Digital Media Major, B.S. (Digital Animation 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 realize interdisciplinary initiatives and prepare students for the professional challenges of the 21st century in careers in 3- D visualization, animation final portfolio in the senior year must be submitted in order to graduate.

A committee of Digital Media faculty will evaluate each student’s work and progress at the review and evaluate the final portfolio. No grade below a C in Digital Media required core and 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., interactive design, web media, product design,and digital video.

Digital Animation Concentration

This concentration gives students the background necessary to animate in any media/software with strong skills in one of several specialty areas of animation, such as character animation and special effects animation. Students in the animation concentration would typically be preparing for careers in 3-D animation, 2-D animation, motion graphics, character animation, and technical direction.

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements put forth 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. Please follow the format below:

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
• 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

Below you will see 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, we only list those courses 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 both ENGL 1011  and in ENGL 1010 . 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)

• When one of the oral communication courses listed above is completed to meet the general education core requirement, that course will not count toward ETSU’s oral communication-intensive requirement. (See “Other Graduation Requirements.”) Any additional course from this list that is completed will count toward the oral communication-intensive requirement.

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

Complete one of the following:

• ARTH 2010 - Art History Survey I (3 credits)
• ARTH 2020 - Art History Survey II (3 credits)
• DANC 3500 - Dance as a Human Experience (3 credits)
• HUMT 2310 - Arts and Ideas I (3 credits)
• HUMT 2320 - Arts and Ideas II (3 credits)
• MUSC 1030 - Introduction to Music (3 credits)
• MUSC 1035 - History of Jazz (3 credits)
• THEA 1030 - Introduction to the Theatre (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)
• 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)  
  • 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) 
  • GEOG 1110 Earth Science: Weather and Climate (4 credits) 
  • GEOG 1120 Earth Science: Landforms and Processes (4 credits)  
  • GEOL 1040 Exploring Geology Lecture (3 credits)  
  • GEOL 1041 Exploring Geology Laboratory (1 credit)  
  • GEOL 1050 Historical Geology (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 eligible to enroll in this math course must do so during their first calendar year of enrollment or prior to accumulating 33 semester credits at ETSU.

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

Digital Media Core Requirements: 38 Credit Hours

• DIGM 1100 - Visual Thinking (4 credits)
• ARTA 1110 - 2-D Design (3 credits)
• ARTA 1204 - Color Theory (3 credits)
• ENTC 1510 - Student in University (2 credits) *
• MATH 1720 - Precalculus II (Trigonometry) (3 credits)
• DIGM 1640 - Vector-Based Imaging (4 credits)
• DIGM 1650 - Raster-Based Imaging (4 credits)
• DIGM 3000 - Principles of Interaction (4 credits)
• DIGM 3010 - Principles of Visualization (4 credits)
• ENTC 3030 - Technical Communication (3 credits)
• DIGM 4930 - Portfolio Development for Digital Media (4 credits) **

Digital Animation Concentration Requirements: 37 Credit Hours

• ARTA 1201 - Drawing Fundamentals (3 credits)
• ARTA 2120 - Basic Figure Drawing (3 credits)
• DIGM 2870 - Animation Fundamentals (4 credits)
• THEA 2510 - Acting I (3 credits)
• DIGM 2900 - Motion Tools I: Editing (4 credits)
• DIGM 3130 - 3-D Animation (4 credits)
• DIGM 4146 - Character Animation Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4147 - Fundamentals of Character Animation (3 credits)

Guided Electives: 4 Credit Hours

Guided electives are to be chosen with the guidance of the DIGM advisor according to the student’s desired area of specialization.

• DIGM 2821 - Desktop Publishing (4 credits)
• DIGM 3110 - 3-D Model Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 3120 - 3-D Lighting & Rendering (4 credits)
• DIGM 3200 - Web Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 3300 - Product Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 3400 - Interactive Design (4 credits)
• DIGM 4616 - Raster-Based Imaging Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4617 - Advanced Raster-Based Imaging (3 credits)
• DIGM 4626 - Motion Tools II Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4627 - Motion Tools II:Compositing (3 credits)
• DIGM 4646 - Animation Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4647 - Advanced Animation (3 credits)
• DIGM 4816 - 3-D Effects Animation Undergraduate Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4817 - 3-D Effects Animation (3 credits)
• DIGM 4826 - Motion Tool III Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4827 - Motion Tools III: Application (3 credits)
• DIGM 4886 - Technical Direction Laboratory (1 credit)
• DIGM 4887 - Technical Direction for Animation (3 credits)
• DIGM 4900 - Independent Study in Digital Media (1-6 credits)
• DIGM 4957 - Special Topics in Digital Media (2-4 credits)

Minor: no minor required

Additional Information

Click here to view the Digital Animation Concentration Suggested Course Sequence