Digital Media Major, B.S. (Digital Game Design Concentration)

College of Business and Technology

Department of Engineering Technology, Surveying, and Digital Media

Digital Media Program Information

Main Office
213 Wilson Wallis Hall
ETSU Box 70552
Johnson City, TN 37614
(423) 439-7822 [Voice]
(423) 439-7830 [Fax - Admin.]
(423) 439-7750 [Fax - Faculty]

Digital Media Center
185-VI Niswonger DMC
ETSU Box 70701
Johnson City, TN 37614
(423) 979-3170 [Voice]
(423) 979-3160 [Fax]

etsudigitalmedia.com/

The Digital Media Program seeks to bridge the arts and sciences by providing students with technical knowledge, an understanding of aesthetics, and practical experience in digital media, with a core emphasis on learning how to develop and express ideas, solve problems, and create digital media content. This program leads students through problem, project, and process-based learning experiences that teach them how to define, design, and develop digital media content, computer graphics, and interactive media. The program endeavors to bring together students, faculty, and industry professionals to prepare for the professional challenges of the 21st century.

No grade below a C (2.0) in DIGM courses may be applied to the B.S. degree.

Digital Media Fee- A Digital Media Enhancement Fee of $100 per semester hour will be applied to all DIGM courses for all students.

Digital Game Design Concentration

This concentration gives students the background necessary to design and develop in any media/software with an emphasis on usability, interactive design, graphic design, problem-solving, production processes, animation and interactive programming. Students in the Interaction Design concentration would typically be prepared for careers in the web design and interactive multimedia entertainment, gaming, education, corporate training, and marketing.

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), by each college, and by each department. All students must meet the degree requirements at each of these levels outlined in the following list:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements

• Degree and Graduation Requirements 
• Completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours is required.
• CSCI 1100 or the proficiency exam
• Proficiency Intensive Course Requirements
• California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)  (Senior Exit Exam)
• Additional Requirements for Transfer Students
• Second Bachelor Degrees
• Double Majors/Double Degrees

Total Credit Hours for Degree: 120

TBR General Education Requirements: 41 Credit Hours

Listed below are the categories and courses specified under TBR General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a TBR General Education requirement AND a requirement of this major. (Other majors may require different General Education courses.) Where specific courses are required for this major,  only those courses are listed under the category. If there are no specific major requirements for a category, all course options appear.

Communication

9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication.

Written Composition

Complete both of the following: 

• ENGL 1010 - Critical Reading and Expository Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 1020 - Critical Thinking and Argumentation (3 credits)

• Students required to complete learning support in writing must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of ENGL 1010  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading. Students needing learning support in both reading and writing should enroll in ENGL 1010-Lxx immediately upon completing learning support in reading. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport.

   

  Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1010  and ENGL 1020 .

   

Oral Communication

Complete one of the following:

• SPCH 1300 - Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
• SPCH 2300 - Public Speaking (3 credits)
• SPCH 2320 - Argumentation and Debate (3 credits)

Humanities and Fine Arts

9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.

Literature

Complete one of the following: 

• ENGL 2030 - Literary Heritage (3 credits)
• ENGL 2110 - American Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2120 - American Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2210 - British Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2220 - British Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2330 - World Literature (3 credits)
• ENGL 2430 - European Literature (3 credits)

Fine Arts

• ARTH 2020 - Art History Survey II (3 credits)

Humanities

Complete the following:

• ENTC 3020 - Technology and Society (3 credits)

Social and Behavioral Sciences

6 credits, consisting of two of the following: 

• ANTH 1240 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 1050 - Economics and Society (3 credits) or
• ECON 2210 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 2220 - Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
• GEOG 1012 - Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 credits)
• HDAL 2310 - Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
• HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits)
• MCOM 1030 - Introduction to Mass Communications (3 credits)
• PSCI 1110 - Political Life (3 credits)
• PSCI 1120 - Introduction to American Government (3 credits)
• PSYC 1310 - Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
• SOCI 1020 - Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)
• SOCI 2020 - Social Problems (3 credits)
• SRVL 1020 - Introduction to Service-Learning in the Community (3 credits)
• WMST 2010 - Introduction to Women’s Studies (3 credits)

History

6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

• HIST 2010 - The United States to 1877 (3 credits)
• HIST 2020 - The United States since 1877 (3 credits)

• Note:  HIST 2030 History of Tennessee  (3 credits) may be substituted for 3 credits of United States History.

Natural Sciences

Complete the following:

• PHYS 2010 - General Physics I-Noncalculus (3 credits)
• PHYS 2011 - General Physics Laboratory I-Noncalculus (1 credit)

• And one course plus the lab, if listed separately (4-5 credits total), from the following:

  • ASTR 1010 Astronomy I (4 credits) 
  • ASTR 1020 Astronomy II (4 credits) 
  • ASTR 1035 Life in the Universe (4 credits)  
  • BIOL 1110 Biology for Science Majors Lecture I (4 credits) 
  • BIOL 1111 Biology for Science Majors Laboratory I (0 credit) 
  • BIOL 1120 Biology for Science Majors Lecture II (4 credits) 
  • BIOL 1121 Biology for Science Majors Laboratory II (0 credit) 
  • BIOL 1130 Biology for Science Majors Lecture III (4 credits) 
  • CHEM 1110 General Chemistry Lecture I (4 credits) 
  • CHEM 1111 General Chemistry Laboratory I (0 credit) 
  • CHEM 1120 General Chemistry Lecture II (4 credits) 
  • CHEM 1121 General Chemistry Laboratory II (0 credit) 
  • GEOL 1040 Geosciences: Earth and Society Lecture (3 credits) 
  • GEOL 1041 Geosciences: Earth and Society Laboratory (1 credit) 
  • GEOL 1050 Geosciences: Earth through Time Lecture (3 credits) 
  • HSCI 2010 Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits) 
  • HSCI 2011 Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory I (0 credit)  
  • HSCI 2020 Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits) 
  • HSCI 2021 Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory II (0 credit) 
  • PHYS 2120 Technical Physics II-Calculus Based (5 credits) 

Mathematics

Students will enroll in the appropriate general education math course during their first calendar year of enrollment at ETSU. Students required to complete learning support in mathematics must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of MATH 1530  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading or writing. Students needing learning support in reading or writing in addition to learning support in math should enroll in MATH 1530-Lxx immediately upon completing their other learning support requirements. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

• MATH 1530 - Probability and Statistics – Noncalculus (3 credits)

Digital Media Core Requirements: 35 Credit Hours

• ARTH 4077 - Contemporary Art (3 credits)
• DIGM 1400 - Principles of Visual Effects and Motion Graphics (4 credits)
• DIGM 1500 - Principles of Digital Game Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 1800 - Principles of Digital Animation (4 credits)
• DIGM 1900 - Principles of Visualization (4 credits)
• DIGM 2660 - Topics in Digital Media History (3 credits)
• DIGM 2990 - Mid-Point Review (1 credit)
• DIGM 4930 - Portfolio Development for Digital Media (4 credits)
• ENTC 1510 - Student in University (2 credits) **
• ENTC 3030 - Technical Communication (3 credits)
• MATH 1720 - Precalculus II (Trigonometry) (3 credits)

• ** Not required for students in the University Honors or Fine and Performing Arts Honors programs.

Digital Game Design Concentration Requirements: 20 Credit Hours

• CSCI 1250 - Introduction to Computer Science I (4 credits)
• DIGM 2530 - High-Fidelity Modeling for Entertainment (4 credits)
• DIGM 3530 - Game Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 3540 - Interaction for Game Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 4550 - Game Play and Testing (4 credits)

Electives: 24 Credit Hours

Choose 24 credit hours from the following:

• ARTA 1110 - Core Studio I (3 credits)
• ARTA 1204 - Color and Practice (3 credits)
• ARTA 2012 - Intermediate Drawing (3 credits)
• ARTA 2051 - Introduction to Painting (3 credits)
• ARTA 2120 - Basic Figure Drawing (3 credits)
• ARTA 2501 - Introduction to Sculpture (3 credits)
• ARTA 3010 - Advanced Drawing (3 credits)
• ARTA 3110 - Intermediate Painting (3 credits)
• ARTA 3150 - Figure Painting (3 credits)
• ARTA 3201 - Intermediate Figure Drawing (3 credits)
• ARTA 3501 - Intermediate Sculpture (3 repeatable)
• ARTA 4517 - Comic Book Illustration (3 credits)
• CSCI 1260 - Introduction to Computer Science II (4 credits)
• CSCI 1900 - Math for Computer Science (3 credits)
• CSCI 2210 - Data Structures (4 credits)
• CSCI 4157 - Interactive Graphics (3 credits)
• ENTC 2160 - Architectural CADD (3 credits)
• ENTC 2170 - CADD (Computer Aided Design Drafting) (4 credits)
• ENTC 2410 - Construction Fundamentals (4 credits)
• ENTC 3050 - Architectural History in Rome, Italy (3 credits)
• RTVF 2600 - Introduction to Radio-TV-Film (3 credits)
• RTVF 2630 - Writing for Radio-TV-Film (3 credits)
• RTVF 3602 - Video-Film Techniques (3 credits)
• RTVF 3651 - Audio Production (3 credits)
• RTVF 4651 - Advanced Audio Production (3 credits)
• STOR 2500 - Introduction to Storytelling (3 credit hours)
• THEA 1520 - Stagecraft I (3 credits)
• THEA 1530 - Stagecraft II (3 credits)
• THEA 2420 - Theatre Design Basics (3 credits)
• Any INTD course
• Any DIGM course
• THEA 2525 - Stage Makeup (3 credit)
• THEA 3330 - Scenic Design (3 credits)
• THEA 3335 - Lighting Design (3 credits)
• THEA 3345 - Costume Design (3 credits)

Minor: no minor required

Additional Information

Click here to view the Digital Game Design Concentration Suggested Course Sequence