New certificate to fast-track students to creative media employers

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Marc Arakaki, (808) 228-3215
Content Producer, UH Communications
Posted: May 16, 2021



Link to video and sound (details below): https://bit.ly/3tQr8U5

WHAT: Cutting edge skills in new media fields, including video game and esports design, digital film production, and new media theatre and dance performance, are the focus of a new University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa certificate for undergraduate students.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa launched the Creative Computational Media Certificate Program, a collaboration between the Department of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), Academy for Creative Media (ACM), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and the Department of Theatre and Dance

To earn the certificate, students must complete 18 credits from a list of required and elective courses in all four departments with a 2.5 minimum grade point average. All UH Mānoa undergraduate students are invited to enroll in the program.

WHY: The certificate will empower students with computer-savvy skills and prepare them for careers in the media industry, which was worth about $235 billion in 2020, including $166 billion in video games. The game industry is growing at a rate of 13% per year and computer-related jobs are at about 11% per year, and that rate is double of all U.S. jobs.

Individual courses were initially launched after faculty and students were interested in developing these new media skills across a variety of disciplines.

WHO: ICS Professor Jason Leigh and Associate Professor Guylaine Poisson, ACM Founding Director Chris Lee, ACM Chair and Professor Christine Acham and Assistant Professor Brittany Biggs, ECE Assistant Professor Darren Carlson, and Theatre and Dance Chair and Professor Markus Wessendorf and Associate Professor Kara Jhalak Miller helped develop the new certificate.

WHEN: Undergraduate students intending to complete the certificate are advised to register as early as possible to be assigned an advisor and added to the program mailing lists for special events, guest speakers and employment opportunities. Registering will also help organizers adapt class sizes to meet demand. After completing the program, students must file a verification of minor or certificate form with their respective college prior to graduation.

WHERE: UH Mānoa

Additional details: 

 

VIDEO BROLL: (1 minute, 34 seconds)

0:00-0:27 - students in the LAVA lab

0:27-0:59 - students presenting final projects

0:59-1:22 - ACM 3D animation

1:22-1:34 - video game design

 

SOUNDBITES:

Jason Leigh, UH Mānoa Information and Computer Sciences Professor

(9 seconds)

“Because there is such a huge demand for people with these kinds of skills right now, what we hope the certificate will do is fast track students to employers.”

(14 seconds)

“The program is not an easy program. And, of course, it’s not an easy program because media companies aren’t going to pay you a lot of money if you don’t have the passion and the skills. So, if you have the passion, we’ll give you the skills.”