<p>Past discussions have touched on the interdisciplinary strengths at CMU as a key attraction for some students. Along those lines, I stumbled across the [Entertainment</a> Technology Center](<a href=“http://www.etc.cmu.edu/]Entertainment”>http://www.etc.cmu.edu/) that seems to fit that characterization perfectly. Here’s a brief quote:
Sounds pretty cool… too bad it’s a grad program. I’m sure an undergrad version would draw some interesting applicants.</p>
<p>It is a great grad program. I would have to say that the opportunities for undergrads in respect to those being left and right brained are abundant at CMU. I see that in the Drama program and the opportunities my S has had so far.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this info, Roger. CMU is high on my S’s list of potential colleges – specifically because of its strong mix of tenchnology and fine arts. We hadn’t seen anything about the ETC before, but we did follow the link to CMU’s website and it looks really exciting! Thanks again.</p>
<p>yeicks! I’m afraid to show that link to my son! (although he probably already knows about it). It looks like an incredible program, but also look at the financial aid or internships offered: NONE! (They are not even subtle about it.) Not exactly what a graduate student needs after 4 years of undergrad tuition!</p>
<p>No aid… I guess it’s kind of like a professional program (e.g., MBA) where loans are the common form of financing. Not the most appealing aspect, though.</p>
<p>hii …
i have been accepeted to this program and will be going to ETC this fall.
it is true that there are no tution waivers…but its not true there are no internships.
ETC is like a bootcamp for ELECTRONIC ARTS. nearly half of the students are recruited by EA. all of the students of 2005 batch have been placed and students from 2006 batch have found internships. </p>
<p>last year there were around 300 applications for 30-35 intake. this year also there is a long waiting list of students.</p>
<p>60000$ for 2 years looks pretty expensive but i think ETC is worth spending that much of money.</p>
<p>While nothing would be as neat as the ETC, undergraduates have the opportunity of joining the Game Creation Society. Students, programmers, designers, artists, work on developing games in teams. They hear presesntations from professional game developers and have internship opportunties similar to ETC students.</p>
<p>There continue to be rumors that the ETC is planning to start an undergraduate program, but until them, the Game Creation Society is the next best thing.</p>
<p>Does the program at CMU, i.e. the ETC program allow a person to be able to work towards a career in filming, i.e. visual effects/animation and its use in the Hollywood industry because i noticed everyone seems to be discussing the end objective as getting into pure game development. People like Tim Burke and these amazing visual effects supervisors who work for Hollywood films,what kinda education and skills do they have? Does this degree allow us to acquire those very skills?</p>
<p>It is possible with special permission to take some ETC classes as an undergrad I think. Specifically there are some undergrads who take the building virtual worlds class. Also, the game creation society is really cool. When I did sleeping bag weekend, I stayed with the guy in charge of GCS and he has done some really cool work on games, and I think he had an internship working at a game design company last semester.</p>
<p>Hey. I’m a member of GCS and I can definitely say it is worth joining… although finding time between your classes to do work for what essentially will become another lab/studio (depending what side of the dev team ur on) will be done through sheer willpower and cutting off hours of sleep.</p>
<p>I know these questions are old, but here’s what I’ve heard as answers:
The ETC allows a person to be able to work in visual effects/animation. It’s not all gaming at all, although many students choose to concentrate their projects on it. If I remember correctly, there were people who went on to work in Disney creating the theme park shows, the virtual stuff. There’s one example of people not working in games. And I guess the fact that Dreamworks recruits from the ETC is good evidence too?</p>
<p>Also, nowadays, I don’t think undergrad is allowed to participate in Building Virtual Worlds, although I think the lecture classes, when offered, are open to them.</p>
<p>And Waffles, was the guy u stayed with named Chris?</p>
<p>After 4 years of paying the hefty tuition at CMU, 2 additional years of nearly-equal costs is a bit too much. The ETC doesn’t offer assistantships to TAs and researching. And there are no school-scholarships.</p>
<p>Last year Microsoft offered scholarships to ETC students, but tha was last year.</p>
<p>I’m just curious. What can a student do to be able to pay for a school like that? It seems like a wonderful place, but the price tag is a bit depressing.</p>