Digital Arts Department
Master of Science in Digital Arts
As Silicon Valley continues to produce innovative smart devices and make advancements in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), the role of a digital artist is more important than ever. A consumer’s insatiable appetite for new content drives the demand for skilled designers, storytellers, and artists needed to create that content.
In ITU’s Digital Arts program, you’ll learn from experienced industry professionals who integrate design fundamentals, professional skills, and entrepreneurial know-how. By utilizing animation, sound, lighting, and other tools, you’ll learn to produce live action, interactive, and augmented media. Plus, you’ll create your own multimedia portfolio and write thesis papers for peer-reviewed publications. Upon completion, you’ll be prepared for leadership roles in fields like digital art production, advertising, film, gaming, AR, VR, and mobile and app development.
Curriculum
The 39-credit Digital Arts program curriculum is composed of core courses, electives, interdisciplinary electives, ITU Presents, Nugget courses, capstone project or thesis, and an internship. The program is designed to be completed in 16 months.
Program Structure
| Degree Requirements | Credits |
| Core Courses | 9 |
| Required DA Concentration Courses | 3 to 9 |
| Required Capstone Courses | 3 |
| Required ITU Presents | 1 |
| Required Nugget Courses | 2 |
| Internship | 1 |
| Elective Courses | 14 to 20 |
| Total | 39 |
Transfer Credits
Up to 9 credit hours from a graduate program of a regionally accredited school with department chair’s approval.
Required Courses
- 3 Core Courses (9 credit hours)
- Capstone course – Project or Thesis (3 credit hours)
- Internship know more
- Nugget courses (up to 3 credit hours)
- ITU Presents (1 credit hour)
- ITU Nuggets (2 credit hours)
Core Courses
- DGA 508 CG Software Fundamentals
- DGA 518 UI/UX
- DGA 631 Digital Media Startup
Required Capstone Course
- DGA 690 Master’s Project or
- DGA 692 Master’s Thesis
Internship
- INT 593 Internship – know more
- Internship Credit Option: As part of the elective
requirements, you can apply a maximum of 9
internship credit hours, including 1 required credit
hour, towards your degree’s total of 39 credit
hours. - Internship Waiver: Students unable to meet the
1-credit internship requirement can request a
waiver from the Registrar’s Office. This waiver
doesn’t affect the degree credit requirement (39
credits).
Grade Point Average (GPA)
A minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA is required for granting of the Master’s and Doctoral degree.
ITU Presents
- PRE 500 ITU Presents
*Students must take three ITU Presents courses
for a total of 1 credit hour
Elective Courses
1. Department Elective Courses List.
Consult the Program Elective List
2. With approval from the DA Department
With approval from the DGA Department any course from
• Department of Business Administration
• Department of Computer Science
• Department of Engineering Management
• Department of Electrical and
ComputerEngineering
3. Elective Internship Credit Option: You can
complete a maximum of 9 internship credit
hours, including 1 required credit hour, to
reach the total of 39 credit hours needed for
your degree.
4. Transfer Credits: Up to 9 credit hours from a
graduate program of a regionally accredited
school with DepartmentChairʼs approval.
Students must complete enough Elective Courses to
accumulate a total of 39 credit hours.
List of Elective Courses for DA
| » DGA 503 Storyboard Design |
| » DGA 504 Global Storytelling |
| » DGA 507 Design Fundamentals |
| » DGA 508 CG Software Fundamentals |
| » DGA 509 Basic Image Manipulation |
| » DGA 510 Intro to Game Development |
| » DGA 512 Web Graphic Design |
| » DGA 513 Documentary Production |
| » DGA 515 Trial Design |
| » DGA 516 Production Sound Recording |
| » DGA 517 Post Production Sound Recording |
| » DGA 518 UI/UX: User Interfaces and User Experiences |
| » DGA 519 Still Life and Figure Drawing |
| » DGA 520 Motion Graphics |
| » DGA 521 Digital Media Distribution |
| » DGA 522 Editing I |
| » DGA 523 Social Network Marketing and Publishing |
| » DGA 524 Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality |
| » DGA 526 Screenwriting |
| » DGA 527 Production |
| » DGA 528 Dynamic UX |
| » DGA 529 Introduction to Games Programming Unity, SpriteKit using C#, and Swift |
| » DGA 531 Beginning Augmented Reality |
| » DGA 532 Beginning Virtual Reality |
| » DGA 533 Artist Representation |
| » DGA 534 Production Management |
| » DGA 535 Business of Entertainment |
| » DGA 536 Originating and Development Ideas for Entertainment |
| » DGA 606 Animation I |
| » DGA 607 Storyboards and Layouts |
| » DGA 608 CG Modeling |
| » DGA 609 3D Modeling and 3D Printing |
| » DGA 610 Rigging for 3D Animation |
| » DGA 611 Lighting and Compositing |
| » DGA 612 Concept Art and Storyboarding |
| » DGA 615 Zbrush |
| » DGA 617 Motion Capture |
| » DGA 622 Editing II |
| » DGA 626 Animation II |
| » DGA 641 Augmented Reality Design and Production |
| » DGA 642 Virtual Reality Design and Production |
| » DGA 661 Unity 2D/3D Game Development Platform |
| » DGA 688 Special Topics (1 to 3 credit hours) |
| » DGA 689 Independent Study (1 to 3 credit hours) |
| » MKT 551 Competitive Marketing Strategies |
| » MKT 585 International Marketing |
| » MKT 590 Marketing with Social Media |
| » CSC 515 iPhone Application Development |
| » CSC 518 OO Programming with Java |
| » CSC 519 Android Phone Application Development |
| » CSC 520 Python Programming |
| » CSC 525 HTML/CSS Programming |
| » CSC 530 JavaScript Programming |
| » SWE 518 User Interface Design and Implementation |
Concentrations
Customize your education to match your career goals by choosing one of the following concentrations:
UI/UX Design
Learn from courses such as Dynamic UX, Design Fundamentals, User Interfaces and User Experiences, and Web Graphic Design.
3D Design Production
Learn from courses such as 3D Modeling and 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, Global Storytelling, Basic image Manipulation.
Required Courses for Each Concentration
UI/UX Design: (9 credit hours)
Students must take:
- DGA 505 Product Design Basics
- DGA 518 UI/UX: User Interface and User Experience
Any one (1) of the following courses:
- DGA 503 Storyboard Design
- DGA 507 Design Fundamentals
- DGA 509 Basic Image Manipulation
- DGA 520 Motion Graphics
- DGA 606 Animation
- IDS 561 Storyboard and Pre-Visualization Design
3D Design Production: (9 credit hours)
Students must take three of the following courses:
- DGA 503 Storyboard Design
- DGA 504 Global Storytelling
- DGA 509 Basic Image Manipulation
- DGA 529 Introduction to Games (Programming Unity, SpriteKit using C#, and Swift)
- DGA 531 Beginning Augmented Reality
- DGA 532 Beginning Virtual Reality
- DGA 609 3D Modeling and 3D Printing
Declaring or Changing a Concentration
(FOR DIGITAL ARTS PROGRAM ONLY) Digital Arts program concentrations may be declared starting at the point of admissions. If a student does not declare concentration during the admissions process, the student will be enrolled in the Digital Arts program. Students may add or change their Digital Arts program concentration at any point before the completion of 19 credit hours. Any approved transfer credit will be counted towards the 19 credit hours. Requests to declare or change concentrations must be made by the first day of the trimester in which the student will attempt the 20th credit hour in order to be considered. The department chair must approve any exceptions to the conditions above.
ITU in Action
Who
should apply
ITU’s Digital Arts program is designed for students who want to create an attention-grabbing portfolio while acquiring new skills in technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, animation, graphics design, and more.
Learning Outcomes
Apply foundational digital production skills to create stories, visualizations and designs.
Apply collaborative skills and evaluate team dynamics to successfully complete team-oriented master digital art projects.
Create professional grade digital productions by utilizing general production pipelines from conception to production, marketing and distribution.
Apply understanding of software, hardware, and the production process to identify appropriate industry standards to complete digital productions.
Analyze products and situations to effectively articulate and identify opportunities for innovation and experimentation in art, design, and product development.
Create a portfolio of projects that showcase multiple art and media skills in design, animation, filmmaking and interactive design.