CCA’s new BFA in Game Arts program launches in fall 2021
The new four-year, fine arts-focused degree is designed for students who want to become game industry professionals and artistic leaders who shape the future of games and play.
San Francisco, CA—August 26, 2021—On September 1, with the fall 2021 semester, California College of the Arts (CCA) launches its new BFA in Game Arts program, a four-year, 120 unit interdisciplinary degree program that explores the full potential of game work—analog, digital, video, experimental, immersive, installation, social practice games, and whatever new game forms come next. The program is designed for students who want to make the next new media game and develop an artistic practice that will constantly evolve through creativity and curiosity.
Located in San Francisco—one of the gaming industry’s central hubs—CCA’s BFA in Game Arts is a future-oriented degree housed in the college’s Fine Arts Division. The program teaches the artistic, technical, and technological skills of professional game making, as well as the conceptual, critical, and cultural theory necessary for each student to build a fine arts-informed creative practice that’s unique to them.
Students take coursework in game arts, design, development, programming, animation, and production, to build a strong foundation of game making today and into the future. The program’s tiered curriculum begins with core studios that address aesthetic, spatial, time-based, and interactive elements of gameplay. Upper-division coursework reinforces these elements; develops competencies with sound and motion features of digital games; and culminates in a senior capstone project of individualized or collaborative study in the student’s chosen game genre.
“Games are the preeminent entertainment and art form for the 21st century,” said Dr. Zachary Walter, PhD, Chair of Game Arts. “We’re so excited to launch a new program that marries this vibrant and vital medium with CCA’s century-long tradition of educating artists and designers that shape the future of global culture.”
Game Arts at CCA views play as a platform for empowerment, social critique, and personal expression. From the first class through their last, CCA's Game Arts students learn through making and playing games. Throughout their degree program, students have access to hands-on learning experiences through internships and lectures from visiting artists and game makers; access to CCA’s many maker spaces, and other campus resources like CCA Libraries games collection, the Game Arts Homeroom, in-person game events, and virtual game faires.
For additional information and to apply for the BFA in Game Arts program at CCA, visit cca.edu/fine-arts/game-arts/.