The College of Arts and Communication at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UW-Whitewater) houses the Department of Art and Design, home to the Media Arts and Game Development (MAGD). Students in this BA Program have the opportunity to focus in one of three emphasis areas or take any emphasis area as a minor. The MAGD program also allows students to add a second major to enhance the degree. Popular second major options include Computer Science, Electronic Media, Graphic Design, and Film.
Emphasis options include Gaming Technology, Communication/Gaming, and Media Arts. The Gaming Technology Emphasis covers programming and software development as it relates to game design and development. Communication/Gaming explores video, audio, and writing for digital media, as well as games and emerging technology roles in society. Students in the Media Arts Emphasis will learn to create digital content for computer games, motion graphics, animation, special effects, and 3D.
All MAGD students will participate in two team-based projects (The Senior Capstone), and some will have the opportunity to participate in regional game design expos, competitions, and the MAGD Expo held annually at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In the past, the Expo has welcomed leaders in the industry who have developed games such as God of War, Assassin’s Creed, and Madden NFL.
The MAGD Program hosts a number of student organizations for game designers such as GAMED (Game and Media Entertainment Developers), Gaming Group of Whitewater, Anime, and Smash Bros. All MAGD students have access to facilities such as the Motion Capture Studio and a gaming room that hosts the departments weekend-long game jams.
Also part of MAGD is the internship program, which provides the opportunity to gain work experience ion the UW-Whitewater Digital Media Lab or off campus for a game or animation studio, film and video production company, or media production firm.
Graduates of the MAGD Programs at University of Wisconsin – Whitewater are prepared to pursue positions in game design and development, 3D art, motion graphics, animation, usability engineering, mobile app development, and multimedia production.
Recent MAGD graduates have been hired at companies and studios such as Obsidian Entertainment, Bethesda Game Studios, Image 360, Filament Games, Raven Software, and PerBlue.