Digital Media Arts Program: About the Program
About the Digital Media Arts Associates Degree & Certificate Program
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see Course of Study for requirements
Program Descriptions
The associate of applied science in the digital media arts degree program offers general education and specialized design skills to students in a variety of media, including digital photography, graphic and web design, animation, video and film, and game art. A primary objective of the program is to expand the creative, conceptual, and technical aspects of a student’s visual thinking through multiple processes of creativity, refining a student’s ability to observe, create, and analyze through design and project based work and enhance creative problem solving. Another goal of this program is to support the self-realization of each student and to develop individuals who can grasp the physical and virtual world around them in a comprehensive and critical manner. Through this, students will be prepared for employment in a variety of fields, but most specifically in digital photography, web and graphic design, interactive media, the film industry, and entry-level game development.
The digital media arts certificate program is a subset of the associate of applied science in the digital media arts degree offering only the specific DMA courses required for the student to gain the necessary skills to provide essential digital media technology assistance in various industries in this field. As with the associate’s degree program, students will be prepared for entry-level employment in a variety of fields, but most specifically in digital photography, web and graphic design, interactive media, the film industry, and game development.
Career and Educational Advancement Opportunities
The associate of applied science in the digital media arts degree provides the student with a well-rounded, design oriented applications knowledge base with the creative problem solving skills that employers desire in all the various careers in digital media today. Many of the DMA core courses are preparatory classes for certifications in multiple software programs, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver and InDesign, as well as Autodesk Maya and Apple Final Cut Pro. This DMA associate degree, while occupational in nature, is transferrable to the UNM Main Albuquerque Campus and can be applied towards a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Photography or Electronic Arts, many of the Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media Arts (IFDM) degrees, as well as a bachelor’s in organizational learning and instructional technologies in the College of Education.
The digital media arts certificate will provide the student with the same well-rounded, design oriented applications knowledge base and creative problem solving skills that employers desire in all the various careers in digital media today. Also, the DMA core courses will help prepare the student for certifications in multiple software programs, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver and InDesign, as well as Autodesk Maya and Apple Final Cut Pro.
Funding
Perkins: We are generously funded by The Perkins Grant, a federally funded program designed to assist Career and Technical Education Students. Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 2006 has as its aim to strengthen career and technical education programs by providing resources to high schools as well as colleges and Universities. The goal of the Perkins Grant is to ensure that the degree program you are pursuing- if you are a DMA Students at UNMV- will assist you in staying the course and completing your degree and to provide you with new resources and equipment. This is how the new computer labs 105/107 were funded, in part. Perkins paid for many of the computers which now have state of the art training software. The Grants goals are simply to help Career and Technical Education students succeed by:
- Improving grade point averages
- Improving degree attainment rates
- Increasing job placement
STEM: A Department of Education Grant, through Title V, that encourages the study of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math through various support programs, scholarships, and departmental funding. We are also generously supported through this program, which funded most upgrades for our DMA 105 Classroom, as well as allowed the department to hire Jonathan Sims, Multiledia Resource Coordinator.