Platt College offers both associate's and bachelor's degrees in media and design. The Bachelor of Science in Media Arts program is a broad curriculum that prepares students for careers in advertising, game development and animation. After a foundation in computer graphic design in the first two years, the program allows students time to choose a focus in their last two years from among these specialties: web design, animation or digital video production.
Claiming to be one of the oldest and largest art and design schools in the U.S., the San Francisco-based Academy of Art University offers a comprehensive media arts degree through its School of Multimedia Communications. Developed to provide students with hands-on learning in digital video content production, web design and other forms of interactive media, the program emphasizes learning skills necessary for professional business environments. Emphasis is placed on the need for students to be able to assess their work in light of aesthetic trends; hence, much of the underclass curriculum focuses on analyzing art and design history.
A division of a national network of similar colleges, the Art Institute of California maintains eight campuses throughout the state, providing all of the major metropolitan areas with vocational training in art and design. The college's Media Arts Department allows students to focus in animation and special effects, digital media, game design, photography and web design. Beginning with a generalized curriculum in basic media software applications, the program becomes more focused as it progresses, enabling students to narrow their focus as they approach graduation.
Operating out of two campuses, one in Ventura and the other in Santa Barbara, the Brooks Institute offers bachelor's of art degrees in a variety of media arts. The school is largely known for its photography program, but it also offers curricula in film and video production, graphic design, visual journalism and a certificate program in digital cinema. To obtain a bachelor of arts degree, students must fulfill general education credits in the liberal arts, reflecting the school's mission to expose its students to a well-rounded education.