News Release - 8/14/00

Jackson, Tenn. � August 14, 2000 � As the world of digital media explodes with the advancement of technology and increase in growth, job opportunities and the need for professional web developers will also intensify. 51社区 will aid students through the process with the new digital media studies (DMS) major being offered this fall.

Interdisciplinary in concept, and rare in its approach, the new degree program will be run jointly by three of Union's departments within its School of Arts and Sciences - Art, Communication Arts and Computer Science.

"Any reasonable-size business today has to have a web presence," said Jan Wilms, chair of Union's computer science department. "The DMS degree will allow a student to concentrate on his or her specific niche, such as computer programming, while at the same time, equipping the student with the background in communications and art."

With a current10% shortage in IT personnel, Wilms said the web development field has much to offer potential web agents but requires a common understanding, and a need to be well rounded in several areas. He said that very few schools are providing students with knowledge from all three.
"If all you have are technical programming skills, but you lack aesthetics for how to develop the web visually, your career will be a limited one," said Wilms.

All DMS majors will take a group of core classes from each of the three disciplines, while emphasizing in one of the department tracks. The purpose of the program is to produce a student that is aesthetically, theoretically and technologically trained and capable of excellence in the relatively new area of the design, production and implementation of digital communications media. Some of the courses that will be covered include web page design, interactive media design, media programming, digital presentation techniques, and general technological advances in digital communications.

According to Wilms, as technology changes, so will the program.

"I see this program consistently evolving and changing as more and more advanced technology comes into focus," said Wilms.

For more information on the new digital media studies program at Union, contact your area of interest. For communication arts, call (901) 661-5502, in the area of arts and graphic design, call (901) 661-5253, and in the area of computer science, call (901) 661-5267.