University of the Fraser Valley Mission Campus

UFV's Bachelor of Media Arts prepares you for creative production in digital and interactive media, one of the fastest growing industries in B.C. today.

The program is designed to equip you with computing and digital design skills, as well as the skills to work in creative teams. In addition to learning the traditional techniques and strategies of the creative disciplines, you also develop the ability to master new software and technologies independently. The ability to learn on your own is key in a fast-paced industry where emerging jobs may not yet have occupational titles.

The program emphasizes the need for practical experience. As part of your degree, you get to complete a professional practices course to know how to identify and market your skills in an industry where teamwork and creativity are at a premium. In your last year, your studies culminate in two large project courses where you put your skills to work for a community organization, under the supervision of a faculty member.

Within the degree, you have the flexibility to focus on your personal interests and career goals by selecting from one of five Media Arts Concentrations:

1. Applied Interactive Media
2. Digital Art
3. Interactive Media Leadership
4. Media and Performance
5. Screen Studies

Develop your artistic skill, become a creative problem solver, and learn how to flourish in the creative arts industry by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). In your first year, you can explore a range of Fine Arts discipline while you complete the BFA general requirements in writing, logical reasoning, and science.

Before the end of your second year, you focus your degree, based on your career goals and personal interests, by choosing a major or two extended minors from the list below:

• Majors
  • Visual Arts
  • Graphic and Digital Design
• Extended Minors
  • Art History and Visual Studies
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts
• Minors
  • Art History
  • Business
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts

In your third and fourth years of study you deepen your knowledge by completing the requirements for your major, minor, or extended minors, and by selecting your choice of electives to meet the credential requirements of your degree.

To prepare you for today's multi-disciplinary creative industry, UFV's Graphic and Digital Design diploma program (GDD) provides you with a solid foundation in four fields of professional practice: brand identity, graphic/communication design, dynamic media, and interactive design.

As a student, you are immersed in design practice through project-based learning in collaborative Mac studio spaces. You’ll build a strong foundation in design process, resourcefulness, and conceptual development, as well as skills in critical thinking, typography, image making, content creation, and industry standard Adobe software.

The Graphic and Digital Design diploma (GDD) is a full-time 60-cred cohort program offered on the Mission campus (fall intake), and the Abbotsford campus (winter intake).

As a GDD diploma student, you’ll be part of a cohort that moves together through the entire two-year program. You must register for five courses in each semester and each individual graphic design course is only offered once per academic year on each campus. Courses in the GDD diploma are raught by dynamic faculty engaged in design practice, professional communities, and academic research.

Expect at least four hours of homework each week for each course. GDD is both demanding and rewarding, requiring that you put in the time and commitment to build a strong professional practice portfolio.

FEATURES:

• Field trips enhance classroom learning
• Engage with the design industry through special events, guest lectures, study tours, design conferences, workshops, practicums, and mentorship opportunities.
• Coursework emphasizes professional standards of practice through real-world projects, special events, and workshops.
• Program eligible for financial aid