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A newsletter from Media Arts Programs
at a community college
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Spring 2026
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In this issue
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Hey friends. Big things happening in our corner of The Valley. A brand new STEAM center opening its doors. A student design team doing client work. Spotlight on an award-winning faculty documentarian. Pull up a chair and get inspired…
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Cover Story · What’s New
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The STEAMworks Center is almost open.
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Previsualization of the STEAMworks Center VR cave concept.
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A new on-campus makerspace with room for hands-on building and emerging tech alike.
The STEAMworks Center is a new space where students get to make things. Most of it is a makerspace: drill presses, 3D printers, woodworking and fabrication equipment, the kind of tools that let you actually build what you design.
It’ll also be home to our work in extended reality (XR, which covers both AR and VR), spatial computing, and AI-assisted workflows. These are areas employers are asking graduates to understand, so we’re making sure students have the chance to learn them in context.
Students across every program in our department will have access. The first courses moving into the space in Fall 2026 include AVC 185 (3D Modeling and Animation I), AVC 200 (Animation and Interactivity), and AVC 240 (Cinematography and Directing for 2D/3D Animation).
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3D Printers
Drill Presses & Fabrication
AR / VR / XR
Spatial Computing
AI Workflows
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Feature · Paid Student Work
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Real clients. Real deadlines. Real checks.
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Design Studio students working in the media studio.
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Students getting paid to make real work for real clients on campus.
The Design Studio grew out of something our students were already doing. They’d pick up design work through a class or a campus internship, building portfolios on projects that needed doing around campus.
Then we wrote a grant. Now it’s an actual studio, with paid student positions spanning animation, video production, and graphic design, guided by a faculty advisor. They collaborate across disciplines the way real creative teams do, on work that gets seen. On work that matters.
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Faculty Spotlight
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Twelve years in the making. A Phoenix Film Festival win.
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Stephanie Lucas
Film & Media Production Faculty
Film & Media Production Professor Stephanie Lucas and her collaborator Josh Kasselman just won Best Arizona Feature at the Phoenix Film Festival for their first feature-length documentary, Unfinished Work.
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The documentary, directed by Lucas, follows her former student Eric Chavez over 12 years, starting with his senior year of high school. One story, told the long way, illuminating life struggles, grief and resilience.
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Your instructors aren’t just instructors. They’re creating the work too.
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Recent awards
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Our students are winning.
Congratulations to our students recognized in the Maricopa Artist of Promise Animation and Film Awards. Click any title to watch.
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Create Your Future
Programs at a glance.
Four Media Arts programs in Arts and Humanities, guided by industry advisors. Associate degrees that lead to workforce or transfer options to four-year universities, depending on your goals. Talk to a faculty advisor about which path fits.
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Animation & Time-Based Media
2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, game design.
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Digital Media Arts
Graphic design, UX Design, animation, interactivity, multimedia.
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Film & Media Production
Writing, producing, cinematography, audio, directing, editing.
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Photography
Digital, studio, and darkroom. Multi-bay photo studio with pro gear you can check out.
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By the numbers
A year of creative education, four ways.
For anyone weighing options, here’s what a year of full-time tuition looks like at four Valley schools.
Many of our programs have transfer options to Arizona State University, so you can still earn an ASU degree. Do two years here first and save roughly $18,536 on tuition compared to two years at ASU.
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a community college
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$2,910
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Arizona State University (in-state)
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$12,178
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Huntington University AZ
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$14,580
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Grand Canyon University
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$16,500
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Tuition only, no fees or living expenses. Based on 30 credit hours per year. Sources: maricopa.edu · catalog.asu.edu · huntington.edu · gcu.edu. Financial aid and actual credit load will affect your cost.
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Come by and see us in person.
Tour the studios. Meet the faculty. See what students are making. Bring your creativity with you.
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6000 W. Olive Ave. Arizona 85302
Art and Humanities Department · Media Arts Programs
Instagram
the college website
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