School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
The School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (ATEC) offers a Bachelor of Arts degree that purposefully blends theory and practice to help students develop the skills to support and engage new modes of expression and communication emerging from the convergence of computing and media technologies. The program stresses not only the creation but also the potential applications and cultural implications of interactive media. Through ATEC courses, students will expand both the breadth and depth of their skills, with opportunities to further specialize through application-based concentrations in Animation & Games or Critical Media Studies.
All students in ATEC begin on the general degree plan, which allows students to explore the School's interdisciplinary programs across the entire ATEC curriculum. Students who pursue the general ATEC degree will be able to study multiple areas within ATEC as well as focus on areas such as UX/UI design, sound design, video production, and digital fabrication.
The Animation & Games concentration blends creative storytelling with technology to encourage experimentation in form, content, interaction, and medium. ATEC's animation courses emphasize 3D animation, which includes various artistic and technical disciplines such as modeling and texturing, character rigging, lighting and composition, computer programming and scripting, as well as character movement and acting. Courses in game development and production use a collaborative approach to solving problems using both artistic processes and computational skills throughout coursework in level design, game design, scripting, and more. In addition to careers in entertainment, students will learn skills that will prepare them for new and emerging fields such as medical and scientific visualization and development.
The Critical Media Studies concentration questions how media and technology environments organize public thought and social relations with particular attention to the impact of social differences. This digital liberal arts approach prepares students to enter the workforce in a wide range of fields. Past students in the critical media space have become community leaders, activists, educators, writers, digital marketers, and more. Critical Media Studies students are also well prepared to continue their studies in academic graduate programs or professional programs.
Each student in the School consults regularly with an academic advisor, who helps the student design an integrated program of coursework. The BA in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication requires a total of 120 semester credit hours, including 51 upper-division semester credit hours, for each concentration option.
Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees
The Fast Track program is designed to permit exceptional undergraduate students in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication to begin work on the ATEC with Emerging Media Studies master's degree before graduation. Qualified seniors may take up to 12 semester credit hours of approved graduate courses in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication during their senior year and apply these semester credit hours to their undergraduate degree plans as either prescribed or free electives. The Fast Track courses will also be used to satisfy up to 12 graduate semester credit hours towards the Masters degree in ATEC with Emerging Media Studies. A limited number of Fast Track students are admitted each Fall and priority will be given to ATEC undergraduate students in the Critical Media Studies concentration.
Faculty
Professors: Anne Balsamo, Christine (xtine) Burrough, Paul Fishwick, Roger Malina, Mihai Nadin, Marilyn Waligore
Associate Professors: Heidi Cooley, Monica Evans, Eric Farrar, Todd Fechter, Midori Kitagawa, Kim Knight, Maximilian Schich, Andrew Scott, Dean Terry
Assistant Professors: Olivia Banner, Juan Llamas Rodriguez, Sean McComber, Josef Nguyen, Wendy Sung, Hong An Wu
Clinical Professors: Elizabeth (Lisa) Bell, Tim Christopher, Paul Lester
Clinical Associate Professor: Harold (Chip) Wood
Senior Lecturers: Elizabeth Boyd, Christopher Camacho, Adam Chandler, Harold Fitzgerald, Sharon Hewitt, Laura Imaoka, Casey Johnson, Timothy Lewis, David Marks, Peter McCord, Roxanne Minnish, Christina Nielsen, Kara Oropallo, Monika Salter, Christine Veras