The Master's of Science in Interactive Entertainment at UCF's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) teaches artists, programmers, and producers the techniques, tools, and skills to succeed in the gaming industry. The program provides specific skills in the area of game design, programming, 3-D artistry, as well as essential skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and project management.
FIEA provides a team-based, industry-oriented education in a world-class facility located at the UCF Downtown campus in Orlando. Student production teams are mentored by industry trained faculty who provide instruction in game design, level design, technical design, creative collaboration, rapid prototyping, 3-D animation and modeling, technical art, motion capture, software engineering, legal and ethical issues, preproduction, and postmortems. Graduates have access to internship and venture opportunities and job interviews with game and media companies from across the country.
The Interactive Entertainment MS degree requires a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree including 12 credit hours of core courses, 9 credit hours of specialization, a practicum and a capstone experience.
Total Credit Hours Required: 30 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree
Degree Requirements
Core
12 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Complete the following:
- DIG5529C - Production for Media (3)
- DIG5548C - Rapid Prototype Production I (3)
- DIG5856 - Experimentation, Application and Innovation in Games (3)
- DIG6547C - Preproduction and Prototyping (3)
- The foundation of the degree is the four-course core sequence that focuses on team-based learning. This sequence is designed to provide declarative, procedural, and strategic knowledge in a variety of issues related to game design. These include creative collaboration, rapid prototyping, 3-D animation and modeling, documentation, software engineering, legal and ethical issues, preproduction, and postmortems.
Specialization
9 Total Credits
- Complete 1 of the following
- Specialization courses help prepare students in their chosen field (Art, Production or Programming) by covering the details of each discipline. Art classes help students develop aesthetic and technical skills necessary to create compelling visuals for the entertainment industry. Programming classes focus on software engineering techniques as they apply to interactive entertainment products, while production classes focus on the specifics of game design as well as project management. Students take all three courses in their chosen specialization. Courses are listed in order of term offered: Fall Spring Summer
Art Specialization- Complete the following:
- DIG5348C - Digital Asset Creation (3)
- DIG6559C - Advanced Digital Asset Creation (3)
- DIG6589C - Digital Asset Portfolio Development (3)
Production Specialization- Complete the following:
- DIG5557C - Production and Design I (3)
- DIG6558 - Production and Design II (3)
- DIG6099C - Media Distribution (3)
Programming Specialization- Complete the following:
- DIG5637 - Game Programming Fundamentals (3)
- DIG6638 - Advanced Game Programming (3)
- DIG6635 - Applied Programming Mechanics (3)
Capstone
3 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- The capstone experience applies the concepts and theories learned to produce a large-scale project. The target deliverable is a playable demonstration of a game that simulates the core experience and demonstrates the key features of the project's vision. The course concludes with a special event premiering the final project to the FIEA community and invited guests.
- Complete the following:
- DIG6718C - Interactive Entertainment Project (3)
Practicum
6 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- The practicum is supervised training supplementing theoretical and practical experiences involving new research developments or partnerships within the gaming industry. Students may participate on a research team exploring new ideas in interactive entertainment with industry partners, working at an on-site internship with a game company, developing a start-up entity, or working with a faculty member on research in an area of interest.
- Complete at least 1 of the following:
- DIG6944C - Game Design Practicum (6)
- DIG6947C - Digital Venture Practicum (6)
Independent Learning
0 Total Credits
- Both the capstone course and the practicum provide independent learning experiences. The capstone experience is a project-based class that features a game demonstration. The practicum allows students to work with industry partners, in an internship, starting a new venture, or to conduct research with a faculty member.
Grand Total Credits: 30
Application Requirements
Application Deadlines
Financial Information
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances.
Fellowship Information
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.
