Education Overview

With an outstanding faculty engaged in both research and creative work, the UCLA Department of Design| Media Arts offers an undergraduate program which focuses on visual communication design with an emphasis on digital media. This uniquely challenging program invites students to balance aesthetic sensibility with logical reasoning, formal theories with practical application, and contemporary thought with historical perspective.

The program begins with the study of basic design elements and processes: form, color, drawing, letterforms and typography, motion, and the introduction of interactivity and media arts. Historical perspectives and social issues are also introduced. At the upper division level, studio courses explore current uses of interactive media, new directions in visual communication design, including the study of time and motion, as well as virtual form and space in computer generated environments.

Through a balance of courses in theory, criticism, and practice, students develop an understanding of design principles. Most courses are taught as studios of no more than twenty students, which encourages individual growth and fosters a sense of community within the department.

In preparation for the major, DESMA 10, 11A, 11B, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28 are required. Thirteen upper division courses, including a minimum of two courses from comparative and theoretical studies (101 through 104) and seven courses from area studies, comprised of 3 required courses (153A, 154A, 161A) and 4 others from 152A through 161C, are required for the B.A. degree. Three additional upper division courses must be selected from the courses listed above and/or from major electives: courses 106-C and 150A through 199 . In consultation with and with approval of the chair, other non-major courses may be applied toward major elective credit.


* Students who entered with the department prior to Fall 2006 should contact the undergraduate student advisor.

The two-year Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Design | Media Arts emphasizes mastering the technologies in the field of media design to create professional quality work. The program focuses on developing an individual thesis project that incorporates in-depth research and theoretical exploration of a topic, culminating in a final exhibition work. Students participate in ongoing research projects that may form the basis of their thesis work. Sample topics include interface design, virtual environments, information space, architectural and networked installations, performance, audio spatial design and visualization. Students are encouraged to research solutions that address the problem of virtual worlds exhibited in physical spaces.

At the successful completion of the program students are expected to have developed both an aesthetic sense for design and mastery of the technology necessary to innovate.

A minimum of 80 quarter units of upper division and graduate Design | Media Arts [DESMA] courses is required for the M.F.A. degree. No less than 27 quarter units in the DESMA 200 series, including 200, 254, 256, 206-C, 258 and 269, are to be completed. A further 32 units are to be taken from the DESMA 400 series, studio courses which focus on individual thesis development, with at least 8 units of 401 taken in the first year of residence. An additional 16 units of electives can be taken from the Department of Design | Media Arts or from other departments on campus.

The comprehensive examination consists of an oral examination and a concentrated body of work, which is presented as a Master's Thesis Exhibition. Also required is an accompanying record of the exhibition, consisting of documentation appropriate to the media, research material, other visual material, and a written statement, as determined by the Graduate Thesis Committee.

Los Angeles has been called the media capital of the world. The city is home to the film, television, music, and interactive media industries as well as world-renowned museums, art galleries, dance companies, theaters, orchestras, libraries, and dozens of cultural festivals. Many of these organizations provide intership opportunities for UCLA graduate students.

UCLA's M.F.A. Design | Media Arts program produces some of the most sought-after graduates entering the media design and teaching professions. Our graduates apply their skills in the design of interactive media, including web sites and video games, special effects for film, print, television graphics, network applications involving new forms of virtual reality and experimental forms of Media Art. Because of UCLA's prime location in the city of Los Angeles, many local design firms, entertainment and high-tech industries as well as the arts community, recruit our graduates. With the expansion of the new field of media arts and design, our students have the option to pursue an academic career as well.