Program Overview

School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication

The School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication offers a comprehensive program in Arts and Technology with a Gaming Concentration. This program provides students with a thorough grounding in the mutually productive interaction of technology with the arts, with specific emphasis on the interplay of visual art, music, and narrative with the new modes of expression and communication that have emerged from the convergence of computing and media technologies.

Arts and Technology with Gaming Concentration (BA)

The Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Technology with Gaming Concentration is a 120-semester credit hour program that requires students to complete a combination of core curriculum requirements, major requirements, and elective requirements.

Core Curriculum Requirements

The core curriculum requirements include:

• Communication: 6 semester credit hours
  • COMM 1311 Survey of Oral and Technology-based Communication
  • RHET 1302 Rhetoric
• Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • MATH 1306 College Algebra for the Non-Scientist
    • MATH 1314 College Algebra
  • Or select any 3 semester credit hours from Mathematics core courses
• Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours
  • Select any 6 semester credit hours from Life and Physical Sciences core courses
• Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • HUMA 1301 Exploration of the Humanities
    • LIT 2331 Masterpieces of World Literature
    • PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy
    • PHIL 2316 History of Philosophy I
    • PHIL 2317 History of Philosophy II
  • Or select any 3 semester credit hours from Language, Philosophy and Culture core courses
• Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • ARTS 1301 Exploration of the Arts
    • AHST 1303 Survey of Western Art History: Ancient to Medieval
    • AHST 1304 Survey of Western Art History: Renaissance to Modern
    • AHST 2331 Understanding Art
    • DANC 1310 Understanding Dance
    • DRAM 1310 Understanding Theater
    • FILM 2332 Understanding Film (Recommended)
    • MUSI 1306 Understanding Music
• American History: 6 semester credit hours
  • Choose two courses from the following:
    • HIST 1301 U.S. History Survey to Civil War
    • HIST 1302 U.S. History Survey from Civil War
    • HIST 2301 History of Texas
    • HIST 2330 Themes and Ideas in American History
    • HIST 2332 Civil War and Reconstruction
• Government / Political Science: 6 semester credit hours
  • GOVT 2305 American National Government
  • GOVT 2306 State and Local Government
• Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours
  • Select any 3 semester credit hours from Social and Behavioral Sciences core courses
• Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours
  • Choose two courses from the following or other Component Area Option
    • ARHM 2340 Creativity
    • ARHM 2341 Global Media
    • ARHM 2342 Connections in the Arts and Humanities
    • ARHM 2343 Science and the Humanities
    • ARHM 2344 World Cultures

Major Requirements

The major requirements include:

• Lower-Division: 21 semester credit hours
  • ARTS 1316 Drawing Foundations
  • ARTS 2380 2D Design Foundations
  • ATEC 2325 Fundamentals of Game Design and Development
  • ATEC 2382 Computer Imaging
  • ATEC 2384 Basic Design Principles and Practices
  • CS 1335 Computer Science I for Non-majors
  • CS 2335 Computer Science II for Non-majors
• Upper-Division: 24 semester credit hours
  • Major Core Courses
    • ARTS 3371 Photography: Black/White
    • or ARTS 3372 Photography: Color
    • or ARTS 3377 Photography: Altered Image
    • or ARTS 3379 Photography: New Media
    • ATEC 3320 Digital Content Design and Usability
    • or ATEC 3325 Introduction to Computer Mediated Communication
    • ATEC 3351 Game Design I
    • ATEC 4340 Project Management for Arts and Technology
    • ATEC 4380 Capstone Project
    • CS 3360 Computer Graphics for Artists and Designers
    • HIST 3337 Technology and Western Civilization
    • or HIST 3374 American Technological Development
    • or HIST 3332 History of the Electronic Age
    • LIT 3334 Literature of Science
    • or LIT 3316 The Literature of Science Fiction
    • or LIT 3317 The Literature of Fantasy
    • or HIST 3328 History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine

Elective Requirements

The elective requirements include:

• Prescribed Electives: 15 semester credit hours
  • Choose any five courses from the following: at least 2 must be 4000 level
    • ATEC 3352 User Experience Design for Games I
    • ATEC 3353 Game Studies
    • ATEC 3354 Sound Design for Games and Interactive Media
    • ATEC 3355 Scripting for Games I
    • ATEC 3356 Games and Narrative I
    • ATEC 3364 Level Design I
    • ATEC 3365 Virtual Environments
    • ATEC 4365 Level Design II
    • ATEC 4367 Game Design II
    • ATEC 4368 User Experience Design for Games II
    • ATEC 4350 Game Production Lab
    • ATEC 4373 Topics in Game Development
• Free Electives: 18 semester credit hours
  • Both upper-and lower-division courses may be used as electives, but students must complete at least 51 semester credit hours of upper-division courses to qualify for graduation.

Additional Requirements

Incoming freshmen must enroll and complete requirements of UNIV 1010 and the corresponding school-related freshman seminar course. Students, including transfer students, who complete their core curriculum at UT Dallas must take UNIV 2020. Curriculum Requirements can be fulfilled by other approved courses from institutions of higher education. The courses listed are recommended as the most efficient way to satisfy both Core Curriculum and Major Requirements at UT Dallas.