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School of Media, Culture and Design

Jeff Bellantoni
Dean + Professor
MFA, Virginia Commonwealth University - School of the Arts

Ana Valencia
Administrative Coordinator

Paola Fernandez
Director of Activities

The School of Media : Culture : Design (MCD) offers many challenging degree paths designed to cultivate students’ particular talents throughout their educational journey. Our goal is to educate the next generation of creative professionals seeking to make an impact on global society. MCD houses seven undergraduate programs in the fields of animation + visual effects, fashion design, filmmaking, game art and design, graphic design, media studies, and psychology; and a graduate program in social justice. Students are encouraged to explore the areas between and around these disciplines as they develop their personal vision. Graphic Design students might select a consumer behavior course in Psychology to better understand the factors that influence purchasing decisions. Fashion Design students may be interested in exploring costuming in the Filmmaking department. Game Art & Design students might connect with Animation + VFX to develop the artistic skills necessary for character development in their games. Animation students might look to the Psychology department to understand the power of story to influence thought and behavior. Filmmaking students might look to the Media Studies program to analyze the history, theory, aesthetics, and industry of moving-image media in all its diverse forms. By integrating diverse fields in the areas of media, culture, and design, our programs provide innovative learning opportunities in an interdisciplinary environment. Students are able to realize their educational objectives within a creative nexus that fully embraces, informs, and enriches each academic journey.

MISSION
The School of Media : Culture : Design aligns multiple avenues of inquiry to produce the critical skills and knowledge necessary for students to excel in their chosen disciplines. We prepare students to live in the global community as innovative problem-solvers and to work in a wide variety of cultural industries as creative, critically aware, and socially responsible individuals.

VISION The School of Media : Culture : Design seeks to provide profound educational experiences through inspiring faculty, curricula, and facilities to prepare the next generation of creative professionals, bridge our disciplines, and allow students to collaboratively solve problems from multiple perspectives, ultimately transforming themselves and society.

GOALS
The programs within the School of Media : Culture : Design work together to support the following programmatic goals:

  • Present comprehensive evidence of disciplinary knowledge related to the specific history, theory, standards of practice, and technologies found within fields of study.

  • Develop expertise in the processes associated with the creation, form, content, production, and dissemination of meaning and message.

  • Gain proficiency in creative inquiry, as manifest in research methodologies, interpretive applications, and aesthetic content. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively across diverse disciplines, understand the value of cooperative activities, and conduct transdisciplinary inquiry.

  • Show competence in critical thinking, especially as it pertains to the fields of media, culture, and design.

 

STEM
The following MCD programs are STEM designated: Animation + VFX, Filmmaking, Game Art and Design, Graphic Design, Media Studies, and Psychology.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY
Students shall own the copyright to their art, design, media, or research projects produced while a student at Woodbury University. The University reserves the right to reproduce, display, or distribute copies in all media for any archival, teaching, or promotional purposes.

PROGRAM FEES
Students enrolled as a major in any program housed in the School of Media : Culture : Design will be charged a program fee each semester. For the 2023-24 academic year, the program fee will be $40 per semester.

INTERNSHIP and CAREER/WORK EXPERIENCE
The purpose of the internship and career/work experience is to broaden students’ experience to include greater responsibility, understanding, and involvement in the work environment. The experiences should enhance the skills needed to negotiate the parameters of an assignment and the discipline needed to be self-directed. Students choose either to complete an internship for credit or complete a career/work experience.

  1. Internships: Students are required to complete 120 hours and must enroll in department course number 390 or 490 for 3 units which are letter graded. The process can take more than one semester to complete and can be started at any time during the semester. The majority of hours can be in the summer but students desiring to pay for the units as part of the fall or spring semesters must work at least a portion of the time within that semester.

  2. Career/Work Experience: Students are required to complete 120 hours. The process can take more than one semester to complete and can be started at any time during the semester. Final evaluation is pass/no credit. Students may opt to replace a career experience with an internship and receive credit for an unrestricted elective.

  3. Multiple Internships: Students may enroll in multiple internships or split the units between different host organizations.

  4. Term: It is recommended that internships and work/career experiences occur in the junior year, and must be completed with submitted paperwork before the end of the senior year or the student will not matriculate.
  5. Program Requirements:
    1. Prerequisite – Be aware that some programs have a prerequisite requirement that must be completed before applying for an internship or work/career experience.
    2. Application – Prior to signing the contract, submit to your department chair for approval.
    3. Contract – Prior to start date submit to your department chair with signatures of student and host supervisor.
    4. Weekly Journal – Completed by student and submitted to department chair at the completion of hours.
    5. Photo – Submit a high-quality photo of yourself in your interior or exterior work environment.
    6. Self-Evaluation – Completed by student and submitted to your department chair at the completion of hours.
    7. Supervisor Evaluation – Submitted to host organization supervisor and sent directly to department chair at completion of hours. Students are responsible for assuring that the supervisor submits the evaluation.
    8. Animation + VFX Program Requirements
      1. The experiences may be in 2D animation production, 3D animation production, stop-motion production, game art production, visual effects, post-production, motion graphics, commercial, television, or feature film production.
    9. Media Studies Program Requirements
      1. Internships may be in entertainment, film, television, internet, social media, public relations, radio, company promotions and advocacy, government, non-profit, arts or community organizations, or local businesses.
    10. Fashion Design Program Requirements
      1. The experiences may be in fashion design, fashion product development, textile art, fabric sourcing, tech packs, line sheets, fittings, alterations, fashion marketing, fashion sustainability, and related fields.
    11. Filmmaking Program Requirements
      1. The experiences may be in film, television, media, commercials, or a related field.
    12. Game Art & Design Program Requirements
      1. The experiences may be in video games, virtual reality, toy design, animation, digital visual arts, information technologies, interactive media, programming, audio production.
    13. Graphic Design Program Requirements
      1. The experiences may be in design, advertising, interactive media, web and user experience, or a related field.
      2. Student work must be supervised or receive input from a graphic design professional.
      3. Freelance work is not permitted.
    14. Psychology Program Requirements
      1. Internships may be in any field, in any capacity as long as the duties or experiences relate to a field of psychology.
      2. The psychology internship process requires 120 hours of work. Typically, 90 hours are spent on-site and the remaining hours are used to compile the required final report.

FACULTY
Through scholarly research and professional practice, Woodbury faculty members actively participate in the shaping of all programs in the School of Media : Culture : Design. This is manifest in the creation of new courses, regular updates to existing courses, and the study and research assistance students receive. Through their creative work and private practices, faculty members are involved in their own scholarly studies as well as contemporary design and media movements, directly impacting their students’ educational experiences. This type of engagement creates a community atmosphere within and beyond the classroom, further contributing to student success in learning.

ANIMATION + VFX
Judy Kriger, Associate Professor
MFA, California Institute of the Arts

Jeremy Mowery, Assistant Professor
MFA, Mount Saint Mary’s University

DESIGN FOUNDATION
Patrick Nickell, Associate Professor
MFA, Claremont Graduate University

FASHION DESIGN 
Anna Leiker, Associate Professor
MFA, Academy of Art, San Francisco

Wayne Kastning, Assistant Professor 
MS Architecture, Woodbury University

FILMMAKING
George Larkin, Associate Professor
PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Elizabeth Yarwood, Associate Professor
MFA, University of Southern California

Xiaolin Yu, Associate Professor
MFA, American Film Institute

GAME ART & DESIGN
Paul M. Smith, Associate Professor
MA, William Paterson University

Evan Fladager, Assistant Professor
MFA, University of Texas, Dallas

GRAPHIC DESIGN
Behnoush McKay, Associate Professor
MFA, California State University - Northridge

Cate Roman, Professor
MFA, Claremont Graduate University

MEDIA STUDIES
Kristen Fuhs, Associate Professor
PhD, University of Southern California

Nicole Keating, Professor 
PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Jennifer Peterson, Professor 
PhD, University of Chicago

PSYCHOLOGY
Joye Swan, Professor
PhD, Claremont Graduate University

EMERITUS FACULTY
Barbara J. Bowley, Professor
MA, MS, Columbia University

Penny Collins, Professor
MFA, California State University - Northridge
MS, College of New Rochelle

Angela Diamos, Professor
MFA, California State University - Northridge

Zelda Gilbert, Professor
PhD, University of Kentucky 

Ric Heitzman, Professor
MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Dori Littell-Herrick, Professor
MFA, University of California - Los Angeles

Sue Vessella, Emeritus Dean
MFA, California State University - Los Angeles