Media Arts — bachelor's degree

FEATURES:

• Students have the freedom to explore different areas within media arts and the opportunity to generalize or specialize as they move through the program.
• Capstone project-based courses provide opportunities to work with community organizations and build portfolios
• Program eligible for financial aid

The Bachelor of Media Arts prepares students for the changing demands of digital media industries by training technically skilled, creative, and collaborative artists, with an awareness of the history and ethical demands of the digital media field. Students gain professional communication, creative problem solving, and project management skills. Concentrations allow students to specialize based on their chosen career paths and creative passions.

Students must complete one of the following concentrations as part of their degree:

• Digital Entertainment Arts: Integrating traditional art and design fundamentals with digital media technologies, this concentration is designed for students interested in concept art, motion design, animation, visual effects, interactive media, and games.
• Digital Performance: Investigating the intersection of live performance and virtual embodied experience, students focus on digital scenography, acting for digital media industries, or creating for immersive experiences, interactive performances, and mixed reality. 
• Film: Applied instruction in all areas of film production combined with the study of film as a global media form. Students gain industry-standard technical, creative, and professional skills and will situate their creative practice historically and theoretically.
• Interactive Media: Students design and produce engaging interactive experiences utilizing various digital media platforms such as mobile applications, games, online experiences, and mixed reality.

Students admitted to the degree should seek advice from the Academic Advisor for Fine Arts, Design, and Media. Students should select courses based on their planned concentration beginning in their first year, and must make a formal declaration of their concentration to the Academic Advisor after completing 15 credits of lower-level core requirements and prior to the completion of 60 credits towards the degree. Exceptions may be made in special circumstances by the Academic Advisor and/or the Director of the School of Creative Arts.

Additional Features:

• Students learn industry-standard software and skills.
• State-of-the-art facilities include Mac and PC computer labs, a motion capture studio, and VR equipment

View program outline in the UFV academic Calendar

BMA sample course of study

View the Bachelor of Media Arts sample course of study

• In Vancouver, over 150 businesses make up the VFX and Animation industry, making it the world’s largest cluster of domestic and foreign-owned studios.

• Vancouver is home to an ever-increasing concentration of video game talent, foreign investment and companies, including Electronic Arts (EA), Nintendo, Microsoft Studios, Take 2 Interactive, Relic Entertainment/SEGA, Klei Entertainment, United Front Games and Kabam.

• Vancouver is the third largest Film and TV production centre in the world, with over 25,000 Film and TV jobs

• Digital media production is a 3.4 billion dollar industry in BC

• Jobs for Media Arts graduates include: digital concept artist, game artist, VFX compositor, VR/AR specialist, level designer, virtual production specialist, motion capture artist, cinematographer, and producer. 

Applicants must meet the Degree/diploma level English language proficiency requirement. For details on how this requirement may be met, see the English language proficiency requirement section of the calendar.

Applicants must also submit a portfolio and letter of interest.

View entrance requirements for the Bachelor of Media Arts in the UFV Academic Calendar.

This program is open to international students

• How to apply

Students who do not meet the entrance requirements can upgrade in order to meet prerequisites for university classes.

Book an appointment with the Upgrading and University Preparation department to discuss your upgrading needs.

Upon successful completion of the BMA, students will be able to:

1. Situate digital media in historical, cultural, social, and theoretical context.
2. Develop skills in two or more distinct creative fields.
3. Apply professional communication practices in written, oral, and visual forms.
4. Create compelling narratives and stories using digital media.
5. Develop collaborative creative team skills.
6. Develop self-directed ideation, problem solving, and project management skills.
7. Produce creative work using digital media technologies (e.g. films, animation, documentaries, websites, games, interactive learning modules).
8. Apply ethical principles in information sharing, intellectual property, and media law.
9. Perform in creative and managerial roles to professional standards.

Phone: 604-864-4674
Toll free: 1-888-504-7441, ext. 4674
Email: paula.funk@ufv.ca
Book an appointment with the Fine Arts advisor