In a few weeks, a holiday film will be shown nationwide on December 4th. “Santa’s Cousin” was made in a groundbreaking agreement with the Creative Media Institute (CMI) at New Mexico State University. The mastermind, our award-winning Ross Marks, should be recognized for his leadership in this effort.

An effort like this is only possible by combining a set of creative elements, including creative writing, story development, cinematography, animation and special effects, etc. When these disciplines come together, they can create a masterpiece.

NMSU makes these creative endeavors possible by bringing together diverse disciplines that allow our students to interact and discover different perspectives that can enhance any project. This is a unique, and often underestimated, strength of our beloved institution.

Two things are necessary to make this possible in a higher education setting: 1) Interdisciplinary academic programs. This allows students to explore creative experiences, integrating knowledge and skills drawn from a diversity of disciplines, whilst completing their degrees; and 2) Creative spaces that support, enable, and stimulate the integration of disciplines so that students are empowered to create these types of projects.

NMSU is home to outstanding interdisciplinary programs, including those in the College of Arts and Sciences. A shining example is represented by our most recently launched degree program – the Doctoral Program in Cross-Border Studies and Global Human Dynamics, designed to help the next generation of students acquire the tools necessary to research important questions that transcend borders, such as migration, asylum, human rights. human rights and environmental pressures.

This doctoral program is sponsored by the Departments of Government, Anthropology, History, and Languages ​​and Linguistics and integrates other departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and beyond. The first cohort will begin in fall 2025 and applications will be accepted until December 1.

Another example of a successful interdisciplinary degree program is the online Master of Data Analytics program, offered through the NMSU Global Campus; This program brings together different skill sets to enable students to learn how to analyze large and diverse data sets and develop effective ways to communicate solutions to audiences of all backgrounds.

Data analytics is inherently interdisciplinary and deals with methods and systems for synthesizing knowledge or insights from large amounts of data. It uses theories, methodologies and tools from many fields, in the general areas of mathematics, statistics and computer and information sciences, and applies them to areas such as life sciences, medicine , physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, business and education.

These and other efforts lay the administrative foundation necessary to facilitate the effective development of more interdisciplinary programs.

Along with designing interdisciplinary curricula, NMSU is also exploring creating physical spaces for students to work together on interdisciplinary creative endeavors.

The Creative Media Technology Building (Cholla Hall) at Doña Ana Community College (DACC) is a 15,300 square foot facility opened in October of this year to support DACC’s Creative Media Technology program. It is a mixed-use space for students in the DACC ARTS department pursuing careers in film, animation, game design, and virtual production. The DACC building is one of several buildings that will be completed as part of the Las Cruces Creative Campus, a digital media complex.

Another facility, co-located with Cholla Hall, is the $15 million soundstage at NMSU’s Arrowhead Park, housing the Las Cruces satellite campus of the New Mexico Media Arts Collective. These facilities are part of the statewide Collective Media Arts Initiative to grow the state’s film industry. The soundstage complex is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026.

A third creative media facility integrating NMSU’s Creative Media Institute and other academic disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences in groundbreaking and innovative ways is in its early stages.

The combination of interdisciplinary academic integration coupled with physical spaces will allow our students to collaborate, creating perspectives in different fields and providing new career opportunities. At the DACC and Arrowhead facilities, NMSU students will have the opportunity to complete paid internships working on a wide variety of creative endeavors, from film, television and game design to battlefield simulations .

CMI faculty have led the way through partnerships on films like “Santa’s Cousin.” These are the types of projects made possible by a creative campus environment.

I encourage you all to attend the premiere of “Santa’s Cousin” at the Allen Cinema in Las Cruces on December 4th. While you enjoy the light-hearted story of Santa’s cousin, who helps save a Christmas jubilee in the small town. de Ruidoso, remember it all started with NMSU alumni, faculty and students working together to make this possible.

Enrico Pontelli is the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University. He can be reached at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Las Cruces Sun-News: Interdisciplinary degrees enable the “creative campus”