DD160: DIGITAL DESIGN ORIENTATION

PROJECT 02: EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS

Project 02 Goals

• Digital design is a complex field and

students frequently elect to pursue a

bachelor’s degree. After completing your

AAS at SWOCC, you may want to consider

continuing your study at a university or

specialized school.

• For Project 02, you are tasked with finding

2 digital design programs that offer training

in your chosen area (e.g. graphic design,

web design, 3D animation, game

development, photography, visual effects,

etc)

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Requirements

• For each university/school you need to list

the following:

○ Name of the university/school

○ Name of the program

○ Location (city & state)

○ URL/Link for the program page

○ Required Courses (degree specific)

○ Net Price

• Similar to Project 01, you will format the

document using the principles of visual

hierarchy.

• The project must be presented as a PDF.

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• “Net Price is the amount that a student pays to attend an institution in a single academic year AFTER subtracting scholarships and grants the student receives. Scholarships and grants are forms of financial aid that a student does not have to pay back.” 1

Requirements

• You also need to include a one paragraph

analysis comparing & contrasting the two

programs.

• Consider factors such as curriculum, cost,

size of the institutions, location, and

degree/certificate earned.

• Make sure that your analysis is free from

spelling and grammatical errors.

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• Don’t forget to check your work for correct spel l ing and grammar.

Questions

• Start by making a list of priorities and/or

questions, for example:

○ what do I want to study?

○ where do I want to study?

○ size of the university & community

○ curriculum & faculty

○ in-state vs out-of-state

○ tuition + living expenses

○ opportunities for internships

○ proximity to potential employers

○ student support services

○ career prospects after graduation

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Tuition?

Size? Close to home?

Living Expenses?

Curriculum? Faculty?

Considerations

• A couple things you need to consider from

the start:

• Cost — tuition prices have escalated

dramatically in the past decade. Your

education is likely to be one of the biggest

investments you make. Tuition varies

widely among universities, so it’s prudent

to research this topic.

• In-state vs out-of-state tuition — frequently

public universities charge significantly

more for students that don’t have

residency.

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We’l l explore how to get a Net Price estimate later in this presentation…

*Note — Private Universities

• “Instead of charging different rates for

college in-state and out-of-state tuition,

private colleges and universities usually

have the same sticker price for both types

of students.”2

• But in some cases a private university will

offer more financial aid to students from

targeted places — in large part to help

maintain a diverse student population.

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TypeAverage Published Yearly

Tuition and Fees

Public Four-Year University

(in-state)$9,139

Public Four-Year University

(out-of-state)$22,958

Private Four-Year

University$31,231

Keep in mind that private universities are frequently more expensive.

Online Study

• Another potential option to explore is online

study.

• Similar to Southwestern, a number of

schools are now offering online degree

programs in creative media.

• There are also private schools that offer

specialized training in specific areas — for

example Animation Mentor. Just be aware

that they may or may not be accredited.

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If a school isn’t accredited, it means they can offer a certificate — not a degree.

Where to start…

• It can be tough to know where to start, I

would recommend beginning with public

universities in Oregon…

○ University of Oregon

○ Oregon State University

○ Southern Oregon University

○ Western Oregon University

○ Portland State University

○ Eastern Oregon University

○ Oregon Institute of Technology

• This assumes you are a resident — if you

are studying out-of-state explore the public

universities in a state where you have

established residency.*

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*If you are out-of-state, be sure to check in with

schools on their residency requirements as this can

become complex in certain situations.

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University of OregonSouthern Oregon University

Navigate to & Explore Programs Relevant to

Digital Design at Oregon’s 7 Universities

Oregon State University

Contact Admiss ions at any of these un ivers i t i es if you are interested . They can he lp you w i th your quest ions . I t ’ s what they do !

Western Oregon University Portland State University

Eastern Oregon University Oregon Institute of Technology

Considering continuing your education at a university?

You’ll want to make very

STRATEGIC use of the

electives you have in your

Digitial Design program or

possibly add a transfer degree.

Search “University Center” on

the Southwestern website.

You’ll want to reach out to

Jamiee Belzer for advising

help. Please note this contact

information:

phone: 541-888-7405

universitycenter@email.socc.edu

Notes

• Not every university will have a program in

digital design.

• It may be called different things:

○ digital media

○ creative media

○ new media

○ emerging media

○ digital arts

○ graphic design

• In some cases it will be part of the Art

Department, in other instances it may be

part of Communications, or a separate

entity.

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Required Courses

• Once you’ve found a program that

matches your priorities, look for a list of the

required courses in the curriculum.

• The example at right is from SOU’s EMDA

program — the EMDA major checklist

provides an overview of the curriculum.

• The short videos embedded above will be

exceptionally helpful to you in your Oregon

university research. Be sure to consult

them.

• You may also want to look at the class

schedule or talk to someone within the

department to get clear what courses are

actually being offered currently.

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Net Price

• To find the Net Price go to the following

site: USDE Net Price Calculator Center

• Enter the name of the university and it

will direct you to the Net Price calculator

on the university’s website.

• Answer the questions and it will provide

an estimate!

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Other ideas

• Another option when

searching for digital media

programs is to consult

regional or national

organizations dedicated to

your field.

• For example, Oregon Film’s

Official Blog has an

“Education” category.

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Graphic/Web Design

• For those interested in Graphic/Web

Design, I’d recommend these short

articles on AIGA’s website:

How to select a design school

How do design programs differ?

• AIGA is the American Institute of Graphic

Arts, “the profession’s oldest and largest

professional membership organization for

design—with 70 chapters and more than

25,000 members.3”

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Formatting

• Just like Project 01, you need to

format the text as it is often difficult to

read after copying/pasting.

• Give consideration to visual hierarchy

and define appropriate styles for the:

○ Title

○ Subtitle

○ Header(s)

○ Body

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Deliverables

• When finished, export the document as a

PDF.

• Name it according to the following

convention: YourLastName-Project02.pdf

• Upload the PDF.

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Stewart-Project02.pdf

If your last name was Stewart, your fi le would look l ike this.