Introduction

Please click here  to see general Visual Arts information.

The 3D graphics and animation emphasis at the University of Colorado Denver is a competitive and rigorous four-year curriculum focused on preparing students to work in a wide variety of fields that use animated digital computer graphics (CG), including entertainment, film and television, gaming, medicine, and science. The 3D graphics and animation emphasis courses (FINE 1810-4820 below) are billed at a different rate than the standard course tuition due to the state-of-the-art technology used in the program. For more information regarding this rate, contact Digital Animation Center (DAC) Director Howard Cook at howard.cook@ucdenver.edu or the College of Arts & Media Advising Office at  CAMadvising@ucdenver.edu.

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• Click here  to go to information about declaring a major.
• In order to maintain the highest standards of excellence, acceptance into the 3D graphics and animation emphasis happens at the end of the first year (during the spring term) and is competitive by portfolio review. To be considered, students are required to take the first two courses in the 3D graphics and animation curriculum, FINE 1810 - Digital Animation Foundations: Producing Animation  (offered fall only) and FINE 1820 - Digital Animation Foundations: Introduction to Digital 3D  (offered spring only). These two courses are open to all College of Arts & Media and CU Denver students. Students wishing to enroll in these entry-level courses must contact DAC Director Howard Cook at howard.cook@ucdenver.edu or the College of Arts & Media Advising Office at CAMadvising@ucdenver.edu before registering.

Selection for entrance into the 3D graphics and animation emphasis occurs at the end of the first year of the program and is a competitive process (by faculty review) that includes:

• Submission by the candidate of a “Portfolio Demo Reel”. The reel must include original works from FINE 1810 - Digital Animation Foundations: Producing Animation  and FINE 1820 - Digital Animation Foundations: Introduction to Digital 3D  as well as representative works created in other Visual Arts courses completed during the first year of the program. The Portfolio Demo Reel must be turned in as a .mov (Quicktime, H.264, 720x404 minimum frame size, 16:9 aspect ratio).  Still work should be a component of the reel and should be on screen for at least 3 seconds but no more than 10 seconds.  Name and contact information should appear at the beginning and end of the reel.  The reel should not be greater in length than 3.5 minutes.
• A “breakdown sheet”: the run time at which the work occurs and which describes what work is included on the submission reel, and, if collaborative in nature, what aspect of the work shown was created by the applicant. Turn in .pdf only please.
• A one page double-spaced written statement regarding the applicant’s aspirations as a productive and contributing member of the 3D graphics and animation cohort and the CG community as a whole. Turn in .pdf only please. 
• A minimum of a 2.8 GPA in the CU Denver 3D graphics and animation courses.

The student’s application must be submitted electronically (instructions will be provided in FINE 1820 - Digital Animation Foundations:  Introduction to Digital 3D) - no later than the first Friday after the spring semester has ended. Notification is by e-mail and/or letter and occurs on or before the first Monday of June of the application year. Upon acceptance, students will be able to enroll in advanced digital animation classes.

Students should show only their best work and show the very best work first. Students should be selective since reels may only be 3.5 minutes long. Music is not recommended for professional reels, but if music is used, students should choose wisely.

Please see http://www.cu3d.org or http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CAM/programs/va/Pages/3danimation.aspx for more emphasis and portfolio information, or contact DAC Director Howard Cook at howard.cook@ucdenver.edu.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements  
• CU Denver Core Curriculum      
• College of Arts & Media Graduation Requirements  
• Click here  for information about Academic Policies