Two years after the successful launch of Wichita State University’s Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA) in Media Arts program, the university has created the new School of Digital Arts.
The school will be the fourth school within WSU’s College of Fine Arts and will encompass the BAA program, which includes concentrations in animation, audio production, filmmaking, game design and collaborative design.
The School of Digital Arts was approved today (Wednesday, Nov. 20) by the Kansas Board
of Regents.
This new addition to the College of Fine Arts comes on the heels of impressive growth
within the BAA program, which is housed in the state-of-the-art Shocker Studios production
facility.
Justin Rorabaugh, director of Shocker Studios, said the initial goal when the BAA program was developed in 2017 was to help move the College of Fine Arts firmly into a 21st century educational model. The new program did just that, not only meeting the growing desire among college students to major in media arts disciplines, but exceeding all expectations.
“We anticipated a modest enrollment of around 60 to 75 students by year five,” Rorabaugh says. “We are thrilled to be at the 2 ½ year mark with nearly five times that amount already.”
That growth includes the opportunity for students to work on projects for real clients, such as Spirit AeroSystems, Airbus Americas, Deloitte, Wichita Police Department and Snoop Dogg.
“With so much success, it became imperative for us to further formalize our program into a school within the College of Fine Arts,” Rorabaugh says.
Learn more about media arts at WSUThe mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.