In this issue

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…

Cover Story · What’s New

The STEAMworks Center is almost open.

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).

Feature · Paid Student Work

Real clients. Real deadlines. Real checks.

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.

Faculty Spotlight

Twelve years in the making. A Phoenix Film Festival win.

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.

Recent awards

Our students are winning.

Congratulations to our students recognized in the Maricopa Artist of Promise Animation and Film Awards. Click any title to watch.

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.

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.

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.

Come by and see us in person.

Tour the studios. Meet the faculty. See what students are making. Bring your creativity with you.

6000 W. Olive Ave., Glendale, AZ 85302
Art and Humanities Department · Media Arts Programs

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