UCLA Design Media Arts Program: A Comprehensive Overview
The UCLA Department of Design Media Arts (DMA) stands as a leading institution for innovative and exploratory creation with digital media. As part of the esteemed UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLA Arts), DMA plays a vital role in the cultural and artistic landscape of both the campus and the broader community. This article provides a detailed overview of the undergraduate and graduate programs offered by UCLA Design Media Arts, covering curriculum, admissions, and the unique opportunities available to students.
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture
UCLA Arts, the premiere public arts school in the nation, houses four degree-granting departments: Architecture and Urban Design, Art, Design | Media Arts, and World Arts and Cultures/Dance. Beyond these departments, UCLA Arts extends its influence through renowned institutions like the Hammer Museum and the Fowler Museum, as well as UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA). The Hammer Museum offers diverse collections, exhibitions, and programs spanning classic to contemporary art, architecture, and design. The Fowler Museum explores global arts, emphasizing works from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the indigenous Americas. CAP UCLA is dedicated to advancing contemporary performing arts, including dance, music, spoken word, and theater.
Undergraduate Program in Design Media Arts
The Design Media Arts (DMA) undergraduate program emphasizes innovative and exploratory creation with digital media. The curriculum features foundation classes followed by a broad selection of courses in media arts, games, and design. Students are encouraged to focus on one of these areas and to enrich their experience with additional classes from other areas and related classes through other departments at UCLA. This challenging and diverse program invites students to balance aesthetic sensibility with logical reasoning, formal theories with practical application, and contemporary thought with historical perspective. Rather than focusing on narrow professional development, the curriculum fosters experimentation across a range of different media. The program privileges a social outlook, process, experimentation, and personal growth over conservatism and commercialism and seeks students who share the same goals. It strives to provide a broad education that encourages young people to make new connections, analyze complex situations, and think critically.
Curriculum Structure
The undergraduate curriculum begins with a series of foundational courses in preparation for the major and moves into core upper-division classes which comprise the major itself. Key courses include:
- Media Histories: Exploring the historical context of media arts.
- Design Culture: Examining the cultural impact of design.
- Digital Image: Developing skills in digital imaging techniques.
- Fabrication and Materials: Understanding the physical aspects of media creation.
- Video and Motion: Learning the principles of video production and motion graphics.
- Typography: Studying the art and science of typography.
- Interactivity: Designing interactive experiences.
- Media Arts Introduction: An overview of media arts concepts and practices.
- Design Futures: Exploring future trends in design.
- Tangible Media: Working with physical interfaces and interactive installations.
- Art and the Internet: Creating art for the online environment.
- 3D Modeling and Motion: Developing skills in 3D modeling and animation.
- Game Design: Learning the principles of game design.
- Sonic Media: Exploring sound as a medium for artistic expression.
- Interactive Animation: Creating interactive animated experiences.
- Game Engine: Working with game engines for interactive development.
- Arts Research and Practice: Engaging in research and critical analysis of art.
- Art and Science Collaboration: Combining artistic and scientific approaches.
- Worldbuilding: Creating immersive and detailed fictional worlds.
- Collaborative Game Lab: Working in teams to develop games.
- Experiments in Virtuality: Exploring virtual reality and immersive technologies.
- Word and Image: Combining text and visuals in design.
- Web Design and UI/UX: Designing user-friendly websites and interfaces.
- Design Systems: Creating scalable and consistent design frameworks.
- Disability and the Web: Designing accessible web experiences.
- Type in Motion: Animating typography for dynamic effects.
- Design Research: Conducting research to inform design decisions.
- Ecological Arts and Justice Practice: Integrating environmental and social justice themes into art.
- Professional Practice: Preparing for a career in design media arts.
- Special Topics in Design Media Arts: Exploring emerging trends and techniques.
- Capstone Senior Project in Design Media Arts: A culminating project demonstrating skills and knowledge.
In addition to DMA courses, students complete general education requirements and are encouraged to take electives from across the university to broaden their academic experience.
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Admission for Undergraduates
The Department of Design Media Arts accepts first-year and transfer applications for the Fall quarter only. Admission to the Design Media Arts major is based on evidence of creative talent and academic achievement and is very competitive. All applicants for the Design Media Arts major must also submit the DMA Undergraduate Supplemental Application in SlideRoom by DECEMBER 15, 2025 (11:59pm PST).
Transfer Students
Design Media Arts considers sophomore transfers. The most important admission criteria is the supplemental application which requires a portfolio of creative work. While it may be beneficial to complete recommended preparation courses, there is no guarantee they will transfer as exact UCLA equivalents. Substitutions for lower division requirements will be determined by the department in the summer following admission.
Change of Major:
Change of major applications will be considered only for current UCLA students who have successfully completed at least one quarter at UCLA/UC campus and are in good academic standing. Students may not apply for admission to Design Media Arts more than two times during their residency at UCLA. The Department prefers that students have fewer than 90 units at the time of application to ensure a normal degree completion time. Students with more than 121 units (excluding AP and Design Media Arts courses) will not be considered. The supplemental application is a critical consideration in the admission process. Students who would like to change their major to add Design Media Arts as a major must attend a mandatory information sessions.
Key Considerations for Transfers:
- DMA emphasizes visual, audio, analytical theoretical, and technology-mediated work in design and media arts.
- The program supports a diversity of interests around design, media, technology, and culture.
- The integrative curriculum invites students to balance their aesthetic sensibility with logical reasoning, formal theories with practical application, and contemporary thought with a historical perspective.
- Most transfer students take three years to complete the program.
Supplemental Requirements for Transfers:
In addition to the general UC Application, applicants must submit a supplement that consists of a visual arts portfolio and additional writing statements. Additional fees may apply. All students must have a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the time of application November 30). Students MUST complete the requisite two English courses and one Math course by the end of Spring prior to transfer. Students are encouraged to take their required English and Math courses as early as possible with at least one English course completed by the end of Fall. Completion of IGETC is not required but strongly recommended.
Graduate Program: Master of Fine Arts in Media Arts
The Master of Fine Arts in Media Arts is a rigorous three-year program that focuses on each individual's personal and creative development within the context of media arts. Each student works toward an individual thesis project that incorporates research and theoretical exploration of a topic of their choice, with the goal of producing a refined body of work that culminates in an MFA exhibition. The program is focused on preparing students in three primary ways:
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- Through the acquisition and development of technical and craft-based skills in various related media.
- By building a thorough theoretical foundation in media history and theory, and supporting each studentâs journey in developing their own unique discursive framework through writing, research, and interdisciplinary engagement with other departments at UCLA.
- By helping students hone a sophisticated and compelling body of work, through critiques, seminars, exhibitions and one-on-one mentorship.
Curriculum Overview
The MFA in Design Media Arts at UCLA offers a comprehensive program that integrates experimental art practices, emerging technologies, and critical theory to cultivate innovative media artists. Students engage in a diverse range of disciplines, including digital and interactive media, installation art, video, sound, and new media performance, fostering a multidisciplinary approach to art-making. The program emphasizes both technical proficiency and conceptual development, encouraging students to explore the social, cultural, and technological impacts of media, and to develop unique, thought-provoking works that challenge conventional artistic boundaries.
First Year Curriculum
The first year curriculum provides a foundation in Media Arts.
- 252 ABC course sequence: Provides a foundation in craft and skills in the areas of computer programming and software development, 3D literacy and virtuality, and in physical media such as 3D printing, mechanics and robotics.
- 282 and 269 Seminars: Provide an introduction to contemporary topics in theory relevant to media arts.
- 403 and 404 critique and one on one tutorial classes: Offer opportunities to develop context for discussion, critique and development of students' work.
Course Breakdown:
- 200 Faculty Seminar
- 252A Coding for the Arts
- 282 Contemporary Topics in Media Arts
- 495 TA Training
- 403 Graduate Group Critique (MFA 1)
- 269.2 Graduate Seminar
- 252B Virtuality
- Choice of: 403 Grad Critique / 404 Grad Tutorial / 289 Graduate Seminar
- Elective(s) of Choice or 596
- 403 Graduate Group Critique (All MFAs)
- 252C Materiality
- Choice of: 404 Graduate Tutorial or 289 Graduate Seminar
- Elective of Choice
Second Year Curriculum
The second year curriculum is centered on exploration, offering opportunities to explore a wide range of topical courses that introduce various craft skills, techniques, and critical approaches, and begin working on research towards their written thesis during this year with support from 289 special topics, and the 269 thesis writing seminars. Students are encouraged to take elective courses from the wider offerings at DMA and UCLA at large.
Course Breakdown:
- Elective of Choice
- Choice of: 404 Graduate Tutorial or 289 Graduate Seminar
- 403 Graduate Group Critique (MFA 2)
- 266 Creating Context & Collaborative Practice
- 269.2 Graduate Seminar
- Choice of: 404 Graduate Tutorial or 289 Graduate Seminar
- Elective of Choice
- Choice of: 403 Grad Critique / 404 Grad Tutorial / 289 Graduate Seminar
- 403 Graduate Group Critique (All MFAs)
- 404 Graduate Tutorial
- 269.2 Graduate Seminar
- Elective of Choice
Third Year Curriculum
The third year curriculum is centered on focus and honing each student's individual or collaborative practice and is designed to support the development and completion of a thesis project and finalizing the written thesis paper. The curriculum in the third year is more loose and shifted more towards critique and independent work through one on one tutorials. A minimum of 101 quarter units of upper division and graduate Design Media Arts courses are required. For a complete list of DMA and other UCLA courses and course descriptions, consult the UCLA General Catalog.
Faculty Advising
Each entering student is assigned two faculty advisors by the department based on student input and faculty availability. The initial faculty advisors are charged with the responsibility of reviewing the first-year studentâs progress a minimum of three times in the academic year and may or may not eventually become a member of the studentâs thesis committee. In the second and third years, the Graduate Thesis Committee is responsible for reviewing, at least once every quarter, the studentâs progress toward a thesis project and documentation. The Graduate Thesis Committee, approved by the departmental chair, has a minimum of three members: two senate faculty members from the Department of Design Media Arts, and one senate faculty member from the Department of Media Arts or any UC campus department. The comprehensive MFA examination consists of a written thesis and a concentrated body of work that will be presented in a master of fine arts exhibition.
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Admission Requirements for Graduates
The focus of the MFA program in media arts is the use of digital media in an art context. Applicants must have completed a bachelorâs degree from an accredited institution in order to apply. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the last two years of upper-division undergraduate work is also required. The applicantâs bachelorâs degree need not be in media arts, though applicants with degrees in interdisciplinary programs that emphasize media arts are preferred. Applicants are expected to have working knowledge of a variety of software. All applicants are also required to provide two letters of recommendation with the application. Formal faculty review of graduate applicant portfolios takes place in February of each year.
Financial Support
Various merit- and eligibility-based financial support is available to entering and continuing graduate students at UCLA. Entering DMA graduate students are offered financial assistance at the time of admission based on the strength of their application; continuing students are usually informed of their financial support before the beginning of their second and third year of study.
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