Skip to main content

Program at a Glance

Program
Bachelor
College(s)
College of Arts and Humanities
Department(s)
Visual Arts & Design, Schl of
U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges - Most Innovative 2024

The Emerging Media BFA allows students to integrate the multiple domains of art, design, storytelling, and technology in one of the three portfolio required tracks, Animation & Visualization, Character Animation, or Graphic Design. The program is designed to provide: a solid foundation in techniques and theory in one of the listed tracks; a broad understanding of related disciplines including arts, humanities, and technology; an extended experience in working in multidisciplinary teams on realistic problems. The program is administered through the School of Visual Arts and Design.

The Character Animation track is a two-year, full-time prescribed series of courses designed to prepare a cohort of students for careers such as animators, story artists, visual development artists, lighting artists, technical artists, effects artists, modelers, riggers, or texture artists in the animation industry by emulating the professional production studio. Students learn all aspects of the production process, from story creation to film completion while working as part of a team. Students learn the tools and industry practices for computer generated animated filmmaking as well as the ins and outs of teamwork with opportunities for leadership amongst their peers and mentorship from the faculty.

As part of the program, some courses study the form and proportion of the human figure. Nude models are used as reference.

Admission Requirements

  • Admission into the Character Animation track requires successful completion of the Character Animation Portfolio review. The Character Animation portfolio review process is held in the Spring. Portfolio information can be found at: https://cah.ucf.edu/svad/character-animation-portfolio/
  • Students who do not pass the Character Animation Portfolio review should contact SVAD advising (cahsa@ucf.edu) to discuss options.
  • Note: One-on-one portfolio reviews are not possible due to the large number of received portfolios.

Degree Requirements

  • Students who change degree programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog by filing a catalog year change with their degree change form.
  • Departmental Residency Requirement consists of at least 36 semester hours of regularly scheduled 3000-4000 level courses taken from the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design.
  • Students must earn at least a "C" (2.0) in each required course except DIG 2000, which requires a "B" (3.0) or better.
  • BFA students must achieve a 3.0 GPA in all major requirements.
  • Co-op credit cannot be used in this major.
  • Students should consult with their CAHSA Coach each semester.
  • Note: Emerging Media majors must have continual access to a computer. Contact the UCF Technology Product Center or see the website (http://tpc.ucf.edu) for the minimum hardware and software specifications.
  • No more than 6 hours of overlap allowed between courses used in the Emerging Media BFA and any minor. Please see CAHSA for permission to complete more than one major in SVAD. Certain restrictions apply and plan of study must be pre-approved.

Undergraduate Application Deadlines

Fall
May 1
Spring
November 1
Summer
March 1
Fall
July 1
Spring
November 1
Summer
March 1
Fall
March 1
Spring
September 1
Summer
January 1

Ready to get started?

Career Opportunities

UCF prepares you for life beyond the classroom. Here, you’ll experience a wide range of opportunity, like learning diverse skills from world-renowned faculty to networking with top employers across Central Florida to gaining first-hand experience in internships nearby. Achieve your degree and more as a Knight.
  • Animation Technical Director
  • Animator
  • Assistant in Simulation
  • Character Rigger
  • Cloth & Hair Technical Director
  • Graphic Designer
  • Lighting Artist
  • Stereoscopic Animator
  • Technical Artist
  • Visual Effects Digital Coordinator

University of Central Florida Colleges