/m/d) – Partners in Crime: Understanding Peer Offending through Virtual Reality . Your profile We are looking for an experimental behavioral

PhD Position (f/m/d)| Developing and Testing Crime Reduction Interventions in Public Space using Virtual Reality

-Louis van Gelder) is offering a PhD Position (f/m/d) – Developing and Testing Crime Reduction Interventions in Public Space using Virtual Reality . Your profile We are seeking to recruit a PhD student with

PhD Scholarship in Using Virtual Reality to Better Understand Evacuation Behaviour in Bushfires

Seeking a motivated PhD student on this multidisciplinary research project to understand evacuation behaviour during bushfires using virtual reality technology. The PhD student would be funded by

PhD position on the project "Your place is the show” (1.0 FTE)

Fully funded PhD position in Media Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen on the project “Your place is the show”: A multi-actor analysis of platformised reality TV-induced tourism

EPSRC PhD Studentship: Immersive Augmented Reality (AR) Experience Design to Improve Mental Health and Reduce Depression for NHS Staff and Patients

“Immersive Augmented Reality (AR) experience design to improve mental health and reduce depression for NHS staff and patients”. Summary of project This proposed research focuses on how augmented reality (AR

of Groningen on the project “Your place is the show”: A multi-actor analysis of platformised reality TV-induced tourism in Asia. This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an international

PhD Position Technology Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship with a focus on Immersive Virtual and Augmented Technology and Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing). The Delft Centre for Entrepreneurship, in the Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management

Fully Funded Swansea University PhD Scholarship: Continuous Self-monitoring of Simulated Robot Motion for Intent Expression

Funding providers: Swansea University Subject areas: Intelligent Robotics and Virtual Reality Project description: When robots move, human interaction partners and observers ascribe an intention

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Augmenting and mediating human experience, interaction, and perception with sensor networks

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Paul Liang joins MIT Media Lab Media Arts + Science Program + EECS/Schwarzman College of Computing as Asst. Professor, AI + Human Experience

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Handheld Mapping of Specular Surfaces using Consumer-grade Flash Lidar.

Tsung-Han Lin, Connor Henley, Siddharth Somasundaram, Akshat Dave, Moshe Laifenfeld, and Ramesh Raskar. Handheld mapping of specular surfaces using consumer-grade flash lidar. In IEEE International Conference on Computational Photography (ICCP), 2024.

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Essence Wearables: Biometric Olfactory Interfaces for Day and Night

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Extending expression, learning, and health through innovations in musical composition, performance, and participation

KnitworkVR is an immersive virtual experience designed to simulate the Living Knitwork Pavilion showcased at Burning Man, through the use o…

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Curiosity Unbounded Episode 4: Build your own superpower, then share it with the world

On Curiosity Unbounded, Professor Fadel Adib, head of the Signal Kinetics group, talks to MIT President Sally Kornbluth about his work.

How x-ray vision is becoming a reality

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Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen: Curing cancer and human telepathy

Media Lab alum and former professor Mary Lou Jepsen talks to Danielle Newnham about her journey and inspirations.

Detecting and Mapping Transparent or Mirror-like Surfaces with Lidar

Although lidar is widely used for mapping the 3D geometry of surfaces, the technology has historically been challenged by specular, or mirr…

Interplanetary Gastronomy

The  Interplanetary Gastronomy research  aims to address the unique challenges and opportunities associated with eating in s…

Tasting Menu in Zero G

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Molecular Gastronomy in Zero G

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Mental Machine: Labour in the Self Economy

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Battery-free wireless underwater camera

More than 95% of the ocean has never been observed by humans, even though the ocean plays the largest role in the world's climate system, h…

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Deep Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous UAVs (AUAVs)

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Domain Randomization & Synthetic Data Generation for AUAVs - Reducing Perceptual Uncertainty of Sim2Real Navigation

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Fiducial Marker-Based Navigation for Autonomous UAVs (AUAVs)

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Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Pilot Simulator

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Oceans Internet of Things

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Virtual reality system lets you stop and smell the roses

Media Lab alum Judith Amores talks to Scientific American about a lightweight, wireless interface to deliver scents to VR users.

New research from the Signal Kinetics research group is featured on "Science Without the Gobbledygook"

Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder discusses X-AR, the new research from the Media Lab’s Signal Kinetics group.

MIT researchers develop augmented reality headset to help users see hidden objects

Using augmented reality, the X-AR system developed by the Signal Kinetics research group can guide users to find hidden objects.

Towards a Congruent Hybrid Reality without Experiential Artifacts

​Situated VR: Towards a Congruent Hybrid RealityThe vision of Extended Reality (XR) systems is living in a hybrid reality or "Metaverse" wh…

Adaptive Virtual Neuroarchitecture

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Augmented reality headset enables users to see hidden objects

The device could help workers locate objects for fulfilling e-commerce orders or identify parts for assembling products.

Transforming data into knowledge

The One Earth Model: Geographic interoperability in the real-world metaverse

Michael Naimark considers the potential of the "real-world metaverse," which combines virtual experiences with specific physical places.

Unveiling the Invisible

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Brelyon secures $15 million for Ultra Reality immersive technology

Media Lab spinoff Brelyon has raised $15 million in Series A financing to accelerate development of headset-free immersive displays.

ML Learning

Changing storytelling, communication, and everyday life through sensing, understanding, and new interface technologies

Bird: a 3D Cursor for 3D Interaction in Virtual Reality

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EmotionalBeasts

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Body-Borne Reality: Risky Disembodiment in VR

Ai-generated characters are here, they’re just not evenly distributed.

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Hacking Reality

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Living Observatory: Sensor networks for documenting and experiencing ecology

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E-maki: XR-enabled Scroll for Interactive Museum Artifacts

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The Interplanetary Cookbook

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Increasing Embodiment for Desktop-Based Participants in Mixed Desktop and Immersive Collaborative Virtual Environments

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Battery-Free Underwater GPS

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Virtual Reality and HCI

Virtual Reality (VR) is a multidisciplinary area of research aimed at interactive computer-mediated immersive simulations of environments or experiences typically involving sight, sound, and touch. Simulations involving a blending of real and virtual objects is often referred to as Augmented Reality (AR). Research in VR/AR encompasses a wide range of fundamental topics, including computer graphics, multi-modal systems (e.g., displays, tracking, haptics, robotics), 3D interaction, illusions of presence/tele-presence, and human factors. One of our current foci is on human-centered experiences involving avatars and virtual humans for training teachers, healthcare practitioners, and military personnel.

Virtual Reality and HCI Faculty

Interactive Systems and User Experience Lab Synthetic Reality Lab Socio-Technical Interaction Research Lab User Experience Academy

THIRTEEN RESEARCH AREAS. UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES.

Research in Computer Science spans a wide range of topics. At UCF, research in Computer Science emphasizes:

• Innovative uses for computation
• Studies of issues surrounding computation
• Investigations into the nature of computation

Stanford Virtual Reality Design Lab @ CCRMA

Our research questions include: • What does it mean to design artfully in the medium? • What are VR's artistic, philosophical, humanistic implications? • How might we design virtual environments that encourage play, stillness, and calm? • What new experiences can we craft for artful, interactive, multi-modal storytelling? • How to design new tools for expressive VR? (see: Chunity ) • What new musical instruments and interactions are possible? • What does it mean to perform in virtual reality? • How might we play music socially in a virtual space? What design principles can we bring to bear?-->

Tools •  Chunity : the ChucK music programming language in the Unity game engine

Join us •  VR Community mailing list for events, software releases, discussions

Also check our our friends around Stanford: •  VHIL : Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab •  Stanford XR : students-run XR design organization

Ge Wang is an Associate Professor at Stanford/CCRMA, the designer of the ChucK music programming language, director of the Stanford Laptop Orchestra, Co-founder of Smule, designer of Ocarina and Magic Piano for mobile phones, a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, and the author of Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime , a (comic) book about the craft, aesthetics, and ethics of shaping technology. Ge leads the Music.Computing.Design research group at CCRMA.

Researchers

Jack Atherton is a Ph.D. student at CCRMA studying immersive musical environments and programming languages in VR. His work hopes to help more people make musical art in informal contexts as a means of enriching their lives. He uses the lenses of folk art, artful design, human flourishing, and audio-first virtual realities to figure out what to do next!

Kunwoo Kim is a CCRMA Ph.D. student, researching artful design in various mediums, including the designing of aesthetic lenses of human values in the medium of VR. His previous works— Music and Evolution , MIDI.CITI , rU01 , rU10 , and The Fisherman —express human qualities in the form of real-time audiovisual interactions. He aspires to expand his design into social, philosophic, and ethical dimensions of virtual reality, and suggest future directions and artful methods of imbuing human nature and music into this immersive medium.

Kathleen Yuan is a master's student at CCRMA designing participative VR music experiences to encourage human flourishing through reflecting on our individual and collective human conditions. Kathleen is currently contemplating how to create virtual spaces for asynchronous group improvisation, capture rich social histories in VR, help people cultivate a sense of agency and ownership in shared creative work, and befriend as many cats as possible.

Marise van Zyl is a Ph.D. student at CCRMA who is slowly making her way into the world of VR. She is interested in bridging physical distance through immersive environments and creating platforms for engaging in rich social interactions. She just wants to spread some love and music in the world!

Julia Mills is a master’s student at CCMRA, interested in the intersection between VR experiences and algorithmic composition tools. Her work tends to focus on the surreal and our relationship to the natural world. Currently, her research is centered around answering the question “Why VR?” and exploring conscientious approaches to this new medium.

Andrew Zhu Aday is a master's student at CCRMA interested in exploring the potential of VR as an educational tool and creative medium for new musical experiences. His current work focuses on creating a VR environment where users can construct and perform harmonic lattices as a way of learning about functional harmony. Looking forward, he hopes to continue experimenting with novel audiovisual design patterns and interactions.

Marina Cottrell is a master's student at CCRMA, and is interested in how machine learning can be used to better create music and understand how we as humans interact with it. Through her work on the Facebook Audio team, she has also become interested in 360 audio and the nuances of sound in 3D space. Her previous VR works have explored her interest in musical gaming, but she is interested in branching out and creating other ways of experiencing music through VR. She has a dog Lola who is learning to keep her distance when Marina has a Vive on her face.

Charles Foster is a master's student at CCRMA, studying design in the context of interactive sound. He works to bring elements of the strange, the uncanny, and the sublime—often encountered in the "real world"—into his electronic and virtual creations. Within the VR Design lab, he has been experimenting with the design of virtual sacred spaces: environments meant to evoke a sense of transcendence and stillness. His work-in-progress work, Form , is a small audio-visuo-tacti-temporal demo of this sort of space. He hopes that when the world of virtual and augmented reality arrives, we remember to bring such places with us.

Mark Sabini is a coterm in Computer Science, interested in exploring the aesthetics of VR group performance. Many of his previous works, such as MandalaBox and Unblind , draw on his fascination with world cultures and music. Regardless of the medium or project, he always aspires to find ways to make things beautiful, whatever that may mean.

Trijeet Mukhopadhyay is a graduate student at Stanford HCI, working in the intersection of design, art, and technology. He is interested in designing tools for creative expression, and has been drawn to VR to explore its nascent design space and multisensorial affordances.

Many thanks to...

Matt Wright for his help to set up the space and hardware. Nette Worthey for facilitaing many equipment orders, and for general good cheer. Stanford Arts for their support and connecting groups interested in VR research at Stanford and beyond. The CCRMA community!

VR Design Lab Showcase 2022

Friday, may 13th 2022, vr design lab demo day 2021, thursday, may 27th 2021, 10:00am pacific, vr design lab demo day 2019, tuesday, june 11th, 2019, vr design lab demo day 2018, friday, december 14, 2018.

Blending imagination with the physical world through advancing the art and engineering of XR technologies.

The mit center for advanced virtuality, the mit center for advanced virtuality — virtuality for short — pioneers innovation with technologies of virtuality including xr (vr, ar, mr, etc.), videogames, social media, and new forms unanticipated by these platforms..

These technologies are important, as nearly everyone uses virtual identities through platforms such as social media profiles, e- commerce accounts, or avatars in video games. More importantly, these platforms are increasingly interconnected. MIT Virtuality takes a thoughtful approach to such technologies that enable us to communicate, express, play, and work virtually. We believe that virtuality is more than just a particular type of head-mounted interface. It refers experiences that are real, but not primarily physical. By advancing the state of computer-based virtuality systems (virtual reality, augmented reality, and beyond), MIT Virtuality hopes to better serving human needs through artful innovation. Our focus is the array of computationally enabled experiences in which we explore aspects of our selves, environments, and societies imaginatively constructed atop our physical world.

The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality supports designing, developing, and researching, technologies of virtuality.

The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality pioneers innovative experiences using technologies of virtuality. Such technologies, ranging from Virtual Reality (VR) to Cinematic Reality (CR) and beyond, all use computing to construct imaginative experiences atop our physical world. It is crucially important to create and deploy such technologies effectively since they are now used every day to communicate, express, learn, play, and work.

The Center for Advanced Virtuality has several functions supporting its mission. Its production function serves as both a studio and a laboratory to support both creative projects and research endeavors. The studio brings faculty together with professionals to innovate new genres, aesthetics, and conventions for using technologies of virtuality. Its laboratory investigates the impacts of these technologies, focused on learning, simulation, and cognition. Its enabling function brings together students, experts, and resources to further the intellectual and creative capacity of work involving technologies of virtuality across MIT. Taken together, these functions advance the state of the art for virtuality research and development with a cutting-edge humanistic ethos that considers the social and ethical impacts of technologies as we invent them.

Creation of new genres, aesthetics, and conventions in virtuality.

Research to understand effective new models of virtuality and to understand its critical learning, social and ethical effects.

Innovation to foster culturally and economically impactful outcomes.

Through its Studio, Lab, Salon, and Hub (see diagram below) The Center for Advanced Virtuality advances the making, researching, sharing, and enablement, of computer-based virtuality systems and aims to better serve human needs through artful virtual innovation.

There are four central functions of the center:

Content creation [virtuality innovation studio].

The studio supports XR Arts Production focused on expression, innovation, and professional quality XR development.

Social Impact and Learning Research [Critical XR Pedagogy Lab]

The lab supports research to assess the impacts of XR systems, focused on critical pedagogy, experiential learning, learning via simulation, and the cognition of XR experiences.

Capacity Building Events [XR Salon]

The salon supports visiting speakers, panels, and other events to further the intellectual and creative capacity of XR work across MIT.

Sharing Resources and Abilities [XR Hub]

The hub offers coordination of student involvement in XR projects, physical space, and equipment for XR production and research.

Faculty & Researchers

Professor D. Fox Harrell, Ph.D., Founding Director; Studio Head & Principal Investigator Fox Harrell is a researcher exploring the relationship between imaginative cognition and computation. His research involves developing new forms of computational narrative, gaming, social media, and related digital media based in computer science, cognitive science, and digital media arts. The National Science Foundation has recognized Harrell with an NSF CAREER Award for his project “Computing for Advanced Identity Representation.” Harrell holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego. His other degrees include a Master’s degree in Interactive Telecommunication from New York University, and a B.F.A. in Art, B.S. in Logic and Computation (each with highest honors), and minor in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He has worked as an interactive television producer and as a game designer. His recent book is Phantasmal Media: An Approach to Imagination, Computation, and Expression (MIT Press, 2013).

Caglar Yildirim, Ph.D., Research Scientist Caglar Yildirim is a human-computer interaction (HCI) researcher and holds a PhD in HCI from Iowa State University. His research is in the areas of HCI, immersive environments, and applied machine learning, striving to apply HCI principles to the design, development, and evaluation of 3D interfaces to support and improve human interactions with virtual/augmented/mixed reality environments. Caglar is also a professor and has taught HCI, VR/AR development, data science, and game programming courses at Northeastern University, State University of New York at Oswego, and Iowa State University.

Tyler Carroll, Administrative Assistant

Researchers

Research assistants, affiliates & collaborators.

Cecil Brown, Researcher and Lecturer, Stanford Cecil Brown’s undergraduate education was at Columbia University in Comparative Lit (German and French). He has a M.A in English Literature from the University of Chicago; and a PhD in Folklore, African American Literature, and Narrative Theory from UC Berkeley. He is a novelist and folklorist. He directed the first hip-hop conference in 2002 at U C Berkeley. He co-produced the first conference on the cell phone (“Cell Phone Justice”) and “Swinging and Flowing the Digital Divide” both sponsored by CITRIS (the Center for Information Technology Research for in The Interest of Society).

Zephyr Frank, Professor of Latin American History, Stanford Zephyr Frank is Professor of History and the Director of the Program on Urban Studies. He was also the founding Director of the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) 2011-16. His research interests focus on Brazilian social and cultural history, the study of wealth and inequality, and the digital humanities.

Eric Klopfer,  Professor, MIT Eric   Klopfer  is a  Professor  and Director of the  Scheller  Teacher Education Program and The Education Arcade at MIT. He is also a co-faculty director for MIT’s J-WEL World Education Lab. His work uses a Design Based Research methodology to span the educational technology ecosystem, from design and development of new technologies to professional development and implementation. Much of  Klopfer ‘s research has focused on computer games and simulations for building understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Much of his research centers on the affordances of new technologies including AR, VR and mobile, and how those can be applied today.  Klopfer  is also the Co-founder and past President of the non-profit: Learning Games Network.

Sercan Sengun,  Research Affiliate Dr. Sercan Sengun is a researcher, teacher, and game designer, exploring phenomena at the intersections of video game studies, gamer communities, game design, cultural informatics, virtual identities, and interactive narratives. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Creative Technologies at Illinois State University. In the past, he conducted research as a part of MIT CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), MIT ICE Lab (Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory), and Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s QCRI (Qatar Computing Research Institute), and taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Northeastern University, Bahcesehir University, and Istanbul Bilgi University.

Eyup Kucuk, Research Affiliate Eyup E. Kucuk has a background in philosophy and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from Bogazici University. His previous studies focused on the transformation of the idea of human nature throughout the history of thought. He now focuses on the nature of experience in virtual environments and its effect on our perception, cognition, and values. His main interests include VR/AI Ethics, philosophy of cognitive science, phenomenology, Kant’s critical philosophy, history of philosophy, and philosophy of mind/consciousness.​

Pakinam Amer, Research Affiliate Pakinam Amer is an award-winning journalist, science writer and a virtual reality and emerging technology researcher. She’s also a graduate of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT. Previously, she was the chief editor of  Nature Middle East , the regional copy of  Nature . Pakinam has an MA in Investigative Journalism from City, University of London. She has a strong passion for storytelling, game design, comics, and long-form narratives .

Vik Parthiban, Research Affiliate Vik Parth is passionate about teams and technologies that shape how people interact with digital information and the physical world. He is currently the Director of Product and Innovation at Arrow Electronics. He graduated from MIT where he worked on holographic interfaces and hardware to push AR/VR technology forward at the Media Lab. He also worked at Magic Leap in the Advanced Photonics division to develop the first consumer pair of Mixed Reality wearable computers. An inventor, engineer, and entrepreneur at heart, Vik desires to positively change how we interact and use technology.

Megan Prakash, Research Affiliate, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)  Megan Prakash is an M.Eng. student in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at MIT and works as a Research Affiliate in the Imagination, Computation, and Expressions (ICE) Lab within the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Megan graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from MIT in 2018. She previously worked at Akamai Technologies as a security platform engineer developing planetary-scale distributed systems. Currently, her interests include researching virtuality for museum and informal learning environments. She intends to create novel virtual experiences that can represent culture, stimulate curiosity, and enable global empathy.

Alumni & Past Student Affiliates

Eduard De Vidal i Flores, Visiting Undergraduate Research Assistant

JJ Otto-Hawke, MS, Comparative Media Studies, Alum

Danielle Olson, Ph.D, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Alum

Pablo Jose Ortiz-Lampier, Ph.D, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Alum

Runjia Tian, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Student Affiliate

Minzi Long, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Student Affiliate

Angela Wang, Wellesley College, Student Affiliate

Magdalena Price, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Student Affiliate

Advisory Groups

Advisory council.

Mark Loughridge is the Director of the CASE Center for Entrepreneurship at Punahou School . He was also a co-founder of Foundation 9 Entertainment (F9E), which grew to be the largest independent game developer in the world. During his 11+ years in growing this business, Mr. Loughridge oversaw the creative direction of the company, spearheaded new product development, and provided leadership on strategic planning. Mr. Loughridge sold his stake in 2006 and now invests in a variety of projects, with a particular interest in educational innovations and technologies that foster creativity.

Errol Arkilic is a Founder of M34 Capital . M34 is an investment company that focuses on seed and early-stage projects being spun out of academic and corporate research labs.. M34 focuses on turning science projects into companies and does so across a broad spectrum of technologies and geographies. He is also a founder of USRCA.org, a non-profit with a focus on entrepreneur education for science and engineering graduates. Previously, Errol was the founding and lead program director for the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps program. He led the I-Corps effort from its inception until July 2013. Prior to this, he was the lead software and services Program Director for the NSF SBIR program. Before his government service, Errol was founder and CEO at StrataGent Lifesciences (Acquired by Corium International: CORI) and Manager of Product Engineering at Redwood Microsystems. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Aero/Astro Engineering from MIT.

ADVISORY BOARD

Arvel Chappell III, Vice President, Emerging Technology, Warner Bros

John Jennings, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, U.C. Riverside

Kamal Sinclair, Director, Sundance New Frontiers Lab

Karim Ben Khelifa, VR Director

Lisa Caruso, Head of U.S. Content, Population Media Center

Mahyad Tousi, CEO, Boomgen Studios

MIT STEERING COMMITTEE

Vladimir Bulović, Founding Director of MIT.nano, Professor of Electrical Engineering, Fariborz Maseeh Chair in Emerging Technology

Joe Checkelsky, Assistant Professor of Physics

Ekene Ijeoma, Assistant Professor and Director of Poetic Justice at MIT Media Lab, Director of Studio Ijeoma

Leila W. Kinney, Executive Director of Arts Initiatives, MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)

Nick Montfort,  Professor of Digital Media, Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Danielle Wood, Assistant Professor, Program in Media Arts and Sciences

The studio supports XR Arts Production focused topics including on creative expression, social impact, and cultural innovation.

“the enemy” by visiting artist karim ben khelifa.

“The Enemy” is a groundbreaking interactive Virtual Reality (VR) exhibition and immersive experience by acclaimed photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa. The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality director, Professor Fox Harrell, was the Human-Computer Interaction Producer on the project. The project immerses participants in discussions about war and humanity by using pioneering VR technology to present interviews with soldiers on opposite sides of conflicts in Israel and Palestine, The Congo, and El Salvador. Using virtual-reality headsets, participants encounter real, 360-degree imaging and recordings of combatants on opposite sides of international conflicts who were interviewed by Ben Khelifa for the project. In their own words, the combatants offer personal perspectives on war, their motivations, suffering, freedom, and the future.

The Noir Initiative The Narrative, Orality, and Improvisation, Research (NOIR) Initiative

The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality’s NOIR Initiative will focus on the research and practice of digital improvisation, phantasmal media, and cross-cultural forms of expression. An important aim is on designing and engineering experiences that convey the characteristics of oral communication forms of expression through information and communication technologies.

Key commitments include:

• Using vernacular language for free expression and against oppression
• Decolonization of media practices (grounding them in diverse cultural origins)
• Recognizing value in ephemeral, transitory media (such as everyday spoken language)
• The importance of live performance
• Integrative cultural systems, e.g., remediating vernacular cultural forms in computational environments
• Critical connoisseurship (high quality content that is also accessible)
• Speculative design (fiction plays a key role in innovation and meaning-making)
• Transdisciplinary scholarship and production

The lab supports XR Research, focused on topics including learning, cognition, and technical innovation.

Xr learning enriching virtual reality (vr) narratives with embodied and gestural interaction.

There is an increasing need for embodied and gestural interfaces for VR narratives. This research aims to develop theories and technologies to advance an understanding of embodied identity expression in virtual reality (VR) narratives through designing interfaces which use speech, gestural, and physiological and other inputs oriented to reflect the nuance of real-world human interaction.

Workplace Learning (Supported by J-WEL) Provoking Critical Reflection on Gender Discrimination with Chimeria: Grayscale

In late 2017, the media attention to this perpetual ill and the harrowing #metoo stories sparked us to share our own computational tale of fiction that we humbly hope can participate in this dialogue.

The computer as a medium offers a unique expressive palette for storytellers. With it, we can build models of crucial and moving issues in our world. Grayscale, an interactive narrative experience provokes players to reflect critically on sexism in the workplace, both overt & hostile and more subtle.

Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory

Passage home by danielle olson, project director; dr. d. fox harrell, thesis advisor; riana elyse anderson, committee member and collaborator.

Aspects of identity such as race and ethnicity which have significant impacts on how people experience the physical world seldom impact interactions implemented in virtual reality (VR) narratives. Even when race and ethnicity are taken into account, their impacts are often minimal.

This research investigates: (1) how racial socialization (RS) mediates how users experience emotion, perceive characters, themes, and events in VR narratives, (2) how social phenomena related to RS can be computationally modeled to facilitate meaningful storytelling on an individual and cultural level, and (3) how culturally-situated gestural interaction can be used to drive forward VR narratives.

The Education Arcade at MIT

Taleblazer – location-based augmented reality game play and creation by eric klopfer, professor and director of the scheller teacher education program and the education arcade at mit, collaborative learning environments in vr (clevr) by eric klopfer, professor and director of the scheller teacher education program and the education arcade at mit.

The Collaborative Learning Environments in Virtual Reality (CLEVR) team aims to develop conceptual understanding and scientific habits of mind through educational games. The Education Arcade is developing Cellverse, a collaborative, cross-platform game where players explore virtual cells, diagnose diseases, and select therapies.

Cellverse creates learning experiences that integrate knowledge, skills, and identity. Players learn about biology by asking “how should cells work, what’s wrong with this cell, and which therapy would address this disease?” They develop spatial skills by navigating the VR cell, and collaboration skills through working with a partner. Working together across different technologies and sources of information, players formulate hypotheses, collect evidence, evaluate and refine, thereby developing identities as scientists.

• Representing cells and their components authentically in commonly misrepresented aspects, such as size, shape, number, orientation, position.
• Making learning about science more like doing science and less like memorizing discrete facts – investigative, situated, experimental, and innovative
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Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Superurop 2020-2021 – advanced undergraduate research opportunities program, news & events.

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Submissions

Virtuality studio & laboratory: how we can help you.

The MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality supports producing work that innovates involving technologies of virtuality. Makers and researchers on campus may submit proposals to calls for projects. These works may be studio (expressive) projects or laboratory (research) projects.

Studio projects: primarily focus on innovating new genres, aesthetics, and conventions for using technologies of virtuality.

Lab projects: may focus on researching social impacts, learning, simulation, cognition involving new technologies, and may also involve inventing new technologies.

We also welcome projects that span both expressive and research aims.

Who can submit?

Anyone on campus may submit a project involving technologies of virtuality. If aligned with the Center’s aims, we shall feature the work on the site and support publicity and media outreach for the project.

The Production Process

Accepted proposals are produced in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Virtuality and paired with a production team at the Virtuality Studio or Lab. Typically, the Studio helps to cultivate the project’s expressive vision, professional production, and impact. Typically, the Lab helps to foster productive interdisciplinary research collaborations to further the research.

The Center also produces in-house projects within the Studio and Lab, supporting ongoing initiatives in innovation and research regarding technologies of virtuality. Some such projects are solicited by the Center that align with ongoing initiatives within the center.

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Mixed Reality Lab

Research Lead: David Nelson

The Mixed Reality Lab (MxR) was established at the University of California Institute for Creative Technologies in 2008, with the goal of exploring emerging human-machine interactions and coming up with innovative hardware, platform, and system solutions along the way.

The resulting research in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) pushed immersive technology out of the lab and introduced it to the public, directly impacting the development of high-end VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and inspiring the creation of low-cost VR headsets like Google Cardboard.

MxR has since broadened its focus to include Extended Reality User Interfaces & Experiences (XR UI/UX), Spatial Data Visualization, Adaptive HMI, Generative AI Content Creation, and Immersive Story-Based Learning. From training and operations, to education and entertainment, MxR continues to create substantial impact through its rapid prototyping ethos and thoughtful approach to human centered design.

“I view the spectrum of XR mediums as valuable tools within an expanding toolbox, to effectively address complex current and future challenges for the Department of Defense and society at scale; the art of storytelling emerges as a crucial element that gives these tools their power.”

– David Nelson, Director, MxR Lab

Search Rochester.edu

The fields of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are founded on three pillars, each of which represents a research strength of the University of Rochester:

• Fundamental science
• Core technology
• Novel applications

At Rochester, we also specialize in making connections across the disciplines. As a result, our VR/AR research initiatives unite more than 40 faculty and 16 departments and programs from across the entire institution working on a range of projects. Examples include faculty in:

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences who are researching action and visual perception in humans and machines and developing cognitive/brain training with VR technology
• Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology who are exploring self-regulation and social motivation using immersive, 360-degree films
• Digital Media Studies who are visualizing and analyzing cultural heritage sites digitally
• Computer Science  who are designing next-generation computer hardware and exploring human-computer interaction
• Electrical and Computer Engineering  who are studying spatial audio characterization and computer audition
• Chemical Engineering  who are creating computer simulations of molecules at the atomic level
• Medical Center , including the neuroscience and ophthalmology departments, who are advancing the science of vision correction, visual psychophysics, audio-visual integration, and using AR or VR technology for stroke rehabilitation and cognitive behavior therapy
• Eastman School of Music who are building virtual concert halls with spatial audio
• Warner School of Education  who are examining the role of AR and VR in higher education

Together, we are working toward establishing a Center for Augmented and Virtual Reality at the University of Rochester. 

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Find the right school for you

Error message, top 25 public augmented/virtual reality (ar/vr) schools in the u.s. – 2021 college rankings.

What are the top public AR/VR schools and colleges in the U.S. for 2021?

Our 2021 list -our first annual- of the Top 25 Public Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) School Programs in the US. 

For an explanation of ranking criteria,  click here .

University of Washington (UW) educates more than 54,000 students annually. Founded in 1861, UW is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast. The school, which has three campuses in Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma, houses 18 colleges and schools, including the College of Arts and Sciences, home of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

The Allen School, which introduced the world’s first augmented reality capstone course in 2016, offers a BS in Computer Science (CS), a Combined BS/MS in CS also known as the Fifth Year Master’s Program, a Professional Master’s (PMP) in CS, and a PhD in CS. The BS/MS enables current and recent Allen School undergraduate majors to earn both degrees in approximately five years. All programs benefit from the Allen School’s research and innovation in AR/VR as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Computer Interaction & Accessible Technology, Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Graphics, Vision, Animation & Game Science, and Ubiquitous Computing.

Course highlights include Advanced Topics in Human-Computer Interaction-HCI (Graphics & Virtual Reality), Artificial Intelligence (AI) I & II, AI-based Mobile Robotics, Computer Systems Architecture, Computational Fabrication, Interaction Programming, Advanced Topics in Digital Animation, Computational Complexity, Interactive Learning, and Neural Control of Movement: A Computational Perspective.

Students in all programs have the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team of faculty and peers in the UW Reality Lab . Launched in 2018 and housed in the Allen School, the Lab includes the Reality Studio, Reality Lab Incubator, and classes. In addition to advancing AR/VR research, Lab participants will work on projects in 3D computer vision and perception, object recognition, graphics, game science and education, distributed computing, stream processing, databases and computer architecture, and privacy and security.

Allen School CS graduates go on to work in the Arts, Education, Law, and many other areas.

The University of Maryland (UMD) is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland (USM), which consists of 12 institutions, three regional centers, and one system office. Established in 1856, UMD serves just over 40,700 students enrolled in 300+ academic programs in more than a dozen colleges and schools. Programs for aspiring AR/VR professionals are offered in the Colleges of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) and Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences (CMNS). Options include a BA or BS in Immersive Media Design and BS, MS, BS/MS, and PhD degrees in Computer Science with an AR/VR focus.

Immersive Media Design (IMD) students will learn to “code, create and collaborate using the latest digital tools and technologies,” says the school. Students may focus in Art or Computer Science to graduate with a BA from the College of ARHU or a BS from College of CMNS.

Housed in the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, the College of CMNS, Department of Computer Science, serves more than 3,400 students “with interests ranging from systems to programming languages, from algorithms to design and from VR to Robotics.” Department highlights include research opportunities, study abroad experiences, internships, and participation in the honors program.

Students in all programs have access to the UMD Graphics and Visual Informatics Laboratory (GVIL), and the Mixed/Augmented/Virtual Reality Innovation Center (MAVRIC).

Established in 2000 by the Department of Computer Science, the GVIL promotes “research and education in computer graphics, scientific visualization, and virtual environments . ” Current projects include “several driving applications for next-generation virtual and augmented reality, including augmented navigation, medical training, virtual manufacturing, and immersive education.”  

MAVRIC was created to support the future of XR, foster XR talent, and connect developers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers through events, workshops, and programs.

UMD also houses the Maryland Blended Reality Center (MBRC)— a multidisciplinary partnership that joins computing experts at the University of Maryland with medical professionals at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). Launched in 2017, MBRC’s mission is to “advance visual computing tools—many of them based in immersive technologies like virtual, augmented and mixed reality—that can be used for emergency medicine, health care and innovative educational and training modules.”

Graduates of the Computer Science, Immersive Media Design, and other programs go on to “earn competitive jobs,” in tech industries or federal laboratories. Some “join professions such as medicine, teaching, and law.”

Notable alumni include Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google; Gary Flake, a Microsoft Distinguished Engineer and founder of Yahoo! Research Labs; and Naresh Gupta, Senior Vice President of Adobe’s Print and Publishing Business Unit.

Established in 1789, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) is the only public university in the U.S. to award degrees in 18th century. The school offers 74 bachelors, 104 masters, 65 doctorate, and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools. A member of the UNC System (16 universities), UNC-Chapel Hill serves around 30,100 students.

Program options for AR/VR students are housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Computer Science. Established in 1964, the Department was one of the first independent computer science departments in the U.S.

Pathways include BS and MS degrees in Computer Science with a Computer Graphics or HCI Research Area. Computer Graphics subareas include Animation & Simulation, Virtual Environments, and Visualization. HCI offers a Virtual Environments subarea. A PhD in Computer Science is also available.

Department course highlights include 2D Computer Graphics, Connecting Language to Vision and Robotics, Digital Culture, Digital Logic and Computer Design, Human Robot Interaction, Machine Learning, Models of Languages & Computation, Scientific Programming, and Software Engineering Laboratory.

Students in all programs have access the Graphics, Imaging, and Robotics Lab and the Graphics and 3D Vision Laboratory. The Graphics, Imaging, and Robotics Lab is a 3,500 sq. ft. space located in J. Carlyle Sitterson Hall. Most of the Lab is dedicated to work in effective virtual environments. The remaining area, which houses a variety of robots, focuses on robotics research.

Housed in the Frederick P. Brooks Jr. Computer Science Building and Sitterson Hall, the new Graphics and 3D Vision Laboratory is situated in a noise-controlled, 2,500 sq. ft. space divided into three research zones by floor-to-ceiling blackout curtains for light and sound suppression. Zones include Projective Display Research, Computer Vision and Optical Tracking Research, and Physical Simulation and Audio Synthesis Research with a focus on GPU processing. The space has “11-foot ceilings and a Unistrut mounting grid to mount hardware as needed.”

Other facilities include “specialized research laboratories for graphics and image processing, computer building and design, and collaborative, distributed, and parallel systems.” Past and present projects and groups include the Ultrasound/Medical Augmented Reality Group, Effective Virtual Environments Project, Geometric Algorithms for Modeling, Motion, and Animation Group (GAMMA) Project, and the Walkthrough Group (simulated walkthroughs of architectural models).

UNC-Chapel Hill graduates work in a range of industries, in companies ranging from small start-up operations to government laboratories and large research and development corporations.

Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has campuses in Atlanta, Georgia; Metz, France; and Shenzhen, China. The school opened as the Georgia School of Technology in October 1888 with just 84 students. Today, Georgia Tech serves nearly 40,000 students from 50 states and 149 countries.

Majors and degrees are offered through the colleges of Design, Computing, Engineering, and Sciences, the Scheller College of Business, and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. Programs for AR/VR students are offered in the Ivan College of Liberal Arts, School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and the College of Computing, Schools of Computer Science, Interactive Computing, and Computational Science & Engineering. Options include a BS in Computational Media, MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science, and Minors in Computing & Devices, Computing & Intelligence, and Computing & People, to name a few.

With 300 students, the BS in Computational Media is one of Georgia Tech’s fastest growing programs. Students have opportunities to focus in Interaction, Games, Narrative, and more. Course highlights include Constructing the Moving Image, Interaction Design, Computer Animation, and Experimental Media. Sample careers include Virtual and Augmented Reality, Special Effects Creation, Interactive Game Design and Simulation, Robotics, and Animation.

The Computer Science programs at Georgia Tech provide opportunities for students to select from research areas such Virtual & Augmented Environments, Ubicomp & Wearable Computing, AI and Machine Learning, Robotics and Perception, and Geometry, Graphics, and Animation.

Students in all programs have access to Georgia Techs GVU Center , which supports AI, AR/VR, HCI, Robotics, Wearable Computing and other research. Within the GVU Center is the Augmented Environments Lab , which focuses on “understanding how to build interactive computing environments that directly augment a user's senses with computer-generated material,” says the school.

Also located in the GVU Center is the Prototyping eNarrative Lab . Also known as PeN Lab , the Lab “applies digital information design and interaction design principles to digital storytelling to create more complex and expressive narratives, focusing on emerging platforms like experimental television, virtual reality, and augmented reality, and on the intersection of storytelling with game design and simulation design.”

Sample Lab projects include Bringing Interactivity to Static Data Visualizations through Augmented Reality , Escape Room VR , Interaction Techniques for Children's AR Education , Invisible Cities: Multi-user AR Public Monuments , The Lights of St. Etienne: An AR/MR Experience in the Cathedral in Metz, France , WebXR: Experiences in AR and VR for the Web , and Pipping: Exploring Passive Haptics in Virtual Reality .

Georgia Tech graduates can be found working in leadership positions in consulting, engineering, financial services, healthcare, law, manufacturing, retailing, transportation, humanitarian logistics, and more. They have been hired by companies such as Apple, Boeing, Cisco Systems, Delta Airlines, Disney, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Tesla, and many others.

Texas A&M University at College Station (TAMU or Texas A&M) was established in 1876 as the state's first public institution of higher learning. Today, the school is a research-intensive, flagship university consists of 17 academic colleges and schools and two branch campuses, serving just over 71,100 students.

The College of Architecture houses the Visualization Laboratory and Department of Visualization. Established in 1988, the Texas A&M Visualization Laboratory launched the Visualization academic program in 1989. Pathways offered include BS, MS, and MFA degrees in Visualization. A PhD in Architecture with a Concentration in Visualization is also available.

The BS-V highlights studio classes in a specific are of interest supported by courses in programming, art theory, and technical learning. Also part of the program is a required internship, study abroad experience, or study at another university for a semester. Graduates of the program are prepared for a range of careers in Visualization.

The MS-V “is designed to give all students a basic grasp of the artistic, scientific, cognitive, and technical foundations of the discipline,” says the school. Graduates of the program are prepared for a range of long-term careers in Visualization.

“The MFA-V is unique in the State of Texas, and one of only a handful of programs of this kind in the United States.” The “curriculum is highly interdisciplinary and encourages development of new technologies and creative applications to create deeper insight and understanding.” Graduates of the program are “equipped with an uncommon balance of artistic insight and technical prowess that sets them apart from their peers.”

The PhD Program focuses “primarily on research and the development and dissemination of new knowledge.” Graduates are prepared for careers in research and teaching.

Students in all programs have access to HCI@VIZ and the MAESTRO Lab.

HCI@VIZ is lab that conducts research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human-Centered Computing, and Interactive Systems. The Lab consists of five research groups: TEILab, The StoryLab, McNamara Lab, INDIE Lab, and the Soft Interaction Lab. Depending on the group, topics covered include AR/VR, Child-Computer Interaction, Data Visualization, Embodied Interaction, Interactive Storytelling, Soft Materials Interaction, and many others. AR/VR students may be drawn to the INDIE Lab and the Soft Interaction Lab, among others.

The INDIE Lab (Interactive Data and Immersive Environments) engages in human-centered research of interactive visualizations. The group actively collaborates with multiple departments and faculty across the university. Research areas include Virtual Reality, 3D Interaction, Visual Analytics, Information Visualization, and Educational Games.

The Soft Interaction Lab integrates “physical and virtual experiences experimenting soft/organic materials and tangible interaction technology.”

Located in the College of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering, the MAESTRO Lab is a dedicated space designed for the “development of new multi-physical active material actuators and new metrologies and immersive data environments for the experimental assessment and computational analysis of aerospace structures.” Within the Lab is the MAESTRO VR Studio —an Immersive Mechanics Visualization Lab dedicated to the “tasks and goals of the Immersive and Intuitive Data Environments project. Focus areas include AR/VR and 3D Displays.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) was founded in 1961, but the campus that it sits on dates back to the late 1800s when the location was chosen as the location for a marine field station for zoologists at the UC Berkeley campus. The facility became a part of the University of California in 1912, and it was eventually named Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Today, UCSD is one of the nine campuses of the UC System and it supports a community of 35,000 students.

UCSD has seven colleges, including the Jacob School of Engineering—which houses the Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) Department. Program options include BS, MS, BS/MS, and PhD degrees in Computer Science (CS). A CS Minor is also available as well as a Virtual Reality App Development Certificate Program.

The Certificate Program covers which VR devices exist, how VR technology works, and how to write software (VR experiences). Students will learn “effective 3D interaction techniques to use VR applications, how to write VR applications in WebVR and Unity 3D, and what features make a VR application successful,” says the school. Course highlights include Creating Virtual Reality Apps, Computer Graphics, and How Virtual Reality Works.

CSE Department focus areas include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Robotics, Programming Systems, Software Engineering, and Visual Computing (Computer Graphics and Computer Vision), to name a few.

Undergraduate CS students have access to the CSE Virtual Reality Lab (VR Lab ). “The first of its kind at an American University,” says the school, the VR Lab “looks like a cross between a classroom and a tech pavilion at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There are virtual-reality headsets everywhere, and large flat screen 3D displays.” The Lab also houses the 300-member VR Club at UC San Diego.

CS and Certificate graduates are prepared for careers such as Software Developer, AR/VR Maintenance and Support, Graphics Engineer, XR Gameplay and Tools Engineer, VR Developer, VR Technician, Design/Graphics Engineer, and many others.

The School of Computing at University of Utah was founded as the Computer Science Department in 1965. Current research areas for the School include Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning, Visual Computing, Human-Centered Computing/Virtual Reality, Robotics, High Performance Computing, and Programming Languages/Software Engineering, to name a few. Pathways for students interested in AR/VR include BS and MS degrees in Computer Science with a Human-Centered Computing/Virtual Reality Research Area.

An additional program for students interested in AR/VR is offered in the College of Fine Arts, Department of Film & Media Arts. The Department’s BA in Film & Media Arts has a Media Arts Production (MAP) Emphasis that covers "transmedia" virtual reality, immersive reality, interactive media, social media, and mobile media.

Course highlights for the program include 3D Computer Animation, Media Arts Production, Digital Effects & Compositing, Sound for Film and Digital Media, Storyboarding/Visual Storytelling, and Editing. Students in all programs have access to the Quantitative Experience Design (QED) Lab and XR Utah.

The University of Utah QED Lab is “an interdisciplinary research group,” says the school, that builds “human-centered artificial intelligence systems in search of invariant properties of experience design: precise relationships that exist between an inner environment (a person’s cognitive states), interface (narrative & game discourse) and outer environment (virtual worlds).” The Lab is affiliated with the School of Computing and the Entertainment Arts & Engineering Program.

XR Utah is an interdisciplinary research partnership “headed by Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah.” The purpose of the partnership is to build “common infrastructure for information sharing, tech development, and data collection by bringing together” artists, computer scientists, educators, and psychologists across more than 16 departments at the University of Utah. Participants “conduct cutting-edge research in fostering new ways of learning and discovery through the use of innovative forms of virtual reality technologies that span across disciplines.”

Graduates of the Computer Science and Film & Media Arts Programs have landed positions in Utah, across the country, and around the world. They work in fields such as Technology, Entertainment, Marketing, Game Design, Engineering, Medical, Education, and more.

University of Utah was established in 1850. The school serves more than 33,000 students enrolled in hundreds of majors, minors, certificate and graduate programs in 18 colleges and schools and nearly 100 departments.

Established in 1868, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) offers more than 350 degree programs to nearly 22,000 students. Programs are offered in 14 colleges and schools that house dozens of departments. The Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (EECS) Department offers two different undergraduate degrees from two different colleges: the BS in EECS offered by the College of Engineering (CoE), and the BA in Computer Science (CS) from the College of Letters & Science (L&S).

Technical requirements in CS “are almost identical,” says the school. “However, breadth requirements and admissions processes vary significantly.” Course highlights for both programs include The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, Designing Information Devices and Systems, Machine Structures, and Data Structures and Programming Methodology.

All EECS and CS students have access to the XR Lab@Berkeley —a Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Laboratory (VR/AR/MR), the student-run Extended Reality@Berkeley (est. 2015), and the FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality , which sponsors research and “high-impact” applications in AR/VR and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Collectively, the Labs and Centers at UC Berkeley “train new engineers in all aspects of Virtual and Augmented Reality, raise awareness about technology’s potential for humanity, and advance the field through state-of-art research and development initiatives.”

Graduates of the programs go on to work in a variety of environments and fields such as Computer Systems Design Firms, Computer Vision and Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Software Development, Defense, Production, Design, Entertainment, Healthcare, Engineering, Aerospace, and more.

The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (UM) serves more than 40,000 students enrolled in hundreds of programs in 19 schools, colleges, and divisions. Founded in 1817 as one of the first public universities in the nation, UM houses one of the world’s oldest and largest programs in Computation. The area serves nearly 11,000 students.

Pathways for AR/VR students include BS and MS degrees in Computer Science and a Minor. A Graduate Certificate in Extended Reality (XR) is also available in the School of Information. The Computer Science degrees are offered in two colleges—the College of Engineering and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Programs are administered by the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Division of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department. Note that programs are “program requirements are almost exactly the same for both majors,” says the school.

Course highlights for the CS Programs include Interactive Computer Graphics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programming Languages, Human-Centered Software Design & Development, Computer Game Design and Development, Autonomous Robotics, and Machine Learning.

To enhance the MS degree, graduate students may add the Graduate Certificate in XR. Open to all graduate students regardless of degree program, the XR program requires 12 credit hours of study. Students will learn about the design, construction, and evaluation of XR experiences. Pre-approved previous, current, and future courses include AR/VR for Sustainability, Augmented Tectonics, Developing AR/VR Experiences, Educational Applications for Augmented and Virtual Reality, Immersive Media, Sci-Fi Prototyping, and Virtual Engagement in Digital Technologies.

Students in all programs have access to the Center for Academic Innovation’s XR Initiative. Founded in 2019, the Initiative works with all 19 schools, colleges, and divisions to develop new XR related educational technology designed to enhance the learning experience for students. The Initiative also focuses on making XR technology more accessible on campus and encouraging its use in higher education.

Initiative participants “work with university faculty to actively look for new ideas and opportunities to support.” Past projects include Cross-platform XR Tools for Supporting Student Creativity in Immersive Audio Design , Comparison of Student Learning of Head and Neck Anatomy and Diagnosis of Pathology Using XR, and XR Studio.

UM CS and XR graduates are prepared for careers in AR/VR, Digital Arts and Entertainment, Software Engineering, Simulation Engineering, Applications Development, and more.

Formed in 1982 and serving 33,518 students across 16 colleges and schools, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the largest university in the Chicago metropolitan area. The College of Engineering at UIC houses the Department of Computer Science (CS), which is the fastest growing program at the school. Pathways include a BS in CS and Design, an MS and BS/MS in CS, and a CS Minor. A PhD in CS is also available for students interested in research or teaching.

UIC is the only public university in the U.S. that offers a Computer Science and Design undergraduate degree “created specifically to prepare students for these opportunities,” says the school. The program “offers professional training in both fields, integrating design courses — fundamental through advanced — with a strong foundation in computer programming.”

Examples of areas covered include AR/VR Design, Computer Graphics, Creative Coding, Human-Centered Computing, Designing and Developing Digital Interfaces and Applications, Media Design, and Virtual Health and Medicine. The program consists of a combination of studio courses and required technical courses that allow students to “work in teams and to practice being a bridge between the technological and the creative.”

The MS in CS consists of 36 credit hours. Students may enroll in the BS/MS Program, which takes just five years to complete. The MS has coursework only, project (capstone), and thesis options (research or PhD preparation). Featured courses include Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Design of Mobile Apps, and Video Game Design and Development.

Students in all programs have access to the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL and the Human-in-Mind Engineering Research Lab (HiMER).

Established in 1973, EVL is an interdisciplinary research laboatory in the College of Engineering’s Computer Science Department “that specializes in collaborative visualization, virtual reality, visual data science, and advanced computing and networking infrastructure.” The Lab is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Argonne National Laboratory, The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation, the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the State of Illinois, and UIC.

The HiMER Lab highlights recently funded research including AR/VR, Human Performance Modeling, Human-System Interaction, Data Analytics, and Transportation Safety. Recent AR/VR projects include Projection-Based Mixed Reality Platform-Spatial Mixed Reality , Gaze-Based Multimodal Interactions in AR , and Human Perception and Cognition in AR .

UIC CS graduates have landed positions at Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cisco, Facebook, Google, HP, LG, Microsoft, Redbox, Verizon, and more.

Iowa State University (ISU) is a public, land-grant university that welcomed its first class in 1869. The school serves 31,825 students enrolled in more than 100 majors in 10 colleges and schools. The Graduate College offers several programs for students interested in AR/VR. Options include MS and PhD degrees in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and a Master of Human-Computer Interaction (MHC – offered on-campus and online). A 12 credit hour HCI Graduate Certificate is also available.

Students in the interdisciplinary HCI program “benefit from interacting with ISU faculty from departments representing every college in the University,” says the school, “as well as researchers” at the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC). Core courses in HCI are divided into four areas: Design, Implementation, Phenomena, and Evaluation.

Course highlights include Virtual Worlds and Applications, Python Application Development in HCI, Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling, Models and Theories in Human Computer Interaction, Learn to Speak AI, Advanced Learning Environments Design, and User Engagement.

The VRAC leads ISU’s HCI Program. This interdisciplinary research center “supports the research of faculty and students representing all seven of ISU’s colleges, as well as the interests of collaborators from several federal agencies and numerous industry partners.” Participants have a variety of “strengths in state-of-the-art interaction technologies” including virtual, augmented and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) mobile computing, developmental robotics, haptics interaction, HCI, and user experience (UX).

Graduates of the HCI Programs at ISU are prepared for careers in the private or public sector. Master’s degree graduates are also prepared for continuation of studies in a PhD program.

Founded in 1887 as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, North Carolina State University (NC State or NCSU) serves more than 36,000 students. The school offers more than 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in 12 colleges and schools housing 65 departments.

The College of Design houses the Art + Design Department, which offers BA and MA degrees in Art + Design. A Minor is also available. Students in all programs have access to the College of Design’s Experience Design and Mixed Reality Labs, and the College of Engineering’s Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab.

The Experience Design Lab (IX) is a cross-disciplinary community of artists, designers, humanists, scientists and engineers that explore “virtual and augmented experiences as a cultural practice,” says the school.

The Mixed Reality (MxR) Lab consists of designers, engineers and “tinkerers” working on the “challenge of creating impactful changes in the user experience of Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality (VR, AR, MR) technologies.” Current projects include Axe One , Pop’n’Play , and Morphaces .

The Virtual and Augmented Reality Lab (VR) in the College of Engineering’s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering studies the interaction between humans and AR/VR. Researchers in the Lab also explore “the potentials in VR/AR for various real-world applications.” Current active projects include User Performance Training and Patient Motor Learning .

Available equipment includes four-sided (C4) Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) with full-body tracking capability, several head-mounted displays (HMDs), and a head-up display (HUD). In addition, a number of other peripheral devices that support movement tracking are available.

In the College of Design’s interdisciplinary BA in Art + Design, students have the opportunity to learn about and develop creative portfolios in areas such as AR/VR, Interactive and Computational Media, Motion Graphics, Visual Effects, Graphic and Interactive Narratives, Game Design, 3D Modeling, and many others. Course highlights include Art + Design Laboratory, Creative Technology, Digital Imaging, Advanced Digital Techniques, Digital Motion, Animation, and Visualization.   

The MA in Art + Design (M.A.D) focuses on Experimental Media Arts. The program “encourages students to explore the intersection of digital and material technologies,” says the school, “to create interactive and engaging experiences that push the boundaries of storytelling, learning and play.” Depending on the student’s academic background and experience, they may enroll in the 30-, 48- or 72-credit Track. Course highlights include Digital Motion, Special Effects, Animation, Dynamic Data, Digital Modeling, Coding for Designers, Sequential Imaging, and Visualizing Narratives.

Graduates of the Art + Design Department are currently working in fields such as Software Design, Multimedia, Illustration, Textile Design, Fashion and Apparel Design, Art and Design Education, Photography, Filmmaking, Special Effects-Digital, Set Design, Exhibition Design, Museum Education, Public Art and Entrepreneurs.

University of Central Florida (UCF) offers more than 230 degree programs in 13 colleges. The College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer Science offer several programs of interest for aspiring AR/VR professionals. Options include a BS in Computer Science (CS), an Accelerated BS/MS in CS, and MS and PhD degrees in Modeling and Simulation.

Course highlights for the BS in CS include Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI for Game Programming, Algorithms for Machine Learning, Computer Architecture, Computer Graphics, Game Programming, Robot Vision, and Software Engineering. Graduates of the program are prepared for careers in AR/VR, Computer Architecture, Computer Gaming, Computer Vision, Evolutionary Computing, Media Convergence, Robotics, and many others.

The MS in CS allows students to specialize in a research area. This includes options such as Virtual Reality and Human Computer Interaction (HCI), AI, Mixed and Virtual Reality Mobile Computing, Machine Learning, and Modeling and Simulation. Pairing (combining two research areas) is also an option. In addition to the Specialization, students in the program “receive a broad background in the areas of programming systems and languages, computer architecture, and computer science theory.”

In addition to working in AR/VR, graduates of the MS in CS Program work in Computer Science, Computer Systems, Software Development, Cyber/Information Security, Software Engineering, and more.

In addition to the CS Programs, UCF’s Computer Science Department houses the SREAL Synthetic Reality Lab and the Interactive Systems and User Experience Lab.

The SREAL Synthetic Reality Lab is a center for researchers, software developers, artists (modelers/animators), interactors (digital puppeteers), PhD students, and affiliated faculty members. With 7,000 square feet of experimental and office space, SREAL houses areas for the development of mixed reality experiences, the delivery of interactive training using digital avatar technology, human surrogate and robotics research, and developing cultural heritage and STEM experiences.

SREAL (pronounced Surreal) is part of several larger UCF entities, most notably the Institute for Simulation & Training (IST), which houses it.

The Interactive Systems and User Experience Lab focuses on “the creation and evaluation of advanced interfaces that support education, entertainment, and general work productivity.” The mission of the Lab is to “develop innovative techniques, tools, and applications that improve the overall experience between humans and machines.”

Pennsylvania State University at Behrend (Penn State Behrend) is a four-year and graduate college of Penn State. The school serves 5,050 students enrolled in more than 45 academic programs in four schools—the Black School of Business, School of Engineering, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and School of Science.

The School of Humanities and Social Sciences houses the Digital Media, Arts, and Technology (DIGIT) Program—Penn State’s only undergraduate degree in Digital Humanities. The BA in DIGIT is an interdisciplinary program “combines the broad perspective of the liberal arts with technical skill,” says the school.  This means, students will study technology history and theory while “learning to use the newest programming languages, digital tools, and computer systems.”

Students can enhance their skills by participating in the Virtual/Augmented Reality (VAR) Lab at Penn State Behrend.

The VAR Lab “works with students, the community, and industry partners to implement augmented and virtual reality solutions.” Lab participants have opportunities to “recreate historically important venues in AR/VR to bring the world to Pennsylvania students ((e.g., Fort Le Boeuf). Methods of recreation in the Lab include “using visually and spatially accurate lidar scans of existing venues and designing 2D/3D digital models when scanning is not an option.”

Lab participants will also work to “address training gaps in the workplace (e.g., virtual training simulations),” and increase the “accessibility, affordability, and availability of mental health initiatives.”

DIGIT students also have the opportunity to add two concentrations, a second major or a Minor in an area such as Interactive Entertainment (Game Development). Concentration options include Modeling and Simulation/Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Sound and Motion, Digital Humanities, and Data Visualization and Assessment.

In addition to working in AR/VR in a wide range of fields, career options for DIGIT graduates include Digital Art, Technical Producer, Digital Art Director, Front-End Analyst, Digital Marketing Strategist, Designer, and Digital Video Editor, to name a few.

Serving nearly 47,000 students, University of Arizona (est. 1885) offers Bachelors, Master’s, and Doctoral degree programs as well as first professional programs and specialist programs, and a variety of undergraduate and graduate minors. Programs are offered in 20 colleges and additional specialized schools. The University of Arizona (UArizona) College of Social & Behavioral Sciences houses the School of Information (iSchool), which offers a BS in Information Science and Technology and a Games and Simulation Certificate.

The BS Program is organized into three tiers: Core Courses, Intensive Computing, and Research Methods, Computational Arts, and Society. The Intensive Computing tier consists of a “customized course selection based on student focus,” says the school. Coursework can include virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, human-computer interaction (HCI), neural networks, and informatics applications. The tier has a required Individual Studies Component and Senior Capstone course.

The Games and Simulation Certificate “provides students with the design and development skills necessary to create virtual interactive environments that span across devices and platforms.” Course highlights for the program include Virtual Reality, Game Programming, Computing and the Arts, Technology of Sound, and Advanced Game Development. Students in the program will gain real-world experience through collaboration with peers and the creation of several working prototypes.

Other program highlights include access to several active labs and employment opportunities with major companies. Some top employers hiring UArizona graduates include Amazon, Raytheon Technologies, Microsoft, Intel Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments (TI), and IMB Systems & Technology Group.

The Extended Reality and Games Lab (XRG Lab) is housed within the iSchool. Researchers and participants here study novel interaction techniques and the enhancement of extended (virtual/augmented/mixed) reality systems for improved usability and user experience. Work in the lab “mainly consists of design, development and evaluation (through empirical user studies) of these interaction techniques and enhanced extended reality systems.”

XRG Lab projects are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the UArizona Social & Behavioral Sciences Research Institute (SBSRI), and others. Project examples include Grabbable Holograms , Googly Eyes , Mirrored VR , and Bounce: A Mixed Reality Serious Game for Teaching Newtonian Physics Concepts .

The UArizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences houses an additional lab known as the 3D Visualization and Imaging Systems Lab . Designed for research in emerging technologies such as mixed- and augmented realities (MR-AR), the Lab focuses on the development of 2D/3D display systems, 3D visualization systems, 3D human computer interaction methods, and image acquisition systems. Researchers are interested in applying these technologies in medicine, scientific visualization, and education.

University of Florida (UF) serves nearly 58,000 students making it one of the top five largest universities in the state. The school offers 100 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate programs in 16 colleges. Among UF’s colleges is the College of the Arts, which houses the Digital Worlds Institute. Here, students interested in AR/VR can earn a Master’s in Digital Arts & Sciences (MiDAS).

This one year, accelerated master’s program in emerging technologies (specifically AR/VR) accepts individuals from all backgrounds. Program highlights include a collaborative environment, personal attention from faculty and content area experts and opportunities to work on industry-standard projects and create a professional portfolio.

The MiDAS Program covers Technical Skills: Game Engines and Development (i.e. Unity 3D) and Software and Hardware Integration; Design and Interactivity: Visual Design Tools/Tech, 3D for VR/AR UI-UX, Audio, Digital Compositing, and Digital Storytelling; and Professional Skills: Project Proposals, Production Pipelines, Project Management, and Critical Thinking and Analysis.

Students will have access to the UF Reality Lab at the Digital Worlds Institute . The Lab explores and promotes research and educational endeavors in AR/VR. Sample courses in the Lab include Production of Immersive Environments, Digital Storytelling, Movement, Media, and Machines, and Interdisciplinary Research Seminar.

Past student projects have included include Space Mail , ScootVR, HoloTouch , Virtual Standardized Patient , WonderLab , Metrolia VR Multiplayer Mech Duel , and SpArc: Animate Using Your Hands in Virtual Reality .

Graduates of the MiDAS Program and others at UF have landed positions at 22squared, Aramark, Cox Media Group, ESPN, Glaxo Smith Klein, Reed Exhibitions, Boeing, Walt Disney, GE Digital and Meridium, Spirit Airlines, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Navy.

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) serves more than 47,000 students from all 50 states and 100+ countries. Founded in 1867, the school is one of the original 37 public land-grant institutions created after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862.

UIUC offers more than 150 undergraduate programs and over 100 graduate and professional programs in 16 colleges, schools, and academic units. Grainger College of Engineering’s Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science, houses a Computer Science (CS) program suited for students interested in careers in AR/VR. Options include a BS, MS, and 12 credit hour Minor in Computer Science (CS).

Students in the BS in CS have the opportunity to take up to 18 credit hours of technical electives and six hours of CS advanced electives. This allows students focus in an area of interest. The Media, Intelligence and Big Data, and Human and Social Impact areas include course options such as Virtual Reality, AI for Computer Games, Applied Machine Learning, Mobile Interactive Design, Audio Computing Lab, to name a few.

The MS in CS is a research-oriented degree that requires 28 credit hours of coursework and four credit hours of thesis. The program consists of 10 core areas, including Interactive Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Scientific Computing, and Programming Languages to name a few.

In addition to choosing a focus area (BS) or core area courses (MS) that suit their interests, students have access to the VR@Illinois Lab.

Supported by members from the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (CITL) and University Library’s IDEA Lab and Media Commons and funded by investments from campus Technology Services,  VR@Illinois is a collaborative initiative that supports “virtual, augmented, and extended reality teaching, research, and exploration” at UIUC, says the school.

The Lab houses studio spaces for VR creation and exploration, mobile virtual reality classrooms, and loanable headsets and cameras for viewing and capturing 360 media. Lab experts provide consultations on implementing VR in the classroom and assistance with VR research projects.

Graduates of the Computer Science and other related programs at UIUC are routinely hired by some of the world’s top companies. Top employers include Amazon, Google, Microsoft Corp., Deloitte, Ernst & Young and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Other employers include Apple Inc., Tesla, Facebook, IBM, Caterpillar and ADM.

University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is part of the 10-campus University of California System. The school serves nearly 19,200 students enrolled in 130 programs in dozens of colleges and schools. The Baskin School of Engineering, Computational Media Department (CM) houses the BS and MS Programs in Computer Science, and the MS and PhD degrees in Computational Media.

Course highlights for the programs include, Introduction to Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Computer Systems and C Programming, Programming Abstractions: Python, Game AI, User Experience for Interactive Media, Software Engineering, Computational Media Methods, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Applied Machine Learning, Advanced Computer Graphics and Animation Laboratory, and Data Programming for Visualization.

Students will complete a variety of projects throughout all programs. In the final year, graduate students will complete a thesis OR additional project with written report.

Also housed within the Baskin School is the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) Lab . In the Lab , faculty and students have the opportunity to “create three-dimensional virtual environments that multiple users can interact with at the same time,” says the school. The facility houses a room-sized, advanced visualization system also called the CAVE, which “combines a high-resolution, stereoscopic projection and 3-D computer graphics to create a complete sense of presence in a virtual environment.”

Multiple users in the CAVE can become “fully immersed in the same virtual environment at the same time.” The CAVE Lab also features “moveable walls that allow the environment to be reconfigured for different applications,” along with “Mechdyne CAVE and FLEX technology.” The Unity development platform is used to create 3-D interactive environments.

Established in 1804, Ohio University is the state’s first public university. Serving nearly 30,000 students across more than 10 campuses and centers, the school houses nine colleges that offers more than 250 programs of study.

The Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University is home to the J. Warren McClure School of Emerging Communication Technologies (ECT), which offers an Information and Telecommunication Systems Major, (ITS ECT) with a VR/AR Track. In partnership with the School of Media Arts & Studies, the McClure School also offers a VR and Game Development Emphasis, which is part of the Games and Animation Major.

The VR/AR Track , which leads to a BS degree, is “dedicated to emerging communication technologies production, e.g., virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) while also covering information networking and telecommunication systems,” says the school. Students in the program develop a “competitive edge by combining courses that build competency in both networking and content production.”

They will learn “about the design, management, regulation, and application of information network technology; the production, use, and implementation of VR/AR; as well as how businesses acquire and sell such products and services.”

The VR and Game Development Emphasis leads to a BS in Media Arts and Studies – Games and Animation. Students begin the program “with a game design or animation pathway, with many options to enhance either area,” including courses in AR/VR offered by the McClure School. The emphasis area is “enhanced with courses exploring information technology and networks, as well as scripting and coding.” Students also “pursue additional credentials such as a business or communication minor, or certificates in entrepreneurship or social media.”

Students in all programs have access to Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab . Established in 2005, the GRID Lab is an initiative of Scripps College. Developed by the School of Media Arts and Studies, the Lab focuses on the research and development of virtual reality, serious and educational games, simulations, and computer animation. It “provides Ohio University with the personnel, facilities, and tools to create such interactive digital media and technologies.”

The McClure School has the highest job placement rate in the Scripps College of Communication. VR/AR graduates have gone on to work for Warner Brothers, Sony, Disney, Bethesda, Microsoft, Unity, and many other major tech and entertainment companies. ITS graduates are also employed in branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and in state and federal government offices and with consulting companies like Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, PwC, and Capgemini.

VR and Game Development graduates have been hired at Blizzard, Disney/Disney Imagineering, EA, Google, Sony PlayStation, Riot Games, Unity, and many others.

Founded in 1869, Purdue opened its doors on September 16, 1874 with six instructors and 39 students. Today, the West Lafayette campus serves 46,000 students, and approximately 2,000 full-time faculty teach and conduct research in Purdue’s 12 colleges and schools, and Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

For students interested in AR/VR, Purdue Polytechnic Institute offers an MS in Computer Graphics Technology (MS CGT). This “highly flexible degree,” enables students to take coursework in one or more areas and “create an individualized plan of study,” says the school. AR/VR coursework includes Augmented Reality, Collaborative Virtual and Augmented Environments, Product Development Using Virtual Environments, Virtual Environments, Cognition & Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Special Topics In Human-Centered Design And Development, Computer Graphics Programming, and Advanced Real-Time Computer Graphics.

Students will also complete several projects including Computer Graphics Project, Directed MS Capstone, and Directed MS Project.

Graduates of the MS CGT Program are prepared to seek careers in all sectors that utilize Virtual and Augmented Reality. Graduates have been hired at DreamWorks, Google, Deloitte, Salesforce, and more.

The Ohio State University (OSU) was founded on March 22, 1870 as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. Today, OSU offers programs in all areas across 18 colleges and schools. The school houses 200 academic centers and institutes and nearly 68,000 students across all campuses.

The College of Arts and Sciences at OSU houses the Department of Design, which offers an MFA in Design with Digital Animation and Interactive Media (DAIM) Track. Also housed in the College of Arts and Design is the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD).

ACCAD is a “is creative hub for scholars and practitioners of digital arts and sciences,” says the school. The Center conducts “research centered on the use and integration of emerging arts technologies,” in a “generous physical space, complemented by specialized and flexible studios for animation, motion capture, interactive design, media production and mediated performance design.”

In addition to having access to the ACCAD , DAIM students have the opportunity to take 12 studio elective credits that “provide hands-on experiences.” The 60 credit hour program includes core design courses, open electives in the themes of studio/lab, history/theory/criticism, and collaborative/interdisciplinary studio, writing development, and a thesis project. Areas covered include real time graphics and virtual environments, performance animation, game art, responsive and interactive media, and installations, to name a few.

Students in the program will “work closely with a three-person thesis committee to develop their thesis topics and the vehicles best used for their development.”

Graduates of the MFA DAIM Program hold positions such as Augmented Reality Designer, Mixed Reality Designer, Virtual Reality Designer, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Designer, Interaction Designer, Motion Graphics Designer, Game Designer, Experiential Designer, Multimedia Designer, CG Generalist or Specialist, Visualization Specialists, and many others.

Rowan University began as a teacher preparation college in 1923. Now a regional university, Rowan serves more than 18,000 students enrolled in more than 80 bachelor's and 60 master's degree programs, five doctoral programs, and two professional programs in 14 colleges and schools. The College of Science and Mathematics at Rowan University houses the Computer Science Department, which has curricular offerings in computing disciplines such as virtual reality, computer game design, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technologies, mobile development, cyber security, big data, cloud computing, parallel processing, bioinformatics, database systems, and others.

Pathways for students interested in AR/VR include BS and MS degrees in Computer Science.  Department course highlight include Programming Languages, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Robotics, AI, Systems Simulation and Modeling, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Computer Animation, Game Design and Development, Software Engineering, Mobile Programming, and Principles of Digital Computers. Students will complete an Independent Study course and Senior Project, and they have the opportunity to complete Computer Field Experience consisting of three to 12 credits.

In addition to offering a large number of course options for students interested in AR/VR, the Computer Science Department supports “student-centric initiatives” such as learning assistants, summer internships, long-term co-op programs, and student mentoring. The Computer Science Department also works with the Rowan VR Center to provide an environment where the University’s students and faculty and community, nonprofit, government, and corporate clients can work together to create “innovative virtual reality and augmented reality applications.”

Projects have included the Cold Spray VR Training System , 3D Medical Viewer , Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Simulation , FAA Visualizing Drones, and The Rite (an original immersive video game) , to name a few.

The custom-designed immersive lab has a “7-foot-high by 40-foot-wide curved wall of screens,” room for up to 25 people to work together on 3-D applications, and an “array of virtual reality and augmented reality head-mounted systems and 3-D printers.” This enables the Lab to offer services to clients in academia, government and industry such virtual reality consultations, virtual reality educational seminars, and 3-D printing, scanning and prototyping.

Graduates of the Computer Science Programs at Rowan end up working for industry leaders and top government organization such as Amazon, Symantec, Lockheed Martin, ASRC Federal Mission Solution, Federal Aviation Administration, US Navy, FBI, Comcast, SAP, IDT, Raytheon, and many others.

Wright State University serves 12,000 students annually and offers 315 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degree programs through five colleges and two schools. Originally founded as a branch campus of The Ohio State University and named in honor of Wilbur and Orville Wright—inventors of the world's first successful motor-operated airplane—Wright State University became an independent institution in 1967 and Ohio's 12th state-assisted university.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Wright State houses the Department of Computer Science in Engineering, which has several program options for students interested in AR/VR. Pathways include BA/ BS, and MS Degrees in Computer Science (CS). A CS Minor is also available.

Students in all programs are encouraged to take advantage of study abroad, co-op/internships, and/or service learning. BA and BS students may also engage in undergraduate research. Department course highlights include Augmented and Virtual Reality, 3D Modeling and Computer Animation, Scientific Visualization and Virtual Environment, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Applied Machine Learning, Game Programming, Medical Image Analysis and Visualization, Pattern Recognition, Computer Graphics, C++ Programming for Scientists and Engineers, Computer Engineering, Digital System Design Laboratory, Object-Oriented Programming and Design, Advanced Robotics Laboratory, and Mobile Computing.

In addition to a wide variety of courses related to AR/VR, CS students have access to The Advanced Visual Data Analysis (AViDA) Group and the Virtual Environment Research, Interactive Technology, And Simulation (VERITAS) Facility.

The AViDA Group conducts research and supports the community in the areas of Virtual Environments, Medical Imaging and Visualization, Scientific Visualization, Information Visualization and Analysis, and Big Data Analysis, to name a few. The Group runs the Appenzeller Visualization Laboratory—a state-of-the-art visualization facility that supports large-scale visualization along with fully immersive, virtual reality equipment. In addition, AViDA houses facilities for running full-scale virtual environments using a variety of equipment ranging from head-mounted displays to walkable CAVE-type displays.

The VERITAS Facility is part of the College of Science and Mathematics’ Department of Psychology. Owned and operated by Wright State University and housed in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, the Facility supports basic and applied scientific research on sensory systems, virtual environments, aviation, telerobotics, and teleconferencing. The space house a CAVE system, high-performance projectors, and more.

Wright State University CS graduates go on to pursue careers in AR/VR (in many sectors), as well as Digital Design, Applications Development, Software Development, Machine Learning, Data Science, Hardware Design, Software Engineering, Design Engineering, Java Development, Programming, and more.

Graduates are employed by the Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, Assured Information Security, Ball Aerospace, Cerner Corporation, Clear Creek Applied Technologies, Department of Defense, CDO Technologies, LexisNexis, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, The Design Knowledge Company, Northrup Grumman, Siemens, and Teradata, to name a few.

The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) was established in 1876. The school serves 34,975 students enrolled in hundreds of programs in nine colleges and schools. Among CU Boulder’s many programs are several undergraduate and graduate options that allow students to study Augmented and Virtual Reality.

Awarded through the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the BS and Minor Programs in Creative Technology and Design (CTD) offer “a broad, transdisciplinary curriculum that integrates technological skills with a critical, theoretical and historical understanding of creativity, technology and design,” says the school. The BS Creative Technology & Design (BS-CTD) requires 128-130 credit hours of study and the Minor requires 21 credit hours.

BS-CTD students may choose a focus area through elective offerings. Areas include Augmented and Virtual Reality, Interactive Computing, Game Design, Robotics, Physical Computing, Sound Design, User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX), and more. Other program highlights include creative projects, regular professional development opportunities, workshops and guest speakers, internships with industry partners, employment in the CTD research and student labs, and portfolio development.  

To complete the major, BS-CDT students take a two-semester Capstone sequence where they produce one major culminating project.

The College of Engineering and Applied Science also offers an MS in CTD with a Creative Industries Track.  The project-based curriculum allows students to construct their own focus area. Some popular options include Virtual and Augmented Reality, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interactive Product Design and Development, Game Design and Development, Arts and Media Production, UI/UX, and Learning and Education. “Through workshops, visiting speakers, studios and classes,” MS students also have the opportunity to “work directly with leading professionals on real-world issues, gaining design expertise and technical skills as they learn the business of creativity.”

All CTD programs are housed within the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS) Institute, with core courses taught in the Roser ATLAS Center.

Founded in 1998, the ATLAS Institute also houses a number of labs and centers designed to support student work on independent projects. Current labs and centers include ACME Lab, Living Matter Lab, THING Lab, Unstable Design Lab, Laboratory for Emergent Nanomaterials, Center for Media, Arts & Performance, BTU Lab, and Whaaat!? Lab. Past projects include AR Drum Circle , Augmented Reality and Autonomous Systems (ARIAS) , Augmented Reality Informs Human-Robot Interaction , Augmented Reality Remote Assistance (ARRA) , Haptic VR Wizard , Biolage Reactor , and Jam Station , to name a few.

CTD graduates work in a variety of areas in Art and Entertainment, Technology, Education, Healthcare, Sciences, and more. MS graduates also work in Research in all industries and Government.

Chartered in 1869, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is the oldest institution in the University of Nebraska System. Serving more than 25,000 students, UNL is also the largest in the System.  The school offers hundreds of programs in 10 colleges and dozens of departments.

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, which houses the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. Program options for students interested in AR/VR include a BFA in Emerging Media Arts (BFA-EMA). Students must select two emphasis areas totaling 24 credit hours, an interdisciplinary concentration, and 27 credit hours of electives.

Popular emphasis options for AR/VR students include Immersive and Interactive Media, Virtual Production, Experience Design, and Sensory Media. In the Immersive and Interactive Media Emphasis, students will create interactive and immersive media such as virtual and augmented realities, interactive and immersive environments, chat bots, Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice assistants, games, and the Internet of Things, which includes technologies such as smart home automation.

In Virtual Production, students create animations, graphics, and 3D models. In Experience Design, students design “projects and experiences that synthesize the virtual and the real,” says the school.  Sensory Media covers physical computing, wearable technologies, human computer interaction (HCI), and hardware and software.

BFA-EMA students will also spend two semesters each in five studio and lab courses including the Visual Expression Studio, Computation and Media Studio, Innovation Studio, Story Lab, and Sound Lab. Other program highlights include an Entrepreneurship course from the College of Business that introduces students to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and business creation, and a yearlong Capstone Project that allows students to work in teams to “develop, create, organize, prototype, and complete a fully realized work ready for distribution via appropriate media.”

Graduates of the BFA-EMA are Virtual Reality Designers, Creative Technologists, Innovation Designers, App Designers, and Theme Park Experience Design. They work in Wearables/Physical Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Sound Design, Robotics, Game Design, Film Visual Effects, Film Production Design, Animation, and more.

UCL Centre for Virtual Environments, Interaction and Visualisation

VEIV is the UCL Cen­tre in Vir­tu­al Envi­ron­ments, Inter­ac­tion and Visu­al­i­sa­tion . VEIV projects advance the sci­ence and engi­neer­ing of com­pu­ta­tion­al cap­ture, ren­der­ing and sim­u­la­tion in a diverse range of appli­ca­tions. VEIV runs both Engi­neer­ing Doc­tor­ate and PhD pro­grammes, through which research engi­neers (REs) are ful­ly co-fund­ed to under­take research relat­ing to vir­tu­al envi­ron­ments, imag­ing and visu­al­i­sa­tion in engi­neer­ing and design. PhDs are three or four years in dura­tion (depend­ing on fund­ing struc­ture), while EngD is a four-year pro­gramme includ­ing mas­ters-lev­el train­ing. Some projects also include an inten­sive MSc/MRes taught course in the first year. The EngD/PhD pro­grammes are tar­get­ed at out­stand­ing stu­dents and engi­neers who want to direct research in indus­try, or want to main­tain sig­nif­i­cant links with indus­try in an aca­d­e­m­ic career.

PhD/EngD stu­dents are wel­come to use our facil­i­ties to con­duct research .

Vision­air calls for the cre­ation of a Euro­pean infra­struc­ture for high lev­el visu­al­i­sa­tion facil­i­ties that are open to research com­mu­ni­ties across Europe and around the world. By inte­grat­ing exist­ing facil­i­ties, Vision­air aims to cre­ate a world-class research infra­struc­ture for con­duct­ing state-of-the-art research in visu­al­i­sa­tion, thus sig­nif­i­cant­ly enhanc­ing the attrac­tive­ness and vis­i­bil­i­ty of the Euro­pean Research Area (ERA).

You can sub­mit a pro­pos­al to use our facil­i­ties free of charge.

Latest News

• Virtual Body
• Interaction
• Mixed Reality
• Immersive Displays Lab

Immer­sive VE Laboratory Com­put­er Sci­ence Department Uni­ver­si­ty Col­lege London Malet Place Engi­neer­ing Building Lon­don WC1E 6BT Unit­ed Kingdom

Work with us

“ The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual ”  (Vince Lombardi)

PhD in Virtual Reality

ITCL Technology Center needs to incorporate for its research group in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Simulation a Senior Researcher to carry out the management and execution of R+D+i projects in collaboration with industrial companies where own tools and technologies are developed that allow environments of great visual quality and technologically innovative.

Lines of work:

The research group has flexible software for the development of virtual environments for applications in industry, defense, energy facilities, heritage, as well as hardware devices and visualization environments suitable for this type of work.

Virtual Reality:

• Three-dimensional modeling oriented to real-time 3D applications.
• 3D applications on mobile devices
• Optimization techniques for distributed virtual environments.
• Real-time data visualization, development of data structures and algorithms that allow interactive visualization.
• Management of virtual resources within virtual environments.

Augmented Reality:

• Development of visualization applications and devices.

Simulation:

• Simulation technologies applicable to human factors training and research.
• Multi-seat driving simulators (modeling of roads, cities, autonomous traffic management and management of simulation exercises, integration of human factors studies).

Applications for dependency (technological solutions created to improve communication, education and quality of life for people with different types of dependency and/or intellectual disabilities).

• Development of R&D projects in the field of manufacturing processes.
• You will lead and/or collaborate in the preparation of national and international project proposals.
• Manage multidisciplinary projects and teams and maintain close contact with customers.
• Ensure technological surveillance in its specific field of knowledge and networking.

WORK EXPERIENCE

At least four years of experience on VR/AV based proyects both in national and international calls and in particular experience in:

• Project management.
• Development of projects with industrial clients.
• Technical coordination capacity of consortia between research centers and companies.
• Generation of ideas and approach of new R&D projects with companies and in national and international calls.
• Writing of reports, reports, technical articles, scientific publications.
• Search for scientific and technical information.
• Contact with companies, Universities, Public Research Organizations.
• Management and strategic planning.
• Other CCTT/Research Institute/Company R&D Department. 

Key Qualifications and Education:

• PhD, Engineering in Computer Science or Telecommunications
• Proficiency  level of English (minimum B2), both speaking and writting.
• Orientative age: 35-40 years old

Knowledge of: Unity, C# and Git. And experience in simulation, VR or AR projects.

Valuable: Experience with Unreal Engine, Houdini, VR development sdks (SteamVR, Oculus SDK…), AR development sdks (Vuforia, ARCore, ARKit…), in artificial intelligence, or 3D design/animation, art integration in graphics engines, shader programming.

• Capactity to both teamwork and independent
• Results orientation
• Resolving capacity
• Flexibility
• Learning and adaptation abilities

Work Conditions:

• Job description: Senior Researcher
• Investigation Group: VR/AR
• Place of work: Headquarters in Burgos or Headquarters at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Leganés). UC3M Science Park
• Immediate hiring
• Salary open to negotiation

What we do offer?

• Indefinite contract.
• Personal and professional growth in a sector with high growth expectations.
• Creative and dynamic work environment within a multidisciplinary team, highly qualified, teamwork, commitment to talent and professional development, with a high level of commitment and a clear vocation for solutions applied to industry.

WHY CHOOSE ITCL?

Nationally accredited Technology Centre, consolidated with more than 30 years in the market.

*Recognised by the Ministry of Science and Innovation as a   CERVERA Centre of Excellence   through CDTI in the CERVERA Networks of Excellence CER-20211022 and CER-20211003

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We have 12 Psychology (virtual reality) PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

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Psychology (virtual reality) PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

Integrating information from vision and touch in virtual reality telepresence systems, phd research project.

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

Self-Funded PhD Students Only

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Virtual reality (or mobile app) as a tool for loneliness and wellbeing

Challenges and opportunities of remote interaction in virtual reality, application of virtual-reality game to assess cognitive deterioration in older people with neurocognitive disorders (ref: sf24/hls/swecw/lai), virtual engagement: the impact of avatars on metaverse retailing, phd studentship (3 years): the impact of human-machine interactions in metaverse environments on consumers' wellbeing and psychological health, funded phd project (students worldwide).

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Mitigating Technostress among Community-Dwelling Seniors: Examining the Role of Proactive and Reactive Coping Behaviours in the Context of XR-Powered Telehealth

Understanding the brain-body-environment dynamics of human spatial navigation, understanding eye-hand coordination in object interception - a computational modelling approach, mres - is there any creativity in stem (sas0199), optimising air source heat pump placement to minimise community noise and vibration impact, funded phd project (uk students only).

This research project has funding attached. It is only available to UK citizens or those who have been resident in the UK for a period of 3 years or more. Some projects, which are funded by charities or by the universities themselves may have more stringent restrictions.

Department of Psychology

Funded phd programme (students worldwide).

Some or all of the PhD opportunities in this programme have funding attached. Applications for this programme are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full programme details for further information.

Social Sciences Research Programme

Social Sciences Research Programmes present a range of research opportunities, shaped by a university’s particular expertise, facilities and resources. You will usually identify a suitable topic for your PhD and propose your own project. Additional training and development opportunities may also be offered as part of your programme.

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