Degree Requirements

A graduate of this program will not only have solid Computer Science, graphics, and game-programming skills, but also a strong foundation in art and/or the critical, technical, and design aspects of digital media.In order to obtain this foundation, the proposed major will require work in allied fields. Allied areas include Studio Art, Electronic Media Arts Design (EMAD), and Digital Media Studies (DMS). The depth of this allied knowledge will be dependent on the degree, BA or BS, chosen.

For the BA in Game Development we require a double major in one of Studio Art, EMAD, or DMS. For the BS in Game Development a department approved cognate in an allied area will be required. The cognate can be satisfied by selecting and completing a set of five game-development committee approved allied classes.

This list of classes will be determined in collaboration with the Art department and Digital Media Studies program. In addition, both degrees require satisfying the University general education Foundation and Core requirements for BA and BS degrees. The BS requires two minors, one of which must be math for the game development major, and the BA requires one minor which is satisfied by the required double major, see below.

Bachelor of Arts in Game Development

The BA requires of minimum of 12 four-credit Computer Science (COMP) or Digital Media Studies (DMST) classes and the first two quarters of calculus. Of these 12 COMP/DMST classes, 9 are required and 3 are electives. The required classes are:

The 3 elective classes are chosen and approved in consultation with your advisor and include choices from: AI for Games, Computer Animation, Advanced Graphics, Operating Systems, Computer Networking, Network Games, Game Design, Digital Audio Production I, Digital Audio Production II, topics in game programming, topics in game design.

In addition to the above requirements, the BA requires a double major in one of DMS, EMAD, or Studio Art. The second major satisfies the BA minor requirement. Classes, cross-listed or not, can only be used to satisfy the requirements for one of the majors. See the following web pages for specific major requirements for the chosen allied field choice:

• Digital Media Studies (DMS) Major
• Studio Art Major
• Electronic Media Arts Design (EMAD) Major

Bachelor of Science in Game Development

The BS requires a minimum of 13 four-credit COMP/DMST classes, a minor in mathematics, a second minor of your choices, and a cognate of 5 approved allied field classes from Art, EMAD, and DMS. The BS requires more mathematics and more required COMP class than the BA and is balanced with fewer classes in the allied fields. The 10 required classes are:

The 3 elective classes are chosen in consultation with your advisor and include choices from: AI for Games, Computer Animation, Advanced Graphics, Computer Networking, Network Games, Game Design, Digital Audio Production I, Digital Audio Production II, topics in game programming, topics in game design.

Since the program is intended to provide graduates with both a computer science technical foundation as well as some knowledge in an allied field, we wish our students to have at least one of: (I) a foundation in art that includes both appreciation and understanding of the significance of art and some ability to create art themselves, or (II) a foundation in the critical, technical, and design foundations in digital media studies. The goal of the cognate is to assure one of the above two goals is met. Note, the required BA double major serves the same purpose but is a more intense requirement.

The cognate is intended to be flexible and chosen by the student in conjunction with an advisor and contingent on the approval of the computer science department undergraduate committee. A possible and non-exhaustive list of classes include: