The SMU Master’s in Creative Technology (MACT) is an elite sandbox for digital entrepreneurs and visionary creators who refuse to choose between high-level artistry and deep-stack technical mastery. We don’t just teach you to use tools; we empower you to build the ones that don't exist yet. Learners in this high-velocity incubator connect human intuition, machine intelligence, and mastering the workflows that define the next decade of innovation:
Move beyond the prompt to architect autonomous creative systems.
Prototype the future of UI/UX and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
Harness programming fundamentals as a primary medium for artistic expression.
The SMU Online Master of Arts in Creative Technology isn't a traditional graduate program. It was built by practitioners who are actively shipping products, not theorizing about them.
The SMU Online Master of Arts in Creative Technology isn't a traditional graduate program. It was built by practitioners who are actively shipping products, not theorizing about them. The program is structured around a progressive product development cycle — a through-line that runs from your first course to your final capstone — culminating in a working prototype that is either ready to launch as a venture or deploy within an organization. You won't graduate with a deck. You'll graduate with the credibility to turn that energy into something launchable.
The curriculum is intentionally dynamic and structured around a progressive product development cycle that moves you from concept through working prototypes. Every skill you build across interactive media, visual design, creative coding, 3D modeling, generative AI, and blockchain applications feeds directly into a capstone that results in a launchable product. It’s something you can spin into a startup, pitch to investors, integrate into your employer's stack, or add to your portfolio as proof of what you can build.
This is not a program about learning tools. It's a program about learning how to think when the tools change, because they will, every semester.
Throughout the program, you'll develop fluency in:
By graduation, you won't just understand emerging technology. You'll have shipped something with it.
The MACT program is built around a throughline most graduate programs skip: the full product development arc. From ideation to prototype to launch-ready artifact, you'll move through each phase of building, breaking, iterating, and presenting to people who have done it themselves.
You'll leave with more than a credential. You'll leave with a working prototype, a sharpened creative-technical voice, and the vision necessary to create what doesn’t exist and lead any cross-functional team in the new media economy.
Upon completing the program, you will be able to:
This isn't a program for people who want to climb someone else's ladder. It's for people building their own.
The data is clear: only 6% of today's young professionals say their primary goal is to reach a senior leadership position* and half of Gen Z aspire to start their own business. The barriers to doing so have never been lower nor the technical requirements been higher.
The creative economy is no longer rewarding people who can use tools. It's rewarding people who can combine tools into systems no one has seen before. That's what this program trains you to do. Whether you're a designer who codes on weekends, a developer who sketches product ideas in the margins of meetings, or a creative professional who keeps hitting the ceiling of what your current skill set lets you build, this is where that ceiling disappears.
We call the profile we're developing the Full-Stack Creator: someone who operates at the intersection of human intuition and machine intelligence, moves fluidly from concept to prototype to launch, and understands the new media economy well enough to shape it rather than react to it.
*Source: Deloitte, 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey.
This program is built for:
Ira Greenberg | Professor and Director
Ira Greenberg engineered the MACT program to bridge the gap between technical mastery and creative intuition. As an AI founder, author, and developer, Ira has spent two decades at the intersection of code and canvas, preparing the next generation of digital entrepreneurs to lead where others merely execute
“The MACT program isn't about learning tools; it's about mastering the ethos of innovation. We position our students as the architects of emerging technology, giving them a competitive head start that the traditional workforce simply cannot match. Our graduates don't just join companies — they redefine how those companies win.”
A pioneer in the field, Ira authored the definitive text on the Processing programming language and continues to set the standard for creative coding. With a pedigree from Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania, he combines Ivy League rigor with the agility of a tech founder.
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Founded in 1969, the Meadows School of the Arts prepares students to become visionary artists, scholars, and creative professionals, offering innovative programs like the Master’s in Creative Technology.
Get program details, curriculum highlights, and admissions information to see if the MACT program aligns with your goals.
