International students, do you consider yourself more artistic or technical? Or maybe you are a little of both — a creative thinker with an appreciation for coding, logic, or research? Is theater or music production your passion, but you also love tinkering in the lab and working with your hands? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts and Production program at the University of the Pacific might be the ideal fit for you.
Established in 2016, the Media Arts and Production major at Pacific (formerly known as Media X) combines creative media and technical studies. Courses focus on expressive design and its development, management, distribution, and analysis. Working across disciplines, you are able to mix and match your career interests, whether it is computer science, singing, engineering, graphic design, or performance art.
In addition to academic possibilities, Media Arts and Production enables career opportunities, too: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated Pacific’s Media Arts and Production program as a STEM major, which means international students pursuing a degree in Media Arts and Production are eligible for an additional 24 months of OPT.
Is the Media Arts and Production Degree Right for Me?
Media Arts and Production incorporates a flexible curriculum that goes beyond traditional classroom elements, including digital technology, fine arts, emerging media, and content engineering. The program focuses on small class sizes, collaborative student projects, and a demanding but supportive work environment.
As an international student applying to Pacific, you have a choice of five main tracks in Media Arts and Production:
1. Animation
Learn about the art and technique of animation, mastering both 2D and 3D methods. You will explore character creation, visual storytelling, and digital design while gaining experience with professional software used in animation studios, visual effects production, and multimedia companies.
2. Film
Explore every stage of film production, including scriptwriting, cinematography, directing, and editing. You will develop the skills to craft compelling visual narratives and prepare for a variety of roles across film, television, and digital media production.
3. Game and Interactive Media
Build expertise in game design and interactive storytelling while developing both technical and creative skills. This concentration prepares you for careers in game development, interactive media, or cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality applications.
4. Production leadership
Gain essential management skills for overseeing complex media projects. You will study project management, budgeting, team leadership, and production coordination, preparing for roles as a producer, coordinator, or executive leader in creative industries.
5. Self-defined
Design a customized pathway that aligns with your specific career goals. With guidance from your academic advisor, you can combine courses from across concentrations and related disciplines to build a unique program tailored to your interests and aspirations.
Of course, you can choose electives from other tracks. This is a cross-discipline do-it-yourself major, after all. Want to write a pop song about big data? Yes, you can create a number-one hit, and a classmate can help you produce the video while another student helps it go viral on TikTok.
This is a program that really helps you understand that there is more than one thing that you can be good at. That there’s more than one thing that you can explore, and there’s definitely more than one way to get to the career you want.” — Angela, Media Arts and Production major, ’20
Getting Hands-On Experience, Getting Creative
Being a Media Arts and Production major gives you hands-on experience that emphasizes creativity, self-motivation, organization, production, communication, and collaboration. At Pacific, you learn the foundations of your intended field — be it website development, journalism, video content, or digital marketing — and you learn to be a leader.
“You go into internships and to professional work knowing what you’re handling more than someone who’s been coding their entire college career,” says Brandon (Pacific ’20), who worked on the student Media Arts and Production team that produced A Yosemite Welcome, a 360-degree virtual reality short film about the beauty of Yosemite Park, led by a John Muir historic interpreter.
Mike Doherty, associate professor of engineering and computer science, says one of the greatest benefits of the major is the interdisciplinary curriculum, along with the collaborative atmosphere.
“You’re not isolated in a department. You’re not in a silo somewhere where you’re only learning one very specific specialization. You have access to all kinds of expertise,” says Doherty. “In the long run, what this means is, as you’re building projects and working with other students, you can build teams that have different skills and different disciplines to work together to produce bigger projects with much more extensive perspectives.”
Infinite Career Possibilities
Media Arts and Production prepares international students for high-demand careers in creative technology sectors. A capstone project and an internship or practicum are required for graduation. You will be gaining real-world experience, building your resume, and creating a portfolio while completing your studies.
Courses are offered at Pacific’s main campus in Stockton, California, ideally located for students pursuing careers in media and technology. With the Bay Area/Silicon Valley region less than two hours away, you have access to leading tech and creative media companies, such as Google, Pixar, Twitch, and Facebook. Los Angeles — the film and television capital of the world — is just five hours away by car.
Small class sizes mean you have direct access to Media Arts and Production faculty, and students are encouraged to take advantage of Pacific’s strong alumni network. That means you can network with Pacific graduates who work for companies and organizations like Apple, Lucasfilm, NASA, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and NBC News.
We’re definitely really lucky to have alumni who are involved in the media industry who come here and help us learn.” — Amaris, Media Arts and Production, ’19
Making Your Own Way at Pacific
From animation and business analytics to engineering courses and coding, this multi-faceted program is built for ambitious, creative students with diverse interests. Media Arts and Production graduate Angela (Pacific ’20) concurs. “This is a program that really helps you understand that there is more than one thing that you can be good at,” she says. “There’s more than one thing that you can explore, and there’s definitely more than one way to get to the career you want.”
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