Wherever you are, digital media is playing an increasingly bigger role in the marketplace and in our daily lives. And with outsourcing on the rise, you can work for a prestigious international company from just about anywhere.

Digital Media Workers Are In Demand

Career skills in demand include digital video, animation, audio, web design, graphic design, video and interactive multimedia, to name a few. Digital workers can find jobs in consulting, education, the arts, the media—new and traditional, marketing communications and training.

So, if digital media is a good career choice for you, where do you start? Coming to the U.S.A. to study digital media arts makes perfect sense. Here you can access the latest technology, learn from award-winning instructors and get hands-on experience in the industry.

At Santa Ana College (SAC) near Los Angeles, students can earn associate degrees and vocational certificates in television production, broadcast journalism, television scriptwriting, graphic design, 3D animation/modeling, digital music production and digital media arts. Two new certificate programs are offered in digital media freelance and digital media post-production. 

The College’s Media Center (DMC) houses a “business incubator” for emerging digital media businesses, classrooms with remote desktop connection software and a production facility.

Courses in SAC’s associate degree program in Art-Digital Media Arts include typography, digital publishing and graphic arts for the web.

Completion of the associate degree prepares students to move into a four-year institution or into a professional art school. The associate degree also provides for entry into jobs in a variety of areas: advertising agency, printing business, design studio, web production, freelance designer or related fields.

Students Learn to Excel in the Classroom

At many U.S. community colleges, students can earn associate degrees and vocational certificates in television production, broadcast journalism, television scriptwriting, graphic design, 3D animation/modeling, digital music production and digital media arts.

A digital music production certificate program offers instruction in various means of computer assisted digital audio production including sequencing, digital recording, recording studio techniques, mixdown and synchronization to video. It also covers the business of music as well as technologies for web audio design.

Completion of the associate degree prepares students to move into a four-year institution or into a professional art school. The associate degree also provides for entry into jobs in a variety of areas: advertising agency, printing business, design studio, web production, freelance designer or related fields.

Real-World Experience

Santa Monica College near Los Angeles is also known for preparing students to work in the entertainment industry. At the College’s Academy of Entertainment & Technology, students in a “3D Character Animation” class work with Autodesk Maya to master the fundamentals of 3D character animation—including techniques such as posing, timing, weight, anticipation, squash and stretch, overlapping action, and staging. The class also introduces them to the basics of performance animation.

At Pierce College in Tacoma, Washington, the Digital Design Program offers concentrations in two main areas: 

• Traditional Graphic Design: computer and traditional illustration, digital photography and image manipulation, print-based page layout, and web design. 
• Dynamic Media Production: 3D modeling, 2D and 3D animation, video production, DVD authoring, and rich media authoring. 

Core classes include Introduction to Graphic Design and Rich Media, Production Management, Layout Design and Publishing, Fundamentals of 3-D Modeling and Animation, Web Design and CSS, Fundamentals of Digital Photography, Fundamentals of Video Production and DVD Authoring, Fundamentals of Multimedia Authoring Systems, Integrated Digital Design and a supervised internship with a local business, including help preparing a resume and going to job interviews.

University of Central Florida, in Orlando, offers three undergraduate specializations in Digital Media – game design, web design or visual language.

Students specializing in game design learn about the history, culture and design of video games. The program is structured so that students are exposed to the major areas of game design and development: art, programming and producing. 

The web design specialization allows students to explore the fundamentals of web-design with classes such as media software design and internet interaction as well as learn about media business practices and information management.

The visual language specialization blends art, storytelling and technology together with classes in areas of character animation and visual storytelling.

UCF also offers two Master’s degree programs in Digital Media.  In the Master of Arts in Visual Language and Interactive Media, students explore new media theory. A Master of Fine Arts in Visual Language and Interactive Media track is a specialized program in the conceptual, theoretical design, and technical skills needed for storytelling. 

By Judy Iannaccone

Judy Iannaccone is Director of Communications for Rancho Santiago Community College District in Santa Ana, California.