Digital Arts and Sciences | Bachelor of Arts

The Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts and Sciences (BADAS) crosses traditional college boundaries between the arts, communications, and engineering. Students will become versed in contemporary issues in social and interactive media, critical thinking and creative design solutions. The DAS graduate will gain experience working in collaborative teams on media projects including digital storytelling, animation, and game design including serious and applied games.

Department Requirements

In addition to meeting university-level requirements, students seeking admission to this program must submit a portfolio of original student work, demonstrating competency in digital art and computer programming, as well as a personal statement, to the UF Digital Worlds Institute. The content and quality of these submissions, in addition to previous academic GPA, will be significant factors to determine admission into the program.

The personal statement refers to an original document created by the applicant that details interests, motivations and rationale for seeking program admission. The statement should be one to two pages in length and demonstrate a serious intent to pursue the program and the writing ability appropriate for admission as an upper-division student at a major American university.

Portfolio materials refer to a body of original creative or technical work authored, documented and presented in a contemporary digital format. The portfolio will contain examples of the applicant's best original work including digital art and programming completed before seeking admission to the BADAS program.

The portfolio is due by March 15 of the sophomore year for admission into upper-division coursework. Students may not take 3000/4000-level DIG courses without submission of the portfolio.

Students must complete all critical-tracking courses with minimum grades of C in each course and the minimum critical-tracking GPA must be 2.5. Students who do not meet these requirements will be placed on academic probation and required to prepare a probation contract with an advisor. Students normally are given two terms in which to remove their deficit points; however, students who do not satisfy the conditions of the first term of probation may be dismissed from the program.

The B.A. in digital arts and sciences crosses college boundaries between communications, engineering and the arts. Students will become versed in contemporary issues in social and interactive media, critical thinking and creative design solutions. The DAS graduate will gain experience working in collaborative teams on media projects, including serious and applied games, live digital performances and virtual worlds.

Before Graduating Students Must

• Pass assessment of performance on a major design experience, according to department grading rubric.
• Pass assessment in one or more core courses or individual assignments targeted to each SLO.
• Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.

Students in the Major Will Learn to

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Content

1. Apply knowledge of multimedia, human-computer interaction, graphics, and simulation to application domains.
2. Conceptualize, design, and develop a creative digital project. 

Critical Thinking

1. Successfully solve the problems and engage in the systems thinking necessary to develop contemporary interactive digital media.
2. Critically evaluate contemporary digital media and digital techniques in the creation of digital art.

Communication

1. Communicate and collaborate successfully in a team environment comprised of artists, designers and application developers.

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

Assessment Types

• Assignments
• Projects illustrating systems thinking and problem solving
• Review of student work illustrating collaborative interdisciplinary achievement
• Performance in capstone course

Applicants who should complete the SSAR:

• Attended a high school regionally accredited in the United States for at least three years.
• Attended a DODEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) school.

Applicants who should not complete the SSAR:

• Attended a secondary school located outside the United States for more than one semester.
• Studied a curriculum that did not follow the standard U.S. system.

Required: At least three full years of your most recent secondary school transcripts, including courses in progress (grades 9, 10 and 11 + senior schedule) in both the native language of instruction and a word for word certified English translation (if applicable). Unofficial transcripts are accepted electronically via the status Check Status page for the review process, while official transcripts and translations are required upon enrollment.

All applicants, regardless of citizenship, must demonstrate English proficiency. English proficiency examination results, such as TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test, are encouraged for non-native English speakers, but are not required for freshman admission. SAT or ACT results are required for all freshman applicants.

• A copy of your transcript for any school you have attended with the grades you have earned
• A list of your high school activities including jobs, clubs, sports, community service, etc.
• Information about your parent(s) or guardian(s), such as educational background, occupation and employer information

Add UF as a university to receive your application and review our specific application requirements.

Fill in your profile information. Your profile is where you'll enter information that will be sent to all schools to which you apply. The University of Florida requires the following sections:

• Information about who you are and how to contact you, your address, citizenship, high school and family information
• Current-year coursework
• Honors and distinctions
• Activities and experiences

Complete the UF Supplement. This includes a few additional short-answer questions so that we can learn more about you when reviewing your application.

Complete the essay questions. The essay helps our admissions staff get to know you better. Use this space to tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t learn elsewhere in your application. And remember, the best essay topic for you is going to be the one that you are most excited to write about.

Once you have submitted your application, a link will appear on your status page to create your Student Self-Reported Academic Record (SSAR). List your high school courses and grades exactly as they appear on your transcript. You must complete the SSAR by December 1 for your application to be complete. If you begin the SSAR separately before submitting your UF application, be sure to link it to your application once your application has been submitted.

Submit your test scores to UF no later than December 15. You may either self-report your SAT and/or ACT scores through your application status page or send official scores from the testing agency. Since accuracy is critical, students who choose to self-report should have a copy of their SAT/ACT score report(s) available to reference when submitting their scores. Because UF superscores both the SAT and ACT, we encourage you to submit scores for all SAT or ACT tests you have taken. If admitted, students who have self-reported their scores in the admissions process will be required to submit official scores from the testing agency to UF by May 1. UF Institutional Codes:

You may request to begin your studies in either the Summer B or Fall term. The term requested DOES NOT affect the consideration of your application. If you are admitted, we will try to offer you the term you requested, but space limitations may mean you receive an offer for a different term.

When you submit your application, pay the $30 nonrefundable fee by credit card unless you qualify for a fee waiver. In both the Common and Coalition applications, you can indicate in the profile section if you qualify for a fee waiver.

You will receive an email 24-48 hours after submitting your application with instructions to create your MyAdmissions application status credentials. Once completed, you can log in to the MyAdmissions app status portal to keep track of your application status and the materials that UF has received. This is also where you will find the link to create your SSAR.