Students who dream of becoming computer game developers, digital graphics designers or technical directors in the entertainment industry can gain the skills they need from DePaul University's new computer graphics and animation undergraduate degree program. DePaul's School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI) will begin offering courses for the new bachelor's degree in the fall. The new program responds to the increasing demand for computer graphics and animation specialists by the entertainment industry, government agencies, business and manufacturing, said Professor Rosalee Wolfe, director of CTI's division of computer graphics and human computer interaction.

      "Computer graphics has experienced explosive growth during the past 10 years," she said. "It has expanded beyond its traditional roots in computer-aided design and flight simulation to embrace gaming, desktop and Web publishing, interactive digital media and visual effects. This growth is creating a ferocious demand for the rare employee who is fluent in both art and technology."

     The 48-course program will include studies in mathematics, art, computer graphics and computer science, including courses in animation, plug-in development and games development.

     Students who earn the new degree have a wide range of career choices, Wolfe said. "The American public bought 200 million computer games in 1999 and is expected to buy 25 percent more this year, creating new jobs in computer game design," she noted. "New positions also are emerging with the advent of feature-length, completely digitally animated films, the Internet, e-commerce and digital publishing. In addition, increasing numbers of businesses need people to create digital simulations and visualizations of products before the first physical prototype is manufactured."

     The computer graphics and animation undergraduate degree program is one of three new degrees CTI will launch in the fall. The others are a bachelor's degree in network technologies and a bachelor's degree in electronic commerce. Expanded from a department to a school in 1995, CTI offers practical, cutting-edge information technology education through graduate and undergraduate degree programs and professional training. CTI enrolls more than 1,300 undergraduates and is the largest graduate computer school in the nation with 1,800 master's level students. CTI's overall enrollment has increased approximately 25 percent each year, the fastest growth among DePaul's eight schools and colleges.