Media Arts and Studies—Animation (B.S.)
Program Overview
The School of Media Arts and Studies prepares and develops students for successful careers in multiple creative industries across media and technology.
The School of Media Arts and Studies is ranked as one of the top 50 Media programs in the U.S. by the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). Our students have exceptional opportunities to grow in their field through nationally-recognized production facilities, hands-on learning, industry-engaged experiences, and excellent faculty.
The school is a national leader in experiential education, providing several regional and traveling course opportunities in the U.S. and beyond. These opportunities enable our students to engage directly with industries and learn first-hand from professionals and leaders. As well, we offer several student organizations for students of all skill levels and encourage participation in internships. Our engaging program opportunities and extensive alumni community lead to important connections for our students, fostering internships and job placement.
With over 600 undergraduates and a community of creative and research-engaged faculty, the School of Media Arts and Studies has established a global reputation for excellence. Our students distinguish themselves, graduating to become leaders and change agents across numerous creative industries. As such, there is strong demand to join our program.
The Animation program encourages students to explore skills to design, create, and engage with technologies to produce digital animation content across diverse storytelling platforms.
All students enrolled in MDIA programs must complete core course requirements at the freshman and sophomore levels and a comprehensive production capstone in the Junior or Senior year. These courses integrate with courses specific to each program throughout the baccalaureate program.
Ohio University's Zanesville, Lancaster and Southern campuses offer an associate's degree program in electronic media. This program offers a smaller, more intimate setting for the first two years of University coursework. Students participating in the two-year programs at these campuses and who desire to continue their study with the School of Media Arts and Studies will apply for transfer into the School during the spring semester (see transfer policy below). For additional information, see the Electronic Media program in the Regional Higher Education section.
The School of Media Arts and Studies also offers an Honors Tutorial College program for students with outstanding high school records. MDIA freshmen with strong academic records may also qualify.
*This program was previously BC5386 which awarded the Bachelor of Science in Communication. Pending Board of Trustees approval (anticipated June 2024), the new program code will be BS5402 and will award the Bachelor of Science effective the 2024-25 catalog year.
Admissions Information
Freshman Admission
No requirements beyond University admission requirements.
Transfer Policy
Because the School of Media Arts and Studies sets high academic standards and limits enrollment, students from other universities or other programs and campuses at Ohio University must show strong academic performance. An accumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above will be required for consideration. Applications are accepted twice per year by the seventh week of either the fall or spring semester.
In addition, transfer students from outside Ohio University must abide by the policies indicated in the Admissions section of this catalog.
Further information regarding transfer policy can be found at: www.ohio.edu/scripps-college/mdia/current-students-resources/transfer.
Opportunities Upon Graduation
By using scripts, sound, moving image, and interactivity to create stories through music, games, animation, video, and social media our students learn the pre-production, production, and post-production processes, while continuing to hone the skills needed to analyze the media they are creating. Alumni of the Media Arts and Studies program work in a variety of media industries. They create, analyze, and oversee media for education, entertainment, activism, journalism, or public relations purposes in the corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial media industries.