M.S. in Computer Graphics and Animation 2004

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The M.S. in Computer Graphics and Animation is a study of the technical and aesthetic foundations, design and development of Computer Graphics. This program prepares students for technical careers in the graphics industry. Several fundamental principles provide the basis for this curriculum:

• Computer graphics professionals, no matter their area of specialty, will need a solid grounding in both perception and technology.
• To be successful in the workplace, computer graphics professionals will need to be able to work well in multidisciplinary environments.
• To inculcate the flexibility required to adapt to rapid changes in technology and industry norms, students will need to be well versed in the foundations of the discipline.
• Practical experience must be coupled with theory to prepare students for the workplace.

The degree has five components:

• Prerequisite Phase
• Fundamental Phase
• Core Phase
• Advanced Phase
• Electives

In this program, students will:

• Develop a sensitivity to human perception, including a comprehension of fundamental design concepts, color theory, and the interaction of light with surfaces;
• Build a deep understanding of such technical concepts as interaction design, modeling objects, controlling cameras, rigging characters for animation and using particle and surface techniques;
• Learn to apply perceptual and technical abilities in creating shaders, textures, characters, scenes and animations;
• Acquire hands-on experience with a wide range of commercially-available tools;
• Develop a grasp of fundamentals that allow implementations beyond the extant user interfaces; and
• Become appreciative of the two “cultures” of computer graphics – the one drawing on communication design and the other deriving from computer science.

The degree program offers two concentrations: a Technical Director concentration and a Developer concentration. While both concentrations have a balance of technical and aesthetic, the Technical Director will have a greater emphasis on the aesthetic while the Developer concentration will focus on the technical. After graduation, Technical Directors will be ready for jobs assisting Creative Directors in such activities as creating virtual sets, adjusting lighting and rigging characters for animation. Developers will learn technologies for graphics systems development, including game engines and plug-ins.

The M.S. in Computer Graphics program consists of 13 courses with six or seven prerequisite courses. Students choosing the Technical Director concentration take six courses while students taking the Developer concentration take seven courses.

Grade and GPA requirements

Grades: Students must receive a grade of B- or better in each prerequisite course and a C- or better in all other courses. 

GPA: Students must maintain a graduate level GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their degree. Students will not be approved for graduation with less than a 2.50 GPA.

Prerequisite Phase

The courses in the Prerequisite Phase for the MS in Computer Graphics and Animation are:

CSC 211 Programming in Java I

CSC 212 Programming in Java II

or CSC 224 Java for Programmers

CSC 309 Object-Oriented Programming in C++

CSC 319 Database Technology

GPH 212 Perceptual Principles for Digital Environments II

GPH 259 Design Geometry

HCI 402 Foundations of Digital Design

MAT 150 Calculus I

*CSC 224 is equivalent to both CSC 211 and CSC 212. Only students with experience in programming languages should take CSC 224.

By taking these courses and receiving a grade of a B- or better in each, the student will have completed the requirements of the Prerequisite Phase. All or part of the Prerequisite Phase may be waived if a student has the equivalent academic background. Alternatively, students with practical experience may complete a Graduate Assessment Examination (GAE) to show competency in a prerequisite. All students are blocked from enrolling in Foundation  Phase courses prior to completing their prerequisites. The student must submit an online Change of Status request when the Prerequisite Phase is completed to inform the Student Services offices that the block can be removed. The online request must be submitted two weeks before the student intends to register for graduate level classes. The student will then be considered a fully admitted student, and may pass to the Graduate Phase of the program. Students may submit the Change of Status request by logging in to MyCTI.

Fundamental Phase

The courses in the Fundamental Phase for the MS in Computer Graphics and Animation are:

HCI 470 Digital Page Formatting I

GPH 438 Computer Animation Survey

GPH 470 Survey of Computer Graphics

Core Phase

The Core Knowledge Phase courses for the MS in Computer Graphics and Animation are:

GPH 448 Computer Graphics Scripting

Technical Directors concentration

GPH 560 Modeling Spaces

HCI 422 Multimedia

HCI 471 Digital Page Formatting II

Developers concentration

GPH 436 Fundamentals of Computer Graphics

GPH 469 Computer Graphics Development

GPH 572 Principles of Computer Animation

Advanced Phase

The Advanced Phase courses for the MS in Computer Graphics and Animation are:

GPH 539 Advanced Rendering Techniques

GPH 570 Visualization

GPH 575 Advanced Graphics Development

Elective Courses

Students in this program will have 3 electives to be chosen from the following list

GPH 436 Fundamentals of Computer Graphics

GPH 469 Computer Graphics Development

GPH 536 Smooth Surface Modeling for Graphics and Animation

GPH 560 Modeling Spaces

GPH 572 Principles of Computer Animation

GPH 574 Computer Games

GPH 595 Topics in Graphics

HCI 422 Multimedia

HCI 423 Internet Multimedia

HCI 440 Usability Engineering

HCI 450 Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction

HCI 460 Usability Evaluation Methods

HCI 471 Digital Page Formatting II

HCI 512 Designing for Visualization

Last Modified on: Monday, March 31, 2008