ADVANCE Program Milestones:
All ADVANCE students must adhere to the following requirements. For Milestones #1-#3, failure to meet these milestones will prevent a student from matriculating to Mason and/or result in termination from ADVANCE. For Milestones #4-#7, failure to meet these milestones may delay matriculation to Mason.
1. Students must complete their 91³Ô¹Ï degree within 4 years of being admitted into ADVANCE. Students are highly encouraged to be continuously enrolled at 91³Ô¹Ï/Mason to support progress towards degree completion.
2. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at 91³Ô¹Ï and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA upon matriculation to Mason.
3. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the fall semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï spring graduation by March 1 or summer graduation by June 1. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the spring semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï fall graduation by October 1.
4. Students must begin developmental coursework no later than the first semester in ADVANCE at 91³Ô¹Ï.
5. Students must take first college-level MTH course and ENG 111 in the semester immediately following the completion of any MDE or EDE courses (excluding summer).
6. In the first 30 credits, students must complete ENG 111 and ENG 112 with a C or better.
7. Students must complete a Mason Core Quantitative Reasoning course equivalent with a C or better no later than one semester before 91³Ô¹Ï graduation. Refer to your pathway to select the appropriate MTH course(s).
Program-Specific Requirements:
Portfolio Requirement:
• All students in this pathway must submit a writing sample before they can matriculate in the Computer Game Design program at George Mason University. For Game Design, BFA Application Guidelines, please visit: https://cvpa.gmu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/computer-game-design-admissions
• For Game Design, the writing sample review requires students to complete two essays. Students should submit their essays during the term before they intend to matriculate to Mason. The portfolio deadline is October 1st for spring matriculation and March 1st for fall matriculation.
A.S. General Studies
| 91³Ô¹Ï | MASON | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91³Ô¹Ï Degree Requirement | 91³Ô¹Ï Course | Credits | Transfer to MASON As | MASON Degree Requirement |
| SDV Course | SDV 100 College Success Skills or | 1 | UNIV 100 | General Elective |
| SDV 101 Orientation to Fine Arts (strongly recommended) | UNIV 100 | |||
| ENG 111 | ENG 111 College Composition I1 | 3 | ENGH XXX | General Elective |
| ITE 152 or CSC 110 | ITE 152 Introduction to Digital and Information Literacy and Computer Applications or | 3 | IT 104 | Info Tech |
| CSC 110 Principles of Computer Science | CS 100 | |||
| MTH 154, or MTH 155, or Higher | MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | MATH 106 | Quantitative |
| MTH 155 Statistical Reasoning | STAT 105T | |||
| Science Course #1 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| CHM 101 Introductory Chemistry I or | CHEM 103 | |||
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography I | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| CST Course | CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking or | 3 | COMM 100 | Oral Comm |
| CST 110 Introduction to Human Communication | COMM 101 | |||
| ENG 112 | ENG 112 College Composition II1 | 3 | ENGH 101 | Written Comm |
| HIS Course | HIS 101 Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE or | 3 | HIST 101T | Global History |
| HIS 102 Western Civilizations Post-1600 CE or | HIST 102T | |||
| HIS 112 World Civilizations Post-1500 CE (recommended) | HIST 125 | |||
| Humanities/Fine Arts #1 | CST 151 Film Appreciation I | 3 | ENGH L372 | Major & Arts |
| Science Course #2 | PHY 100 Elements of Physics | 4 | PHYS 103 | Major & Nat Science |
| ENG: 200-level Literature | ENG 225 Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas or | 3 | ENGH 202 | Literature |
| ENG 245 British Literature or | ENGH 202 | |||
| ENG 246 American Literature or | ENGH 202 | |||
| ENG 255 World Literature or | FRLN L330 | |||
| ENG 258 African American Literature or | ENGH 202 | |||
| ENG 275 Women in Literature or | ENGH 202 | |||
| ENG Any 200-Level ENG Literature course2 | ENGH 202 | |||
| Transfer Elective #1 | ART 140 Introduction to Graphic Skills3 | 3 | AVT 110 | Major & Info Tech |
| Transfer Elective #2 | ART 121 Foundations of Drawing or | 3 | AVT 222 | Major |
| ART 141 Typography I or | AVT 215 | |||
| ART 223 Life Drawing or | AVT L324 | |||
| ART 231 Sculpture I or | AVT 262 | |||
| ART 241 Painting I or | AVT 232 | |||
| ART 271 Printmaking I or | AVT 243 | |||
| PHT 101 Photography I | AVT 252 | |||
| Transfer Elective #3 | CSC 221 Introduction to Problem Solving and Programming | 3 | CS 108 | Info Tech |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #1 | PSY 200 Principles of Psychology | 3 | PSYC 100 | Major & Soc/Behav |
| Transfer Elective #4 | ART 121 Foundations of Drawing or | 3 | AVT 222 | Major |
| ART 141 Typography I or | AVT 215 | |||
| ART 223 Life Drawing or | AVT L324 | |||
| ART 231 Sculpture I or | AVT 262 | |||
| ART 241 Painting I or | AVT 232 | |||
| ART 271 Printmaking I or | AVT 243 | |||
| PHT 101 Photography I | AVT 252 | |||
| Transfer Elective #5 |
GAME 210 Basic Game Design or
*
|
3 | GAME 210 | Major |
| ITP 160 Introduction to Game Design & Development | GAME 210 | |||
| Transfer Elective #6 |
GAME 104 Two-Dimensional Design for Games
*
|
3 | GAME 104 | Major |
| Transfer Elective #7 | CSC 222 Object-Oriented Programming | 4 | CS 112 | Major |
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #2 | GEO 220 World Regional Geography or | 3 | GGS 101 | General Elective |
| PLS 140 Introduction to Comparative Government or | GOVT 133 | |||
| PLS 241 Introduction to International Relations or | GOVT 132 | |||
| PSY 219 Cross-Cultural Psychology | PSYC L379 | |||
| Total Credits: 61 | ||||
For academic policies and procedures, please see 91³Ô¹Ï catalog - http://www.nvcc.edu/catalog/index.html
B.F.A. Computer Game Design
| MASON Degree Requirement Sequence | Course | Credits | MASON Core/Degree Equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Core | GAME 230 History of Game Design | 3 | Major | |
| Gen Ed: Written Communication (Upper-level) | ENGH 302 Advanced Composition | 3 | Written Comm | |
| Major Core | GAME 231 Computer Animation for Games | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 240 Applied Coding for Game Designers II | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 250 Music for Film and Video | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 300 Portfolio Preparation | 1 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 310 Game Design Studio | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 398 Three-Dimensional Game Art II | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 367 Writing and Editing Music and Sound | 3 | Major | |
| Digital Media Elective | Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)4 | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 330 Computer Game Platform Analysis AND | 4 | Major | |
| GAME 331 Consumer Gaming Platform Analysis Lab | ||||
| Major Core | GAME 332 RS: Story Design for Computer Games | 3 | Writing Intensive | |
| Major Core | GAME 489 Pre-Internship Seminar | 1 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 410 Advanced Game Design Studio | 3 | Major | |
| Digital Media Elective | Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)4 | 3 | Major | |
| Major Core | GAME 490 Senior Game Design Capstone (must be taken twice) | 3 | Major | |
| Digital Media Elective | Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)4 | 3 | Major | |
| General Electives | General Elective | 2 | General Elective | |
| General Electives | General Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Major Core | GAME 491 Internship | 3 | Major | |
| Gen Ed: Apex | GAME 490 Senior Game Design Capstone | 3 | Apex | |
| Total Credits: 120 | ||||
*Denotes a course that must be taken at George Mason University while attending 91³Ô¹Ï. Failure to complete your co-enrollment course(s) while attending 91³Ô¹Ï can significantly affect your timeline for Mason graduation. Please see your ADVANCE Coach for more information and to enroll.
Important Academic Information:
1Students who complete ENG 111 after Spring 2024 will earn ENGH elective for ENG 111 and ENGH 101 for ENG 112.
2200-level ENG literature classes include: ENG 225, ENG 230, ENG 236, ENG 237, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 256, ENG 257, ENG 258, ENG 271, ENG 275, and ENG 279.
3See Game Design advisor to request a substitution to allow AVT 110 to fulfill AVT 180 degree requirement.
4For approved Digital Media Elective courses, please visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/visual-performing-arts/computer-game-design/computer-game-design-bfa/#requirementstext
Additional General Notes & Resources:
• All GAME undergraduate students must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in their major. All GAME courses except GAME 101 Introduction to Game
Design (Mason Core), GAME 250 Music for Film and Video, and GAME 367 Writing and Editing Music and Sound must be passed with a grade of C or better.
• For academic policies and procedures, please see Mason catalog - https://catalog.gmu.edu/policies/
• Students seeking a bachelor's degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation.
General Education Waiver Policy and Guidance:
• Students who complete a VCCS transfer associate degree (AS, AA, or AFA) will receive a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower division) Mason Core general education categories, which can be found here: https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/ . To be eligible for the waiver, the students must provide
the Mason Office of Admissions with a final, official transcript reflecting the degree conferral date. As a prerequisite for ENGH 302, ENGH 101 is not waived. Students must complete ENGH 100 or ENGH 101, or an equivalent, with a C or higher.
• When a course fulfills a Mason Core requirement and a major or college requirement (e.g. Major & Quant), students must complete the course listed on the pathway to fulfill the major/college requirement. Courses that fulfill only Mason Core Foundation and Exploration categories are recommendations. In most pathways, ADVANCE students must complete a Quantitative Reasoning course to matriculate through ADVANCE.
• ADVANCE students must complete the associate degree indicated on their pathway (see the ADVANCE Program Milestones listed above). Students who withdraw from ADVANCE and transfer without the associate degree or UCGS are required to complete each Mason Core general education category.