Degrees & Majors

Launching in fall 2022, the program in Virtual Production and Visual Effects provides advanced post-production technology and content creation training for media professionals. Housed at the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII), the program provides students access to the most advanced motion and performance capture technologies in industry use and opportunities to create multimedia content in virtual production tools. Students will create polished, finished products through advanced coursework in video editing, game design, volumetric, and motion capture software packages. A key focus of the concentration is its emphasis on the examination of real-time workflow models, including production work connected to LED and virtual previsualization technologies, which are available to students in the new CMII production studios. The benefits of close industry collaboration and advanced production tools The special effects used to capture performances for games and film/television are technologically aligning. For example, the software most commonly used in game design, Unreal Engine, was also used to accomplish virtual preproduction and animation work in the film Lion King, in The Mandalorian and Ford v Ferrari. The Creative Media Industries Institute trains students in the high-end content creation technologies now central to big-budget filmmaking and game development. Is this graduate program for me? The program is organized to meet the needs of industry professionals, responsive to Georgia’s growing demand for above the line qualified production and post-production professionals, in these categories: Mid-career film/TV production and post-production professionals, where training in advanced technology tools is useful as they undertake supervisory roles in production companies or need to retool for work connecting to virtual production. Industry professionals wishing to undertake new forms of work in the content creation industries, including, for example, workers who want to shift their work from a film-industry-focused career path into animation or game design, or vice versa. Early-career media professionals who wish to continue their production educations, where access to sophisticated industry tools facilitates portfolio building and early festival submissions utilizing state-of-the-art VFX. The unique technology advantages of the CMII program will, we hope, be especially attractive to students who received basic film training elsewhere and are looking to specialize in virtual production. Industry professionals who wish to shift into a higher education teaching career, for which the MFA provides a terminal degree qualification suitable for tenure-track employment in a university setting or teachers for whom the MFA enables an educational promotion path while equipping them to run educationally housed new media and film production centers. Newly graduating students with a passion for visual effects or virtual production and a desire to pursue an M.F.A. We also welcome applications from individuals seeking mid-career transitions (such as veterans training for second careers and teachers shifting areas of instructional focus) and from applicants who are passionate about content creation who may not have had prior access to advanced technology tools necessary to launch first career-ready projects. The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking offers two concentrations. The Visual Effects & Virtual Production concentration is offered through the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). The Filmmaking concentration is administered through the School of Film, Media & Theatre. Applicants applying for the Filmmaking concentration should visit the School of Film, Media, & Theatre.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in health sciences prepares dietitians, occupational therapists, physical therapists and respiratory therapists with master’s or clinical doctorate degrees to be scholars and educators. Our Ph.D. graduates become leaders in health sciences, higher education, hospital administration and public health. The program offers full-time and part-time study, with hybrid coursework. As part of the largest urban university in Georgia, located in the heart of Atlanta, students will have access to and collaborate with some of the finest healthcare facilities in the country. Exceptional learning opportunities await each student as they receive mentorship from elite faculty members to conduct state-of-the-art research projects to contribute to the scientific fields. Students have the opportunity to present their research at local, state, national and international meetings and learn to be effective educators for future generations of healthcare professionals. Concentrations Nutrition - prepares clinical and public health professionals to teach, conduct research and practice in an inter-disciplinary environment, using evidence-based practice to improve lives. Occupational Therapy - prepares students to improve human lives through evidence-based clinical practice and research, delivery of health services in interprofessional settings, community programming, interventions, advocacy and leadership in occupational therapy and rehabilitation. Translational Rehabilitation Science - prepares students to discover and disseminate rehabilitation knowledge and improve the quality of life, participation, health, performance and well-being of people with and without disabilities. Cardiopulmonary Care - trains students as leaders in the cardiopulmonary field overall and specifically with a focus on advancing the scientific field of respiratory therapy, educating the next generation of respiratory therapists and leading healthcare organizations.

The Drawing and Painting concentration hosts diverse media-specific and conceptually focused classes, dedicated classroom studios and a project/critique space. A stylistically diverse faculty offers courses in specific media and material content—oil-based, water-based, life drawing, digital possibilities—as well as concept-driven courses such as “Figure as Content,” “Sound and Radio,” “Anthropocene Studies,” “Research Methodologies,” “Maps and Messages,” “Science + Art” and more. Philosophically, the faculty engender a range of visual expression, media experimentation, social practice and conceptual art—all grounded in traditional technical training. Faculty areas of expertise include classical drawing, mixed-media, collage, video, sound, animation, trompe l’oeil /ultra realist and abstract painting, sculpture and installation. A range of international travel programs have been hosted by area faculty and student internships are supported by faculty. The Printmaking curriculum introduces students to cross-disciplinary modes of working while enhancing their understanding of foundational principles of design and the importance and beauty of method, process, discipline, repetition and perseverance. Emphasis is placed on mastering the elements of mark-making while encouraging variation and risk-taking with the tools at hand. Stressing the notion of drawing and the formal elements of process and design as a language, the faculty encourage students to broaden their vocabulary and fluency in the medium, honing and translating their perceptions of a tangible world into legible and poetic works. Students look at the history of art and the tradition of printmaking in order to trace the evolution of the medium to the position it now enjoys as a vibrant and viable means of creating contemporary art. They are taught technique and concept through discussions, demos, examples, museum/studio/gallery visits and readings that demonstrate the uses of print-based techniques for image-making, which serves as a vehicle for learning and the proliferation of meaning and messages, taking cues from all aspects of the contemporary political, philosophical and social sphere. Students gain technical skill and are shown methods of employing the techniques unique to printmaking’s fundamental processes to make work that marries form and content in meaningful ways and when appropriate reaches beyond the confines of the traditional print. The Printmaking area cultivates a culture of collaboration and is enhanced by a student-run organization, Printmaker’s Workshop, which organizes trips to conferences, museums and studios in Atlanta and beyond.

Our early childhood and elementary education program will prepare you to be researchers and teacher educators in areas such as applied research, curriculum development, teacher education, literacy/digital literacy, multicultural education, science education, math education and more. Our doctorate degree prepares you to move into various roles and content areas in the early childhood and elementary education fields. You will learn to be active scholars informed in the historical, political, developmental and theoretical paradigms that shape education in today’s rapidly changing world. Through coursework, research and teaching apprenticeships and individual mentoring, you can become inquisitive researchers and reflective teacher educators equipped to affect the lives of children, their families and the larger society. Meet the doctoral students in our Ph.D. program.

An undergraduate degree in economics prepares students with the quantitative and qualitative skills to think critically and learn how to make optimal decisions. Students will learn by doing with a curriculum taught by nationally acclaimed economists and faculty. The BS has a focus on quantitative and mathematical reasoning. This program is recommended if students are considering a graduate degree in economics or related areas in business.

With internationally renowned faculty and research centers, the doctoral program in economics takes a pioneering approach to economics that emphasizes public policy and empirical evaluation. In the innovative Ph.D. program, you’ll master advanced econometrics and experimental methods to learn how economics and policy work together in preparation for a successful career as a researcher, university instructor or both. Combining the latest economic theory, analytical skills, research methodology and empirical techniques, the rigorous curriculum will equip you to meet today’s complex challenges and educate the next generation of public economics experts. We offer six fields of specialization within economics: environmental, experimental, health, labor, public and urban. Students choose one primary and one secondary field, and many students choose research that spans more than one field. Our program has been given a STEM designation, which recognizes the rigorous instruction all students receive. It also benefits international students who can, upon graduation, apply for a STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa extension that allows them to work in the United States for up to 29 months rather than one year (starting with students entering in Fall 2020).

What Is Teacher Education? Education is a pathway that helps to prepare future teachers by learning educational philosophies, policies, attitudes, behaviors and instruction in order to effectively perform the duties associated with the position of a classroom teacher. Through introductory courses in the field, students will learn to think critically about key issues that affect 21st-century learners in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms. Why Education as a Pathway? At Perimeter College, students take introductory gateway courses in education that help them to explore issues related to the teaching profession. The courses include the history and foundation of the field of education, critical issues associated with the field, diversity issues in strategies and education to support 21st-century learners. If you are excited by the idea of working with children and introducing them to ideas they will carry for a lifetime, the educational field may be for you. At Perimeter College, students may study Early Childhood, Middle Grades, Secondary School or Special Education. Students also may study Health/Physical Education. Students focusing on Early Childhood, Secondary Education or Health/PE may take many courses online, but some courses may require campus attendance. Students concentrating in Special Education or Middle Grades or Health/PE may take required classes online. Students should consult with their advisors to confirm availability of online courses and find out about requirements or additional costs that may be associated with those courses. A note on pathways: A pathway is an advising guide to help students prepare for their intended bachelor's degree major. By following the course of study outlined in the appropriate Associate of Arts or Associate of Science pathway, students will have the necessary prerequisite courses to continue in their chosen disciplines. A pathway is not a major and will not be represented on the diploma.  

What Is Teacher Education? Education is a pathway that helps to prepare future teachers by learning educational philosophies, policies, attitudes, behaviors and instruction in order to effectively perform the duties associated with the position of a classroom teacher. Through introductory courses in the field, students will learn to think critically about key issues that affect 21st-century learners in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade classrooms. Why Education as a Pathway? At Perimeter College, students take introductory gateway courses in education that help them to explore issues related to the teaching profession. The courses include the history and foundation of the field of education, critical issues associated with the field, diversity issues in strategies and education to support 21st-century learners. If you are excited by the idea of working with children and introducing them to ideas they will carry for a lifetime, the educational field may be for you. At Perimeter College, students may study Early Childhood, Middle Grades, Secondary School or Special Education. Students also may study Health/Physical Education. Students focusing on Early Childhood, Secondary Education or Health/PE may take many courses online, but some courses may require campus attendance. Students concentrating in Special Education or Middle Grades or Health/PE may take required classes online. Students should consult with their advisors to confirm availability of online courses and find out about requirements or additional costs that may be associated with those courses. A note on pathways: A pathway is an advising guide to help students prepare for their intended bachelor's degree major. By following the course of study outlined in the appropriate Associate of Arts or Associate of Science pathway, students will have the necessary prerequisite courses to continue in their chosen disciplines. A pathway is not a major and will not be represented on the diploma.