Profiles of Schools/Colleges in South Dakota (SD) Offering Animation, Design, Gaming, and Media Related Programs

Degrees Offered: B. S. Communication Arts, Mass Communications with Emphasis in Computer Publishing or Multimedia

Tuition Information:  Undergraduate residents $5,856, nonresidents $7,348 for the 2012 – 2013 school year.  Tuition does not include fees of $2,875 per year.

The state of South Dakota is blessed with a relatively low unemployment rate and is considered by economic experts to be one of the best states in the nation to do business.  The state is characterized by a media-friendly culture featuring many newspapers, radio stations and TV channels.  For these reasons and more, visual artists throughout South Dakota consistently land local gigs in the field of commercial arts, especially illustration.

The city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota supports about 17,000 commercial businesses, including hundreds of visual media-info tech corporations.  Advances in animated film production have virtually squared the economic demand for local animators.

Animators and Video Game Designers by the millions hope to carve out careers in one of the most coveted professions of today's high-tech world.  The qualifications needed for Video Game Design appeal as much to mathletes and competitive techno-gamers as to fine artists who can finally make a living at their craft.  Businesses in every state hire Animators and Video Game Designers.  Residents of northeastern South Dakota can also commute to Minneapolis.  Video design careers are more feasible than ever before in sparsely populated states like South Dakota, due to the many online options available.