Artwork (cropped) from 2018 BHA student Gowri Sunder's capstone project "Rough and Tumble" that explores victimhood and feminine passivity.
The BXA Intercollege Degree Programs Celebrate a Milestone Anniversary
For 25 years, BXA students have integrated studies in the fine arts with studies in computer science (BCSA), the humanities (BHA), science (BSA), and, most recently, engineering (EA). Armed with degrees in interdisciplinary studies, graduates are in demand in a competitive marketplace that's clamoring for a new generation of creative problem-solvers in artistic, technical and entrepreneurial careers.
This academic year celebrates the BXA programs, current students' and graduates' wide range of interests and, at the same time, their common bonds.
BXA through the Years
1993 | Bachelor of Humanities and Arts
1999 | Bachelor of Science and Arts
2008 | Bachelor of Computer Science and Arts
2018 | Engineering and Arts Additional Major
Celebrating 25 Years
The BXA Intercollege Degree Programs have been pioneering higher education with interdisciplinary undergraduate degrees for 25 years. In celebration of their milestone anniversary, BXA is hosting a number of events throughout the academic year.
Semester Kickoff Fall 2018
Students are welcomed back to socialize with their peers and meet the incoming first-year students.
Interdisciplinary Social Fall 2018
BXA students and other student-scholars from across the university mix and mingle at the all disciplinary social.
Alumni Panel Fall 2018
BXA alumni speak about their career paths with current students and their families during Homecoming.
BXA Seminar Fall 2018
The first-year cohort exhibits their final seminar projects as part of School of Art's Open Studios.
BXA Pride Day Spring 2019
Students enjoy fun activities to celebrate BXA at the first annual pride day.
Networking Lunch Spring 2019
Over a casual lunch, students and alumni get a chance to connect with each other.
Kaleidoscope Spring 2019
BXA students and alumni perform and exhibit their creative work at the annual showcase and reception.
Commencement Spring 2019
Graduating students process into Gesling stadium for the university-wide ceremony.
Students & Alumni
BXA alumni and students are determinedly forward-looking, and this 25th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on how the programs grew through the dedicated work of faculty, staff and students into a truly remarkable and unique undergraduate program.
"BXA students recognize the truly special resources of Carnegie Mellon—the people, the place, the heart—and use them to produce truly special results."
Stephanie Murray, BXA Director
Andy Biar | BCSA 2014
Andy’s work delivers novel experiences through emerging media, and is characterized by the use of a wide range of software and hardware platforms.
Andy is a Staff Engineer at Warner Bros. Emerging Technology.
Biar created and installed a series of animated augmented reality sculptures at VIA 2014 , in collaboration with artists Vince McKelvie, Andrew Bueno and Eric Mackie.
John Choi | BCSA 2017
Choi now runs Choitek, his startup company that creates robots that teach and inspire.
As a BCSA senior, Choi was recognized for his lightsaber-wielding robot at National Maker Faire in Washington, D.C. He was also a Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Innovation Scholar and the first recipient of the Tellerman Family Innovation Scholarship.
Luca Damasco | BCSA 2017
Luca Damasco (BCSA 2017, MHI 2018) is the co-founder of Wick Editor, a free and open-source tool for creating games, animation and interactive media.
As a BCSA undergraduate, his capstone project turned into a company that won a $79,120 grant from the Mozilla Open Source Support program.
Hermans wearing her project Sending, Feeling, networked scarves that send feeling in the form of heat.
Caroline Hermans | EA 2018
Caroline Hermans is a recent Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) graduate and is one of the first student to complete the new additional major in Engineering and Art (EA).
She is an engineer, an artist and a designer who wants to transform technology from something shiny and metallic and foreign into something personal and emotional and human.
Kathy "Yaeji" Lee | BHA 2015
Kathy "Yaeji" Lee (BHA 2015) is a rising singer, DJ and producer who is packing clubs and festivals in the US, Europe and Asia, including the upcoming event Lollapalooza. Known for her unique style of mixing American and Korean lyrics, she has played Coachella, covered Fader magazine and highlighted as Billboard Dance's "Ones to Watch."
Kaytie Nielsen | BHA 2016
Nielsen studied Creative Writing, Directing, and Psychology. She is a filmmaker, writer and director.
As a freshman, Nielsen was one of six students nationwide chosen for the Fulbright Commission's Queen's University Belfast Summer Institute. As a senior, Nielsen was awarded a national competitive fellowship from the Henry Luce Foundation, which provides stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in Asia for individuals from various fields and backgrounds who have limited exposure to Asian culture.
Post-graduation, Nielsen is the fourth CMU student to earn the highly selective international Marshall Scholarship, which funds up to two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom.
Joana Ricou | BSA 2004
Joana Ricou (BSA 2004) is named one of the “14 Emerging Women Artists to Watch in 2017” by artnet News. Her belief that art can both support and contribute to science and vice-versa has led to collaborations with galleries, schools and museums in Portugal and the USA, including the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Science Center, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and Ponce Museo de Arte (Puerto Rico) among others. In 2012, Joana received a fellowship from the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University and a Spark award from the Sprout Fund. Joana received commissions to support her exploration of the microbiome as an artistic medium from the Eden Project and the Wellcome Trust (2015) and from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (2016).
Daniel See | BHA 2019
See currently studies Decision Science and Art through the BHA program.
Daniel See has a strong desire to proactively respond to the homelessness problem in Pittsburgh. Daniel applied his craft as a way to both raise funds and combat the dehumanizing stigma of homelessness. Working with a group of men at a local shelter, he created a series of cups molded with the handprints of individuals experiencing homelessness.
Paloma Sierra-Hernandez | BHA 2019
Paloma Sierra-Hernandez is a scenic designer and writer from Puerto Rico, who is studying Creative Writing and Drama through the BHA program.
She is drawn to Drama, Film and Theater as tools that can prompt intercultural dialogue. She actively explores this approach through creative projects that merge dramatic writing, research, design, translation and music.
