Digital Media Major, B.S. (Digital Visual Effects Concentration)

College of Business and Technology

Department of Digital Media

Digital Media Program Information

P.O. Box 70309
Phone: (423) 439-5110
Web Address: ETSUDigitalMedia.com

Niswonger Digital Media Center
Room 196
Contact: Digm.Info@etsu.edu

ETSU’s Digital Media Department seeks to bridge the arts and sciences by providing students with technical knowledge and an understanding of aesthetics to create digital media professionals capable of working at the highest artistic and technical levels.

The Digital Media Department offers a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media with concentrations in Digital Animation, Digital Game Design, Digital Visualization, and Digital Visual Effects.  There is also a Digital Media Minor for students who wish to get a broad exposure in the four areas.

The Digital Media Department is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

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 Visual Effects Concentration

This concentration gives students the background necessary to produce strong visual sequences. Students in the Digital Visual Effects Concentration would typically be preparing for a career in video and cinematography production, video editing, visual effects compositing, and 2D and 3D motion graphic design.

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees, 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
• 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

General Education Requirements: 41 Credit Hours

Listed below are the categories and courses specified under East Tennessee State University Board of Trustees General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a 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 - Introduction to Political Science (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 1710 - Precalculus I (Algebra) (3 credits) or higher

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

Digital Visual Effects Concentration: 23 Credit Hours

• ARTA 3401 - Typography (3 credits)
• DIGM 2720 - Raster-Based Imaging (4 credits)
• DIGM 2900 - Editing for Digital Media (4 credits)
• DIGM 3410 - Visual Effects Compositing (4 credits)
• DIGM 3420 - Motion Graphics (4 credits)
• DIGM 4410 - Digital Media for Film and Effects (4 credits)

Guided Electives: 12 Credit Hours

Choose 12 credit hours from the following:

• ARTA 2401 - Commercial Art/Graphic Design I (3 credits)
• DIGM 2530 - High-Fidelity Modeling for Entertainment (4 credits)
• DIGM 2710 - Vector-Based Imaging (4 credits)
• DIGM 2870 - Animation Fundamentals (4 credits)
• DIGM 3110 - 3-D Model Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 3130 - 3-D Animation (4 credits)
• DIGM 4616 - Raster-Based Imaging Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4617 - Advanced Raster-Based Imaging (3 credits)
• RTVF 3602 - Video-Film Techniques (3 credits)
• RTVF 3651 - Audio Production (3 credits)

Free Electives: 9 Credit Hours

Minor: no minor required

Additional Information

Click here to view the Digital Visual Effects Concentration Suggested Course Sequence .