Learn More and ApplyComputer Science + Animation (BS)

Menu

CDM-2024 - Animation_2

The multidisciplinary Computer Science + Animation (CS+ANI) Bachelor of Science degree program prepares students to span the boundary between computing and its application in animation, providing them with a career path to technical artistic roles in the animation and game development fields. The fact that DePaul boasts both a highly-ranked Animation program in the School of Cinematic Arts and a large, successful Computer Science program in the School of Computing enables us to provide a unique high-quality curricular combination of both educational areas.  The CS+ANI curriculum combines a solid computer science core customized to fit the specific needs of this discipline, with a foundation in 3D animation designed by animation and game art faculty. There is a heavier emphasis on programming than on art due to the technical demands of this field. CS+ANI students receive valuable interdisciplinary collaborative group project experiences with teams of students majoring in 3D animation, storyboarding and character design, game design, game art, and game programming. 

The CS+ANI BS contains two concentrations, Animation Technical Director and Game Art Technical Director, with requirements of each tailored to the specific requirements of the film and TV and game production fields.  A technical director (referred to as a TD in the industry) serves as a bridge between artists and programmers.  TDs in both fields can be involved in a wide range of duties, including managing and developing the production pipeline, developing features and add-ons to software, developing custom tools, and working with programmers on larger software projects.  They also work on productions doing rigging, modeling, lighting and rendering scenes, building shaders, programming FX and particle systems, and working with motion capture.

Due to the rare combination of technical and artistic skills, the demand is high for people who fit this job description.  Top animation and game studios

Program Requirements Quarter Hours
Liberal Studies 76
Common Major 84
Concentration 20
Open Electives 12
Total hours required 192

Learning Outcomes

  • Model a computational problem, select appropriate algorithms and data structures for a solution, justify the correctness of the algorithm, and implement an application solving the problem.
  • Analyze and select an algorithm based on system effects.
  • Analyze the efficiency of a computational solution mathematically, and validate the analysis experimentally.
  • Criticize a program on the basis of its maintainability and suggest improvements.
  • Apply graphics and rendering techniques to support game or animation production.
  • Apply essential concepts and utilize tools necessary for 3D entertainment production including modeling, lighting, texturing, rigging, and rendering.
  • Utilize scripting knowledge to create tools in professional software packages such as Maya, Unity, Unreal, Houdini, or Nuke.
  • Analyze and troubleshoot the artwork-to-render/engine pipeline on a 3D animation or game development project.

Liberal Studies Requirements

Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year ProgramHours
Chicago Quarter
LSP 110
DISCOVER CHICAGO
or EXPLORE CHICAGO
4
Focal Point
LSP 112 FOCAL POINT SEMINAR 4
Writing
WRD 103 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 4
WRD 104 COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 4
Quantitative Reasoning
Not Required
Sophomore Year
Race, Power, and Resistance
LSP 200 SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE 4
Junior Year
Experiential Learning
Required 4
Senior Year
Capstone
Required in major 1
1

Students must earn a C- or better in this course. 

Learning Domains

Arts and Literature (AL)

  • 3 Courses Required
    • ANI 101
    • 1 course selected from: ANI 206 or MCS 207 or MCS 208 or MCS 209 or any HAA course approved for AL
    • 1 additional AL course

Historical Inquiry (HI)

  • 2 Course Required

Math and Computing (MC)

  • Not Required

Philosophical Inquiry (PI)

  • 2 Courses Required
    • 1 course selected from either FILM 228 or CSC 208
    • 1 additional PI course

Religious Dimensions (RD)

  • 2 Courses Required

Scientific Inquiry (SI)

  • 1 Course Required
    [1 Lab Course]

Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)

  • 3 Courses Required

Major Requirements 

Course Title Quarter Hours
MAT 140DISCRETE MATHEMATICS I4
MAT 141DISCRETE MATHEMATICS II4
CSC 241INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I4
CSC 242INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE II4
CSC 300DATA STRUCTURES I4
CSC 301DATA STRUCTURES II4
CSC 321DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS4
CSC 361OPTIMIZED C++4
CSC 373COMPUTER SYSTEMS I4
CSC 374COMPUTER SYSTEMS II4
GAM 325APPLIED 3D GEOMETRY4
GAM 370RENDERING AND GRAPHICS PROGRAMMING4
ANI 105MOTION GRAPHICS FOUNDATIONS4
ANI 2303D DESIGN & MODELING4
ANI 2313D ANIMATION4
ANI 3323D RIGGING4
ANI 3393D TEXTURING AND LIGHTING4
Eight (8) credit hours selected from any courses in ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, GAM, POST, SCWR, or VFX8
Senior Capstone (Choose one of the following pairs)8
GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT I
GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECT II
OR
ANIMATION PROJECT I
ANIMATION PROJECT II
OR
SOFTWARE PROJECTS
Any 300-level ANI, CSC, or GAM course

Note: Students may take CSC 243 and one (1) CSC elective in lieu of CSC 241 and CSC 242.

Open Electives

Open elective credit also is required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 hours.

Program Combination Restrictions

Students pursuing the BS in Computer Science + Animation are forbidden from pursuing a Minor in the following areas: Animation; Animation Technical Director; Computer Science; Game Technical Director; Information Technology.

Concentrations, tracks and specializations provide focus to the degree. In addition to any degree requirements, students are required to choose one of the following:​