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FORWARD
University
Under review

Bachelor of Science in Immersive Media and Extended Reality

Spatial computing has moved from novelty to industrial tool: it now trains surgeons, simulates factories, sells property, teaches mechanics and preserves heritage. The technical skills required are scarce everywhere and effectively absent i...

BSc (Hons)Hybrid3 years (6 semesters)Intake August 2027132 credit units

Employment thesis

What this programme is designed to produce

Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.

Roles

  • Extended reality developer
  • spatial computing engineer
  • immersive experience designer
  • three dimensional content and technical artist
  • simulation developer
  • volumetric capture specialist
  • immersive training developer
  • interactive exhibition designer.

Employer types

  • Immersive studios and agencies worldwide, much of it as remote contract work
  • training and simulation providers in health, mining, aviation and manufacturing
  • museums, heritage bodies and tourism operators
  • property and architecture firms
  • education technology companies
  • and student founded studios.

Target outcomes we hold ourselves to

  • A global, remote accessible content market with acute technical scarcity, plus a domestic training and heritage market that is beginning to form.

Compulsory · The Forward Core

How the Core works →

Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.

  • AI Fluency
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Ethics and African Context
  • Human-Advantage Skills
  • Enterprise

Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning

Read the co-op commitment

Am I eligible?

Check yourself against the published requirements

7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Immersive Media and Extended Reality. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.

Question 1 of 70%

What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?

Requirement tested: A completed upper-secondary qualification (UACE, A-level, IB, high-school diploma or recognised equivalent), or a post-secondary award.

Curriculum structure

The same degree, in both pathways

Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.

Path One term plan shown

Path One · The Term Model

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1Year 1
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 101
AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work
Both
42-2-0
CTM 110
Foundations of Interactive and Immersive Media
Performance
41-0-6
CTM 111
Programming for Real Time Systems
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 112
Three Dimensional Modelling and Asset Creation
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 113
Visual Design, Composition and Colour
Performance
41-0-6
TERM 2 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 2Year 1
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 102
Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence
Both
42-2-0
CTM 130
Real Time Engine Development I
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 131
Interaction Design for Spatial
Performanc
51-0-8
CTM 132
Mathematics and Physics for Graphics
Both
42-2-2
CTM 133
Texturing, Lighting and Rendering
Performance
41-0-6
COP 190
Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term)
Performance
00-0-0
TERM 3 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 1Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 201
Ethics, Society and the African Context
Both
42-2-0
CTM 210
Real Time Engine Development II and Performance Optimisation
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 211
Extended Reality Production Studio
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 212
Volumetric and Photogrammetric Capture
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 213
Sound and Spatial Audio for Immersive Media
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 4 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 2Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 202
Human Advantage: Argument,
Both
42-2-0
COP 290
Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
CTM 230
Client Project Practicum
Performance
50-0-0
CTM 231
Generative and Intelligent Tools in Production Pipelines
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 5 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 1Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 301
AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing
Both
42-2-0
COP 390
Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
CTM 310
Immersive Training and Simulation Design
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 311
User Testing, Comfort and Accessibility Evaluation
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 6 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 2Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 302
Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy
Both
42-2-0
FDC 401
AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment,
Both
31-2-0
FDC 402
Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation
Both
31-2-0
CTM 330
Immersive Capstone: Shipped Experience for a Real Client or Audience
Performance
80-2-14
CTM 331
Creative Enterprise, Rights and Commissioning
Both
42-2-2

Total credit units: 132

Curriculum source

Forward University Curriculum Compendium

Assessment

Coursework + project + integrated exam

Work-integrated learning

12 months paid co-operative education

Your week at Forward

A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Immersive Media and Extended Reality

Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Mandatory live session Flexible bite-sized lesson Optional event

Curriculum explorer

Drill into the degree, step by step

Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.

Step 1, choose a year

Step 2, choose a term

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1

Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU

Cumulative

22

Programme total

132

22 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)

Step 3, choose a course

Pick a course to see the detail

Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.

The twelve Forward capabilities

What this programme develops in you

Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.

  • C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading

Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.

Programme Learning Outcomes

What you will be able to do

Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.

  1. PLO 1Build performant interactive experiences in a real time engine for headset and mobile delivery.
  2. PLO 2Create, optimise and manage three dimensional assets and pipelines.
  3. PLO 3Design interaction and comfort for immersive media including accessibility and motion sickness.
  4. PLO 4Capture and process real environments and people volumetrically or photogrammetrically.
  5. PLO 5Apply generative and intelligent systems within a production pipeline responsibly.
  6. PLO 6Deliver an immersive project to a client brief, budget and deadline.
  7. PLO 7Evaluate an immersive experience with users and iterate on evidence.

Why this programme exists

Spatial computing has moved from novelty to industrial tool: it now trains surgeons, simulates factories, sells property, teaches mechanics and preserves heritage. The technical skills required are scarce everywhere and effectively absent i...

Admission requirements

UACE with two principal passes in any subjects, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. A portfolio or creative aptitude assessment is required. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.

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