Digital Arts Top-Up | University of Cumbria

Welcome to your course

Welcome to the BA (Hons) Digital Arts course and the University of Cumbria. The staff all look forward to you joining the course and they hope that you find the course stimulating and enjoy the challenges that are to come. We are here to assist you, so please do not hesitate to ask if you have any issues or problems.

Welcome Week

The welcome week is designed to enable you to meet your fellow classmates, the lecturers and through the social events, students and staff on different courses. We also start to get you involved with the course and the university through different talks and presentations.

You will also have an individual academic guidance session so we can get to know you a bit more and ensure that you have settled in to your accommodation and have got all your affairs in order like a bank account, student loan etc.

Timetables

Welcome week timetable

First year modules

Students can specialise in any of the following areas of study:

3D Modelling
Advanced Web Design
Animation
Digital Video
Games Level Design
Immersive Installations
Interactive Multimedia Design
Motion Graphics
Lighting and Texturing
Rigging
Visual Effects
Web Based Media

Note: Your choice of options will be defined by your previous qualifications or experience.

Pre-course Preparation

Given the nature of the course, your career goals and your chosen area of specialisation, you should try and check out what is currently “state of the art” in your chosen field. Whether you're interested in video games, animation, 3D modelling, texturing etc, you should make yourself aware of the skills level to aim to achieve in terms of producing your portfolio and end of year exhibition piece.

Current video games include: Batman: Arkham Knight, Mad Max, Lego Jurassic World and Feist
Current movies include: Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys and Inside Out

Equipment

You should have several A4 hard cover sketchbooks to develop your ideas in along with the relevant drawing instruments: Pens, Pencils, Erasers etc

You should also consider purchasing a portable hard drive to transfer your data files from your home to the University. Please DO NOT use a USB memory stick. Over the years, we have seen that they do not last very long with all the travelling people do and the resultant knocking they get in peoples pockets and backpacks.

Additional Costs in Year 1

Induction week events – For direct entry students, we have several events planned for the induction week that there will be a nominal charge for. Last year the total for all 3 events was £20.00 (It may be a little higher this year due to cost increases). On the Thursday we will go bowling and have a Barbeque and on the Friday we will have a day trip to Edinburgh. These events are designed to help you get to know other students on the course and introduced you to students on the 3 other Media based courses. You will be billed directly by our finance department if you participate in them.

Newcastle Anatomy Trip – Each year we visit to the Anatomy department at Newcastle University. This will involve you purchasing a round-trip train ticket. Purchasing the tickets in advance or using a rail card can make savings in the ticket price. The date of the trip is to be announced.

International Trip – We plan to offer you the chance to go on an international trip. The destination will be chosen during the first week in October when all the students are back. Pricing for the trip will be worked out and for students signing up, a payment plan will be introduced. Our finance department will bill you and we will try to align the charges with when your loan checks are due. This will enable you to disperse the costs and budget accordingly.

Contacts

If you have any questions about your course, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Admissions team.