images, icon and text displayed on various portable devices e.g. cell phones and media players

Media Arts Program (MAT)

The Media Arts program offers both an Associate in Arts degree and a Certificate of Completion. It is designed to introduce students to the creative and technical skills needed for today's digital media industries. Students learn through hands-on projects while working with industry-standard software and current production techniques.

The curriculum helps students develop both artistic and technical abilities. In addition to learning how to use professional tools, students gain an understanding of design principles, media theory, and the creative process behind effective digital communication.

With only 18 required units, the program provides a strong foundation in web-based media and interactive technologies. Students can then choose additional courses in specialized media areas to build a personalized skill set that matches their interests and career goals. This flexibility allows each student to create an individual media profile that can improve employment opportunities.

Whether students plan to begin a career after graduation or transfer to a four-year university, the Media Arts program provides a solid background in art, design, media production, and web technologies. Graduates leave with the knowledge and practical experience needed to continue their education or pursue careers in a wide range of media professions.

Our program emphasizes design thinking, communication, and professional preparation.

Classes that will make a difference in your career

Our approach to teaching web technologies combines technical skills with creative content development. We believe that creating for the web requires both an understanding of how digital experiences are built and how people interact with content across today's online platforms

MAT 131 Digital Imaging and MAT 112 Digital Drawing will give you a complete overview of Adobe Photoshop (bitmap program) and Adobe  Illustrator (vector-based drawing). You will create the foundation skills that you need to build visual content.

MAT 153 – Web Design introduces the foundations of web development. Students learn the core technologies of the web, including HTML and CSS, and gain experience using basic JavaScript libraries to create responsive, interactive websites.

MAT 149 – Social Media explores today's social media ecosystem and the different ways content is created and shared online. Students develop their own digital voice by creating blogs, podcasts, and social media campaigns while learning strategies for reaching and engaging audiences across multiple platforms.

MAT 116 – Interaction Design introduces students to the principles of interactive and time-based media. Combining animation and interaction design, students learn how motion, timing, and visual feedback can make digital experiences more engaging, intuitive, and enjoyable. The course covers interface elements such as button states, navigation systems, menus, and loading external content. Working in an integrated authoring environment, students design, animate, and test interactive projects, providing a natural bridge from visual design to coding.

MAT 121 – Interface Design focuses on designing digital experiences with the user in mind. Students learn the complete design process, from defining a product's purpose and identifying its audience to creating user personas, sketching interfaces, and planning navigation. Using Figma, they build and refine interactive prototypes through an iterative design process, with a primary emphasis on mobile applications and user-centered design.

MAT 205 – Portfolio serves as the capstone course for the Media Arts program. Students select, refine, and organize the strongest work they have created throughout the program while defining the type of media professional they want to become. They develop a specialized résumé and portfolio that highlights their skills, interests, and career goals.

The Progression

Our goal is not simply to teach software. We teach students how to communicate, design, build, and present digital experiences for the web. Those are the steps:

  • MAT 131 → How do I generate bitmap image-content?
  • MAT 112 → How do I generate vector-based image-content?
  • MAT 149 → What content do we create?
  • MAT 116 → How does content behave and respond?
  • MAT 121 → How do users experience a product?
  • MAT 153 → How do we build it for the web?
  • MAT 205 → How do I present my work

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This is the story that we are going through with you
Our Roadmap

  1. Students learn to communicate through digital media.
  2. They learn to design experiences that people can understand and enjoy.
  3. They learn the technology that makes those experiences possible.
  4. They learn to present themselves professionally to employers or universities.

These skills extend beyond traditional web design. Graduates can apply them in UX/UI design, front-end development, digital marketing, social media management, interactive media, and content creation.

 

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Media Arts, Associate in Arts Degree and Certificate of Completion

  1. Students will be able to input, create, edit, enhance and composite, a variety of visual media (vector-based and bitmaps, 2-D and 3-D) then optimize and format for output to web, screen or mobile media.
  2. Students will be able to develop sophisticated imagery that conveys a message.
  3. Students will be able to plan, design and construct a website that effectively communicates business and user goals.
  4. Students will be able to plan, design and construct an interactive, user-oriented interface.