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Computer Graphics and Interactive Media

Introduced in 1999, the University of Dubuque’s Computer Graphics/Interactive Media Program is not much younger than the Web itself. The program readies students for exciting careers in a dramatically expanding field that will shape how almost every person, company, and country communicates in the 21st century.

With nearly every business already communicating by computer – both internally and with clients – today’s market for CG/IM specialists is almost unlimited. University of Dubuque graduates are eagerly sought after in such traditional fields as advertising, print media, and desk-top publishing. They have their choice of companies that need web designers, webmasters, web managers, digital creators, and people in other internet-related functions. Almost every firm offers potential employment.

The University of Dubuque’s CG/IM program specifically prepares students for high-level careers working for established companies. However, creative graduates often prefer an entrepreneurial path – either working as individual consultants or forming small companies with talented peers. With jobs outnumbering qualified people, firms are willing to buy CG/IM skills from independent suppliers who can solve their problems. Given the widespread need for CG/IM expertise, earning potentials are phenomenal.

More than Learning About Computers
The University of Dubuque bases all its professional programs on a unique fusion of "technical" courses with the traditional liberal arts. The UD mission calls for educating students intellectually, spiritually, and morally so that they can enjoy success in their family and community lives as well as satisfying careers.

Consistent with this mission, the GG/IM major requires 62 semester hours of study, including liberal arts courses such as English, history, and speech as well as computer science, business, and communications. The program combines computer science, art, and standard speech and communication. A graduate of the program is able to communicate using all the latest technology and also excels in traditional skills such as correct spelling and creative writing. The University insists that graduates of the program know more than just how to use computers. They also master a broad curriculum so that they have something to communicate.

A significant feature of the CG/IM program is the inclusion of an ethical perspective in every class. There is no single course entitled Ethics. It is assumed in every class that students will examine their values and loyalties relative to the messages they communicate and the organizations for which they work. Almost every communication involves an ethical question, so addressing ethical questions is integrated into the entire curriculum, where it becomes a habit that will serve throughout one’s career.


Other Advantages
As a new program, Computer Graphics/Interactive Media starts out with the latest equipment and software and the most advanced practices. Designed with students? educational needs foremost in mind, it offers the following advantages:

• State-of-the Art Facilities. The completion of the Jackaline Baldwin Dunlap Technology Center in 1998 gives the University of Dubuque one of the best technology facilities in the Midwest.
• Small Classes/Close Instruction. The computer laboratory that supports the CG/IM Program includes only 12 workstations. It was designed to be small so that no class can exceed 12 persons. It is our absolute guarantee that no student will take CG/IM courses in a large class without individualized instruction.
• Earning While Learning. Because demand for CG/IM skills is so great, most students in the program are able to design websites for commercial clients while they are attending classes. Thus, they are immersed in the realities of business and are earning money well before they complete their degrees.
• Sophisticated Courses. GC/IM classes at the University of Dubuque are web-based, game-based, and video-production based. Every student prepares to serve the most sophisticated demands of the market. . .where the highest compensation is earned.
• Emphasis on Creativity. At UD, learning to use hardware and software represent only the beginning. Students are encouraged to immerse themselves in the digital medium and experiment with its properties much as a sculptor tests the properties of marble or clay.

To reach the top, tomorrow's writers, editors, public relations specialists, and advertisers – and just about every other business person who needs to communicate – will need CG/IM skills. But they will also need the traditional skills of critical thinking and good writing, and they will need a broad knowledge base. In other words, they will require exactly the kind of background the University of Dubuque’s CG/IM program provides.

Students who want a career that rewards creativity, are fascinated with computers, and are excited by the prospect of life-long learning, should carefully consider pursuing a degree in Computer Graphics/Interactive Media. The prospects in CG/IM are almost as overwhelming as the 21st century itself.

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