Digital Media Degree online
Associate Degree in Digital Media
ENROLL NOW for our next start:
Program Overview
The Sessions College Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) in Digital Media is an intensive two-year degree program for students seeking to enter careers in video production and editing, animation, or motion graphics. Designed for high school graduates and adult learners, the program offers a strong foundation in visual design and a working knowledge of software and production techniques essential for contemporary digital media.
Digital Media students begin their program with first year studies focused on art and design fundamentals. Second-year classes place an emphasis on techniques for time-based media. Students gain a training in Adobe Premiere, Animate, After Effects and a foundation in video making and motion graphics.
I feel the quality of the instructors is the best thing about Sessions College. They all have passions and expertise in multiple disciplines that shows in their interactions and critiques with students. By growing my video and editing abilities, as well as my storytelling skills, I can better assist my clients, and myself, to tell stories that need to be told.
Student Work By: Ileia Centracchio, Logan Barlow
Truly Affordable Education
Our Fall 2024 tuition is:
50% lower than the average annual cost of tuition at 4-year colleges in the United States.
Significantly more affordable than other online design / digital media colleges.
So affordable that 100% of tuition costs may be covered for eligible students.* Find out today if you qualify.
*Federal student aid and military education benefits available for eligible students.
Studying Online at Sessions
Founded in 1997, Sessions College has delivered accredited and affordable fully online programs for creative professionals for more than 20 years. Earning your Digital Media Degree online at Sessions has never been more accessible. Take a virtual college tour in this video!
What Our Students Say
Associate Degree in Digital Media Curriculum
The Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) in Digital Media is a 72-credit program completed in two years. Part-time schedules are available.
First Semester
- DES 121 Photoshop I - 3 credits
- DES 106 Design Foundations - 3 credits
- DES 111 Drawing I - 3 credits
- GEN 104 English Composition - 3 credits
Second Semester
- DIG 205 Intro to Motion - 1.5 credits
- DES 141 Illustrator I - 3 credits
- DES 151 Digital Photography I - 3 credits
- GEN 105 Computer Technology - 3 credits
- DES 131 Logo Design I - 1.5 credits
Third Semester
- DIG 201 Digital Video Editing I - 3 credits
- DIG 210 Animate I - 3 credits
- GEN 106 History of Art - 3 credits
- GEN 107 General Psychology - 3 credits
Fourth Semester
- DIG 204 Digital Video Production - 3 credits
- PHO 105 Photo Lighting and Planning - 3 credits
- DIG 208 After Effects I - 3 credits
- GEN 207 Copywriting - 3 credits
Fifth Semester
- DIG 209 Time-Based Media - 3 credits
- DES 102 Typography II - 3 credits
- DIG 212 After Effects II - 3 credits
- ILL 142 Illustrator II - 3 credits
Sixth Semester
- DES 222 Photoshop II - 3 credits
- WEB 222 UX/UI Design* - 3 credits
- GEN 204 Intro to Marketing - 1.5 credits
- GEN 206 Creative Businesses - 1.5 credits
- DIG 260 Digital Media Capstone and Portfolio Review - 3 credits
* Elective course may be replaced by any other 3-credit course in the program, subject to availability and prerequisites.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Program highlights for Digital Media majors in the AOS program.
DIG 201 Digital Video Editing I - 3 credits
Learn the art and craft of editing videos from two award-winning filmmakers. The course explores techniques that can be applied in a range of non-linear editing programs, including Adobe Premiere Pro. Yet the main focus is not just on developing software skills; it's on exploring the magic behind video editing. Challenging projects including editing a commercial, an interview, a narrative scene, a music video, a video diary, and a text title sequence.
DIG 204 Digital Video Production - 3 credits
Learn how to control white balance, aperture, and shutter speed, to get high quality images from your digital video camera. You'll explore the different types of shots and camera motion techniques used by the pros and learn how to do location scouting, plan props, wardrobe, and sets, and work with talent. Course lectures challenge you to think about different storytelling conventions in narrative and documentary movie-making and address the fundamentals of sound recording.
DIG 210 Animate I - 3 credits
Get a thorough, hands-on introduction to Adobe Animate, learning how to draw and import artwork, organize it using symbols and layers, and animate it using a range of techniques from basic tweening to frame-by-frame animation. Animation techniques will include motion tweening, scaling and rotating objects, nested animations, shape tweens, masks, frame by frame animation, and lip syncing.
DIG 205 Intro to Motion - 1.5 credits
This course introduces topics of motion in animation and video through research and observation of real-life movement and movement in animation. Students learn basic principles of visible motion (including physics principles) and apply these principles to written analysis and practical explorations including flipbook-style animation. Topics include movement of objects and characters.
PHO 105 Photo Lighting and Planning - 3 credits
Focus on the planning and preparation that lead to the successful execution of a photo shoot. Develop a thorough understanding of different types of lighting, both natural and artificial. Learn the limitations and advantages of varied shooting conditions, and explore methods to effectively stage and style photographs to achieve your desired effect.
DIG 209 Time-Based Media - 3 credits
This course teaches students how to apply their digital media skills to narrative contexts and build their portfolio with high concept work. Students will explore narrative theory, visual development, pipeline testing, iteration, and creative direction for digital media projects. They will also study conventions of time based media genres, including movie trailers, PSAs, commercials, and music videos.
DIG 221 After Effects I - 3 credits
Adobe After Effects is a powerful application used to create motion graphics and visual effects for film and video. After Effects is used in a variety of contexts, including broadcast graphics, music videos, feature films, video rotoscoping, corporate presentations, and conferences. In this 6-lesson course, you'll learn how to use After Effects to create sophisticated motion graphics, using text and object animations, compositing videos and images, and adding audio and effects. You'll learn how to set keyframes on a timeline and work with transform properties, motion paths, masks, and effects, developing a solid foundation in this increasingly popular and versatile program.
Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) Faculty
Department Head: Natalie La Scala
Natalie La Scala is a Denver-based media artist with 20 years of work experience in creative direction, project management, and higher education. Natalie's passion is to create dynamic content that people can put to use. Some recent clients include Z1CareerZone, Engage, LLC, and the Performing Arts Academy. As an educator she has provided innovative organizations consultancy on instructional design, curriculum development, and software training.
INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY
Get expert feedback in classes taught by our industry-leading faculty.
Andrew Shalat
Andrew Shalat is an author, designer/illustrator, educator, and Mac expert. Since 1985 he has been designing and writing articles about Macintosh, Mac software, and publishing technologies that have appeared in Macworld, maccentral.com and macweek.com (for which he was a columnist writing "Shalat's Web"). He has been a regular speaker/faculty member at Macworld Expo since 2001 and has written three books: How to Do Everything with Online Video (McGraw-Hill, Osborne), Do It Yourself Mac Projects (McGraw-Hill), and MacDesign Out of the Box (Peachpit). Andrew is a regular contributor to design and Macintosh related sites including Inside Mac Radio, InDesign Magazine, and Creativepro.com. His design work covers a large range of media including book, CD and DVD covers, brochures, catalogs, outdoor signage, print ads, artwork, logos, Flash and Web design, and grocery lists. Over the past two decades, Andrew has taught literature, writing, Web design, and print design.
Bill Drastal
Bill Drastal is an artist and animator who works for Bento Box Entertainment, an Emmy award-winning animation studio that produces network programs, such as "Bob's Burgers." He is currently working on a project that is unnamed and under wraps so stay tuned. Bill has animated comic characters for social and mobile games, created storyboards for online animated videos, and designed character actions and rigs for video games. Bill has a Bachelor's Degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of California - San Diego.
Carolyn Zaikowski
Carolyn Zaikowski is the author of the hybrid novel In Dream, I Dance by Myself, and I Collapse (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2016). Her fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Denver Quarterly, The Rumpus, PANK, West Branch, Dusie, DIAGRAM, Everyday Feminism, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and is currently an English professor and volunteer death doula. You can find her online at www.carolynzaikowski.com.
Jordon Schranz
Jordon Schranz is an audio/visual artist and designer whose work has been exhibited internationally in New York, Chicago, El Paso, Berlin, Bogotá, and Ciudad Juárez. In addition he has performed hundreds of shows across the United States as part of the free jazz trio, "The Eastern Seaboard" and in the avant-rock group "Quivers" with Ninni Morgia, including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, and Detroit.
Kevin Hedgpeth
Kevin Hedgpeth is an Arizona native who makes his home in Phoenix, where he actively writes and illustrates in addition to teaching college-level visual arts courses. He is co-author of “Exploring Drawing for Animation” and “Exploring Character Design” for Cengage Learning and illustrated the book, "Raising Unicorns: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Running a Successful - and Magical! - Unicorn Farm" for Adams Media.
Kristen Becker
Kristen Becker is an educator and a graphic and business designer specializing in e-commerce. She has developed and marketed a niche e-commerce boutique featured in Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and In Style magazines. With over 12 years of experience as an award winning educator, she has developed curriculum and taught courses in graphic design, multimedia, and e-commerce/marketing. Kristen has an Master's degree in Digital Arts From Maryland Institute College of Art.
Michael Hamm
Michael Hamm is a Senior UX Designer for Oracle Corporation, Web developer, and Adobe Illustrator expert with over 20 years of experience in the creative field. Michael's technical writing on design has been published in various design books and magazines and Michael co-authored the Glencoe/McGraw-Hill book Introduction to Web Design Using Dreamweaver. Michael is an Adobe Certified Instructor in Adobe Illustrator and holds a Diploma in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Houston. Michael has a passion for illustration software and all things vector.
Natalie La Scala
Natalie La Scala is a Denver-based media artist with 20 years of work experience in creative direction, project management, and higher education. Natalie's passion is to create dynamic content that people can put to use. Some recent clients include Z1CareerZone, Engage, LLC, and the Performing Arts Academy. As an educator she has provided innovative organizations consultancy on instructional design, curriculum development, and software training.
Piper Nilsson
Piper Nilsson is a graphic designer and educator. Piper was greatly influenced by studying art history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and learned to apply principles of fine art to graphic design. She has over 10 years of experience teaching at Sessions. Piper has been working with the Web since 1997, when she began her career at a leading Web design agency. Working in various roles as a designer, programmer, and information architect, she blueprinted sites for such global clients as MetLife, Pepsi, ETS, and Citibank. Piper is currently working as a freelancer, based in Valencia, Spain. Her recent projects include a Spanish language podcast and travel app. Piper received a Sessions College outstanding instructor award in December 2011 and won a USDLA Platinum Award Best Practices Awards for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching in April 2012. Piper holds an Associate's degree in Graphic Design from the Pratt Institute.
Sara Wade
Sara Wade is a motion designer, animator, illustrator, and educator who has worked for clients across the globe for over two decades. She is particularly fond of work that straddles the divide between the visual and the technical like drone shows, digital dome shows, and other non-traditional animated experiences. She has developed curriculum, created courses and taught for universities and schools for over 15 years.
Taz Tally
Dr. Taz Tally is the president of Taz Tally Seminars, a computer publishing consulting and training company, and Taz Tally Photography. Taz is the author of numerous graphics and print production books including Photoshop Before and After Makeovers, Acrobat and PDF Solutions, Avoiding the Output Blues, and Avoiding the Scanning Blues, and he is a contributing author to The Photoshop World Dream Team Book. Taz has produced numerous instructional videos, CDs, DVDs and online training courses on scanning, prepress and printing, Photoshop, color correction, and font management, including an extensive library on Lynda.com. Taz is a frequent presenter at seminars and trade shows throughout the U.S, including the GraphExpo, the annual Chicago Print show, and is a member of the Photoshop Dream Team at the biannual Photoshop World convention. Taz writes for graphics art publications including Printing Industry of America, The Magazine, Layers Magazine, and Photoshop User. Taz is an adventure author who specializes in black and white landscape photography and whose latest book is 50 Hikes in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.
View All faculty.
Associate Degree in Digital Media Program Outcomes
By completing the program, Associate Degree in Digital Media students develop the following competencies:
1. Video
Shoot and edit engaging videos utilizing skillful production, camera, audio, and non-linear editing techniques.
2. Technology
Create images, animations, and movies by effectively and efficiently using creative software including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate, After Effects, Premiere, and other industry technologies.
3. Animation
Prepare and present short animations employing basic animation techniques using 2D and 3D artwork.
4. Art/Design Principles
Demonstrate the ability to produce visually compelling work by applying knowledge of color, pattern, detail, and composition.
5. Storytelling
Conceptualize, compose, and deliver images, animations, and movies demonstrating an effective use of visual communication and storytelling.
6. Critical Thinking and Writing
Employ critical thinking to generate, support, and convey ideas through writing for academic or professional contexts.
7. Portfolio
Apply creative problem solving and constructive feedback to conceive, produce, and present an impactful body of work that showcases your skills to employers and potential clients.
Outcomes Assessment
To learn more about our outcomes assessment process, visit our Academic Team.
Student Work
Student Work
Program Benefits
Launch your Creative Career
Earn a degree and launch your creative career in our most rigorous 2-year program.
By Creatives, for Creatives
Collaborate with a community of creative learners and industry professionals.
Maximize Your Portfolio
Projects put you through your paces as you build a body of work. Your program culminates with a guided portfolio review.
Structure and Flexibility
Weekly deadlines keep you on track, but with no set login times you can build your studies around your schedule.
Education You Can Afford
Affordable programs with low per credit tuition, and financial aid available for those who qualify.
Convenient Online Application
Fast, convenient, and student-centered application process.
Career Outlook for Digital Media
Digital Media professionals produce creative work such as motion graphics, animations, special effects, digital graphics, video production for web, television, social media, and live streaming. These creatives can serve in multiple roles such as special effects artists, animator, motion graphics artist, cinematographer, director, editor, camera operator, and more. Professionals in this field need to possess artistic talent, communication skills, computer skills, creativity, and time-management skills.
Job Titles
Graduates could be employed as Special Effects Artists, Animators, Motion Graphics Artists, Camera Operators, Film and Video Editors, Producers, and Directors.
Median Annual Wage
According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual salaries in May 2023 were as follows:
| Camera operators, television, video, and film | $61,800 |
| Film and video editors | $66,600 |
| Producers and directors | $85,510 |
| Special effects artists and animators | $99,060 |
Largest Areas of Employment
From 2022 to 2032, employment opportunities are expected to grow as follows:
The top three areas of employment for each area are as follows:
| Camera operators, television, video, and film | Self-employed workers | 33% |
| Motion picture and video industries | 27% | |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 10% | |
| Film and video editors | Motion picture and video industries | 37% |
| Self-employed workers | 34% | |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 10% | |
| Producers and directors | Motion picture and video industries | 35% |
| Media streaming distribution services, social networks, and other media networks and content providers | 10% | |
| Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries | 9% | |
| Special effects artists and animators | Self-employed workers | 58% |
| Motion picture and video industries | 19% | |
| Software publishers | 6% |
Job Projections
From 2022 to 2032, employment opportunities are expected to grow as follows:
- Film and video editors and camera operators: jobs are projected to grow 7 percent from 2022 to 2032.
- Producers and directors: jobs are projected to grow 7 percent from 2022 to 2032.
- Special effects artists and animators: jobs are projected to grow 8 percent from 2022 to 2032.
About 9,400 openings for special effects artists and animators are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
Resources
Based on Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics data for camera operators, film and video editors, producers and directors, and writers and authors and Indeed Job Outlook on video production and computer animation.
Learn more about this field at the Motion Picture Editors Guild.
Getting Started
Our Digital Media Degree online application process makes getting started easy, fast, and convenient.
How Do I Apply?
To enter the program you are expected to have earned a high school diploma, GED, or state-approved home school equivalent. Any students under 18 years of age will also need to provide the signed permission of a parent or guardian.
We have a convenient and student-friendly online application process.
To apply, simply complete our application form and provide transcripts, an application essay, and 5-10 samples or art/design work or alternative written assignment, and a $75 application fee. Applications are reviewed by our Acceptance Committee and generally returned within a business week. See our complete application guide and credit transfer policy.
You can begin your creative journey by completing our online application today. There is no charge until you submit your application materials and no obligation to enroll.
How Long is the Program?
The Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) program is a 72 credit program completed in six semesters or two years by a student on a full-time schedule. Students with transfer credit can graduate in under two years and part-time schedules are available.
Will the Program Fit My Schedule?
Weekly deadlines help you stay on track. And with no set login times, you can build your studies around your schedule, wherever you are located. That’s why more than 50% of our degree students complete their programs while working full-time.
What Software or Supplies Do I Need?
To take this program, you’ll need the following:
- Mac or Windows computer with an Internet connection.
- Access to a digital camera with manual control over ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and White Balance, that allows for shooting in RAW format.
- A digital video camera and ability to connect it to a computer to capture footage.
- Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate, After Effects, and Premiere CC software.
- MS word or equivalent application
- Your computer must meet software manufacturer requirements.
- A Web hosting account with an ad-free hosting service.
- Webcam, headphones or speaker, VPN connection, and microphone connected to the computer for live proctored exams.
There are no textbook or course material costs to participate in this online program. Student discount on Adobe Creative Cloud software is available to enrolled students.
What are the Program Costs?
Truly Affordable Tuition. Since our founding in 1997, we have been committed to making the highest-quality design and digital media education available at the lowest cost.
Our truly affordable Fall 2024 tuition is:
| Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) Program - Fall 2024 Tuition |
|---|
| $300 per credit |
| $3,600 per semester |
| $7,200 per academic year |
| $21,600 total program tuition |
Per-credit tuition is the same full-time and part-time students. Federal financial aid available for eligible students. Ask about our $500-$3,000 scholarships for exemplary applicants.
A $200 registration fee is required to process your enrollment in the program. Registration fees are nonrefundable after 5 days from the scheduled beginning of program orientation. See Degree Program Admissions.
Is Financial Aid available?
Federal Student Aid. Federal student aid is available to students who qualify. If you are eligible, you may be able to fund your program using Pell Grants and Federal student loans. Check out our Financial Aid Information pages and ask to set up an interview with our Financial Aid Director.
Military Student Aid. Military servicemembers and their families who are eligible for GI Bill Education Benefits or active service member Tuition Assistance (TA) may also be able to utilize these programs to pay for their education.
Adult Learner Scholarships. Ask about our innovative scholarships for adult learners. The Designed for You Scholarship Program can help you offset your tuition costs.
Accreditations and Approvals
Get Started Today
Take the first step on a rewarding creative journey towards earning an Associate Degree in Digital Media.
By submitting this form, you consent to an Admissions Advisor contacting you about our educational programs via email, phone, or SMS text. Message & data rates may apply. You can opt out or unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy.