Requirements
Course Requirements
Each student is required to take 60 credits. Required courses are as follows:
All of the following courses:
| GAME 200 | Game Design Systems | 5 |
| GAME 221 | Professional Development for Game Makers I | 2 |
Plus one of the following options:
Students who lack sufficient technical preparation to enter course Games and Playable Media GAME 230, Fundamentals of Game Engineering, must take both GAME 235, Game Development I, and GAME 236, Game Development II. Assessment of technical preparation will be performed based on completed coursework prior to entry into the program, discussion with the student, and, at the program’s discretion, use of a technical assessment examination.
Plus all of the following courses:
Three courses from the electives list below, 15 credits (5 credits each)
| GAME 210 | Game Art Intensive | 5 |
| GAME 215 | Audio Direction | 5 |
| GAME 232 | Advanced Game Technologies | 5 |
| GAME 238 | Computer Graphics for Games | 5 |
| GAME 250 | Foundations of Serious Games | 5 |
| GAME 290A | Advanced Topics in Games | 5 |
| CMPM 201 | Introduction to Computational Media | 5 |
| CMPM 202 | Computation Media Research | 5 |
| CMPM 203 | Computational Media Methods | 5 |
| CMPM 235 | User Evaluation of Technology | 5 |
| CMPM 244 | Artificial Intelligence in Games | 5 |
| CMPM 248 | Interactive Storytelling | 5 |
| CMPM 265 | Generative Methods | 5 |
| CMPM 290J
/DANM 250D
| Playable Media | 5 |
| DANM 201 | Recent Methods and Approaches to Digital Arts and Culture | 5 |
| DANM 202
/MUSC 254Q
| Dialogues and Questions in Digital Arts and Culture | 5 |
| DANM 219 | Introduction to Electronics for Artmaking | 5 |
| DANM 241B | Modern Art: Cubism to Pop | 5 |
| DANM 250E | Collaborative Research Project Group: Experimental Play | 5 |
| DANM 254I
/MUSC 254I
| Empirical Approaches to Art Information | 5 |
| DANM 281 | Special Topics in Digital Arts and New Media | 5 |
| MUSC 206B
/DANM 217
| Computer-Assisted Composition | 5 |
A maximum of five credits of Computational Media 297 (Independent Study or Research) can be used to meet degree requirements.
Master's Capstone Project
Completion of a master's capstone project is required for the master's degree. These are generally collaborative projects, created together with other students in the Games and Playable Media M.S. program. Projects are typically completed by students during GAME 272, Games and Playable Media Studio III. Students are evaluated based both on their individual contributions to the project and on the overall success of the project as a whole. Each project will be demonstrated via a public presentation, and this demonstration comprises part of the final project evaluation.
Evaluation of projects is performed by a committee consisting of at least three people, comprised of at least the games and playable media vice chair and will contain other members of the games and playable media program faculty, or members of the games and playable media program advisory committee, or other instructors in the games and playable media program. A majority of the committee’s voting members are members of the UC Santa Cruz academic senate.
Planners
There are two primary paths through the first year of the degree. Students with less technical background take GAME 235, GAME 236, and GAME 231 in their first year, while those with more technical background take GAME 230 and GAME 231 in their first year.
The sample programs include summer internships or sponsored projects. These are not required, and do not bear academic credit. They are, however, strongly suggested.
Sample program with more technical background
| Quarter 1 |
GAME 230, Fundamentals of Game Engineering (5 credits) |
| GAME 200, Game Design Systems (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 2 |
Elective 1 (5 credits) |
| Elective 2 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 3 |
GAME 231, Game Technologies (5 credits) |
| GAME 270, Games and Playable Media Studio 1 (5 credits) |
| GAME 221, Professional Development for Game Makers I (2 credits) |
| Summer |
Internship or Sponsored Project |
| Quarter 4 |
GAME 271, Games and Playable Media Studio II |
| Elective 3 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 5 |
GAME 272, Games and Playable Media Studio III (5 credits) |
| Elective 4 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
Sample program with less technical background
| Quarter 1 |
GAME 235, Development I (5 credits) |
| GAME 200, Game Design Systems (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 2 |
GAME 236, Game Development II (5 credits) |
| Elective 1 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 3 |
GAME 231, Game Technologies (5 credits) |
| GAME 270, Games and Playable Media Studio 1 (5 credits) |
| GAME 221, Professional Development for Game Makers I (2 credits) |
| Summer |
Internship or Sponsored Project |
| Quarter 4 |
GAME 271, Games and Playable Media Studio II |
| Elective 2 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
| Quarter 5 |
GAME 272, Games and Playable Media Studio III (5 credits) |
| Elective 3 (5 credits) |
| GAME 280A, Games Proseminar (2 credits) |
Transfer Credit
Up to three School of Engineering courses fulfilling the degree requirements of the M.S. degree may be taken before beginning the graduate program through the concurrent enrollment program. The game art, game writing, and game sound requirements of the M.S. program may also be satisfied through courses from other institutions or prior UCSC coursework. Petitions should be submitted along with the transcript from the other institution. For courses taken at other institutions, copies of the syllabi, examinations, and other coursework should accompany the petition. Such petitions are not considered until the completion of at least one quarter at UCSC.
At most, a total of three courses may be transferred from concurrent enrollment and other institutions.
Review of Progress
On an ongoing basis, the faculty reviews the progress of every student remaining on track to complete the degree in five consecutive academic quarters. Students not making adequate progress toward completion of degree requirements (see the Graduate Handbook for policy on satisfactory academic progress) are subject to dismissal from the program. Students with academic deficiencies may be required to take additional courses. Full-time students with no academic deficiencies are normally expected to complete the degree requirements at the rate of at least two courses per quarter, and move forward through the course sequences together with their cohort, remaining on track to complete the degree in a single four-quarter year.
Students receiving two or more unsatisfactory grades (U or grade below B) in the School of Engineering (SoE) courses, or who receive an unsatisfactory grade (U or grade below B) in a course in the Games and Playable Media Studio sequence, are not making adequate progress and will be placed on academic probation for the following quarter of registered enrollment. Withdrawing or taking a leave of absence does not count as enrollment. Part-time enrollment is counted as a half quarter of enrollment. Students who are on academic probation or are not enrolled full time are no longer guaranteed any previously committed funding. Should students receive an unsatisfactory grade (U or below B) in a School of Engineering course while on probation, the Computational Media Department may request the graduate dean to dismiss that student from the graduate program. If after being removed from probation, the student again receives an unsatisfactory grade (U or below B) in a School of Engineering course, he or she will return immediately to academic probation.
Graduate students experiencing circumstances or difficulties that impact their academic performance should contact their adviser and the graduate director immediately. Students may appeal their dismissal.
Applying for Graduation
Students planning to graduate should refer to the Baskin School of Engineering Graduate Studies website.