OVERVIEW

The Digital Media Program seeks to bridge the arts and sciences by providing students with technical skills along with an understanding of aesthetics and practical experience in digital media. The program brings together students, faculty, industry professionals to prepare students for the challenges of careers in game design, animation, digital video, visual effects, visualization, interactive design and other areas in digital media.

Our students are typically interested in some blend of technology and art applied to a digital media career.  Strong technical skills and understanding combined with aesthetic judgement and experience enable our students to produce digital work at a high level.  We give students the opportunity to study a specialty, like animation or game design, and get experience in other areas of digital media production, like digital film, scripting, or electronic publishing.  It’s not uncommon for a student to come to the program interested in one area, and switch to another, previously untried, area that captured their interest and attention.

The Digital Media Program is very challenging as is the field in general.  You’ll work with cutting-edge technology and high-end equipment to produce professional caliber work suitable for professional portfolios.  You’ll work with faculty and be part of a team of 300 other digital media students as you progress through 4 years of increasingly challenging courses.  The final course in the Digital Media curriculum is Portfolio Development for Digital Media (DIGM4930).  In this class the faculty prepares each individual for entry into their professional world by focusing on their portfolio.  Students in DIGM4930 present their work for critique twice during the semester to the complete faculty, all interested students, and local professionals.

If you have any questions, or if you are in the area for a campus visit, let us know so we can make time to talk to you while you’re here:  DIGM.info@etsu.edu.

 

VALUE

For in-state freshman, a typical semester would cost approximately $3,771.50 in tuition, while out-of-state students would pay approximately $11,811.50 in tuition.  You can do your own estimate using ETSU’s Tuition Estimator.

Common-Market States

It’s possible for out-of-state residents to pay in-state tuition as digital media majors. If your state is part of the Academic Common Market Agreement, an out-of-state undergraduate digital media major can qualify for in-state tuition, giving you a very large savings.  The current list of states in the Academic Common Market for digital media are:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi
  • South Carolina
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia

You can read the official list, and get information on how to apply.  There are also options for students in the border counties of Virginia and North Carolina to pay in-state tuition.

Creative Arts Scholarships

Out-of-State students can have the out-of-state portion of tuition covered by the Creative Arts Scholarships in Digital Media.  This essentially allows students to pay in-state tuition as a Digital Media Major or Minor. More Information.

Digital Media Fees

Students taking courses in the Digital Media program will pay a program fee of $100 per credit hour for each DIGM course taken to cover program costs for software, hardware and other learning expenses. The income from this fee goes directly back into the program without any administrative overhead and is strictly for use in student’s education. It provides for:

  • Very powerful computers (Eight core CPUs, dual monitors, 64-bit os, 32Gb ram, large HD) in all the labs.
  • Current versions of industry leading software from Autodesk, Adobe, Unreal, and The Foundry among others.
  • A full lab of Cintiq monitors.
  • HD film cameras for checkout.
  • Markerless motion capture from Organic Motion
  • Qube 60-seat render farm.
  • Green Screen and lighting.
  • 18 MP raw still cameras for checkout.
  • A lab with Wacom tablets.
  • Large format photographic printers.
  • Subscriptions for Digital Tutors in the labs.
  • Drawing supplies.
  • Visiting artists.
  • Some student travel.

 

LOCATION

East Tennessee State’s Digital Media Department is located in the mountains in the northeast corner of Tennessee, close to Virginia and North Carolina.

Locally, the department is housed in the Niswonger Digital Media Center across State of Franklin Rd. from the main campus. We share the Millennium Center with the Computing Department and are adjacent to the new Arts Building.  There’s a pedestrian bridge that takes you directly to and from campus.

 

ADMISSIONS

The ETSU Admissions page has everything you need to start the application process.