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Animation & Game Arts
BFA

Massachusetts is one of the world's hubs for digital technology. UMass Dartmouth's animation and game arts program integrates digital art, design, and technology to advance the quality of digital communication and create a more understandable world.

You'll concentrate on digital animation and interactive multimedia while exploring 2- and 3-dimensional design, web design, and virtual reality. As you explore the potential of various digital media technologies, you'll engage in consistent, hands-on experimentation, working with faculty members who have considerable expertise in the field.

Your BFA in Art + Design: Animation & Game Arts will prepare you to meet the design and communications challenges of the 21st century with careers in areas such as art direction, advertising, animation, broadcasting, creative direction, education, environmental design, game design, interface design, multimedia, scientific visualization, software application design, special effects, video editing, virtual reality and web design.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

Our curriculum emphasizes conceptual development, digital production, and creative solutions to technical and communication problems. You'll explore:

  • storytelling and storyboarding
  • two- and three-dimensional animation
  • three-dimensional modeling
  • interactive design
  • game design
  • virtual reality studies

For the BFA in Art + Design: Animation & Game Arts, you'll complete 78 credits in courses related to your major, and 120 credits overall.

Computer requirement for CVPA majors

Course descriptions, schedules and requirements

The minor in animation offers students the opportunity to:

  • understand the roles of a professional animator in the field
  • work with digital tools such as Photoshop and Maya
  • develop skills which will enable production of animations for TV and film
  • produce a portfolio of 2D and 3D animation

Prepare for careers such as:

  • animator
  • rigger
  • 3D modeler
  • texture artist

For the minor, you'll complete 18 credits. Five required classes provide students with necessary skills/knowledge for working in the animation industry, while one elective class chosen from a list of recommended classes allows each student to choose a course aligned with their personal animation interests.

The minor in game arts offers students the opportunity to accomplish the following:

  • understand the roles of professional game designer and game artist
  • work with digital tools such as Photoshop, Unity3D and Maya
  • develop skills which will enable production of physical prototypes
  • produce a portfolio of character, environment design, and functional prototypes

Prepare for careers such as:

  • game artist
  • game designer
  • game user interface designer
  • board game designer

For the minor, you'll complete 18 credits. Five required classes provide students with necessary skills/knowledge for working in the game arts industry, while one elective class chosen from a list of recommended classes allows each student to choose a course aligned with their personal game arts interests.

Note: Minors in this concentration may be required to have a laptop.

Animation & Game Arts student work

Student success

Jared Gula '24 accepts his award for
Animation & game arts major wins 1st place in JoyArt Boston

Jared Gula's "Atlas Resprite" places first in Pixel Art category.

Career placements

  • Blue Hills Bank
  • Bright Horizons
  • Fresh Tilled Soil
  • iFactory
  • Jack Morton Worldwide
  • Mad*Pow
  • Microsoft
  • MDG Brand Innovation
  • New York City
  • Philips Lightolier
  • Razorfish
  • Sametz Blackstone
  • Stirrings
  • Swedish Historical Museum
  • White Rhino
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Worldways Strategy + Creative
  • Yak Pak
  • Zildjian Cymbals

Graduate schools

  • Yale University

College of Visual & Performing Arts undergraduate median starting salary:
$55,000

NACE Data Collection of Class of 2023 Undergraduate Alumni

UMassD advantages

  • Internships: enhance your studies while gaining professional experience
  • Facilities: our computer, imaging, and virtual reality labs feature state-of-the art workstations, printers, and scanners with industry-standard software
  • Community: interact with professionals and peers by joining CVPA student clubs

Rankings

Expand your opportunities

Master of Fine Arts in Visual Design: Continue your education with a master's in visual design. You can choose to specialize in digital media, graphic design, illustration, or photography.

Master of Art Education: With an emphasis on how the arts are integrated into daily life, the MAE program leads to a single-level professional certification in Massachusetts as an art teacher in grades Pre K-8 or 5-12.

Web & Interaction Design Certificate: Enhance your marketability with a certificate in web and interaction design. Your design knowledge will increase as you explore issues of web accessibility, findability, and usability.

Animation & Game Arts faculty

Mark Millstein
Nathaniel Otto Metzger
Scott Ahrens
Shawn Towne
Shawn Towne
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