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Digital Arts

Overview

School of Arts and Sciences  /  Digital Arts

La Salle’s Digital Arts program includes a progressive curriculum

that challenges students to combine their creativity with a variety of technical and professional skills to produce thoughtful and effective visual designs. Students are prepared for exciting and dynamic careers in any visual communication business and are able to produce print graphic design, web design, 2-D and 3-D animation, and audio and interactive design.

About DArt

As a student in La Salle’s Digital Art Program (DArt), you will be given ample opportunity to understand what makes good visual design and find your own personal aesthetic. You will learn when and how to employ the right technology to generate the intended visual effect, be aware of the implications of visual design on your audience and on society, and gain the professional skills necessary to work as a team with fellow designers to address a client’s needs.

As a DArt major, you will learn:

  • A strong foundation in visual design
  • Courses that introduce and then deepen a student’s technical skills in areas such as animation and web design
  • Computer science coding skills to create versatile websites
  • Independent study courses in advanced technology that interest students, such as virtual/augmented reality
  • Seminars in which students can interact with working design professional
  • Opportunities to cultivate a professional work ethic, like working a creative team, and dealing with client needs
  • Interaction with real-life clients in select internships in which you can develop a design portfolio before graduation
  • Close contact with engaged, successful alumni
  • Fully equipped labs where you will learn in community with fellow students

Highlights

La Salle’s Digital Art Department serves qualified students by offering an unbeatable liberal arts education defined by:

Guidance and dedication from professors who are recognized scholars of their industry. 

Flexibility that allows students to change the direction of their career preparation through their junior year without any notable effect on their ability to complete the program in four years.

Individualized, one-on-one attention. 

An average class size of 22 students provides the individualized attention that you deserve. 

An invaluable location with Center City Philadelphia at your doorstep.

A close-knit community our well-read cohort of faculty, staff, Christian Brothers and fellow students ignite meaningful discussion and collaboration, as well as lifelong friendships.

Unbeatable value based on a proven return-on-investment. That’s why Money magazine cited La Salle fifth on its list of “50 Colleges that Add the Most Value in 2016, along with mentions in U.S. News and World Reports, Forbes, and the Economist.

An alumni network that offers invaluable support from over 50,000 La Salle graduates and even more from our global Lasallian network.

Employment for web developers and digital designers is expected to rise 23 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.

— U.S. Bureau of Labor

Blaze Your Own Path

Careers and Internships

A bachelor’s degree in digital arts and multimedia opens the door to countless career opportunities in jobs that you may or may not have considered.  The skills you learn here at La Salle combined with your talent and drive will determine where you go in the industry of your choosing. La Salle students have found employment at major companies including Comcast, Forbes, Vanguard, Independence Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente, Trellist Marketing and Technology, American Basketball Association/Philly Spirit, Disney ABC Television Group, Live Nation Entertainment, Think Brownstone, and Anthropologie. And new job titles and careers emerge all the time as the digital media field expands with new technology. And with Center City Philadelphia at your doorstep, access to internships in the arts couldn’t be easier to find.

  • Animation
  • Digital illustration
  • Web design
  • Interactive designer
  • Motion pictures
  • Advertising and marketing
  • Graphic design firms
  • Video game design
  • Sound production
  • Creative strategy
  • Newspapers and journalism
  • Computer software development
  • Magazines
  • Museums

Careers and Internships

Careers and Internships

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DArt Projects

Students work throughout the semester to create visually stunning projects including favorites such as digital animations and real game boards.

DArt Projects

DArt Projects

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Service Opportunities

Education and service are the heart of La Salle’s mission. As a DArt major, you will be able to dive into a wide range of service opportunities that fall under our Fellowship of Community and University Service (F.O.C.U.S.) umbrella including outreach programs, advocacy groups, mentoring and tutoring programs, and the service and immersion trips.

The groups that fall under the F.O.C.U.S. umbrella include Outreach Programs, Advocacy Groups, Mentoring and Tutoring Programs, and the Service and Immersion Trips. These programs strive to serve others, promote social justice, and work toward the common good. Programs include:

  • Lasallian Immersion and Volunteer Experience (LIVE)
  • Alliance
  • Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ambassadors
  • Students for Environmental Action (SEA)
  • AIDS Outreach
  • Circle K
  • Environmental Community of Olney (ECO)
  • Neighbor to Neighbor
  • Pheed Philadelphia
  • REACHE (Special Olympics)
  • Neighborhood Tutoring
  • TEAM Lasallians

Service Opportunities

Service Opportunities

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I am an Explorer

May C.L. Truong, ’10

May C.L. Truong, ’10

Name: May C.L. Truong Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design Graduation Year: Class of 2010 Occupation: Director of Online Learning and Instruction Design at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine May C.L. Truong graduated in May 2010, and is the director of Online Learning and Instruction Design at the University of Pennsylvania, School […]

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Cory Anotado, ’09

Cory Anotado, ’09

Name: Cory Anotado Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design Graduation Year: Class of 2009 Occupation: Creative director of Dreamscape Marketing Cory Anotado is a La Sallian graduate of 2009. He is the creative director of Dreamscape Marketing in Columbia, Maryland. He is experienced in graphic design, web design, and game design. He is also an […]

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Jason Roeckle, ’07

Jason Roeckle, ’07

Name: Jason Roeckle Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design Graduation Year: Class of 2007 Occupation: Manager of UX engineering at The Walt Disney Company Jason Roeckle is a 2007 alumnus from La Salle’s Digital Arts program. He is currently a manager of UX engineering at The Walt Disney Company. Jason says that La Salle University’s […]

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Leo Manning, ’18

Leo Manning, ’18

Name: Leo Manning Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design, Psychology Graduation Year: Class of 2018 (May 2018) Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa. Sports/Clubs/Organizations: Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Late Night La Salle, Collegian, Campus Activities Center, Honors Program What helped you decide on majoring in DArt? I originally came in as a Psychology major, but during my first semester, I began to miss […]

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May C.L. Truong, ’10

Name: May C.L. Truong
Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design
Graduation Year: Class of 2010
Occupation: Director of Online Learning and Instruction Design at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine

May C.L. Truong graduated in May 2010, and is the director of Online Learning and Instruction Design at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to her Digital Arts and Multimedia Design major, she minored in Information Technology. In her work, she combines visual multimedia design with learning theory and design. Her role is to build a bridge between students and professors in an online space. This can include designing new academic programs, employing effective navigation, and creating a user interface that is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Her work became especially important during the COVID lockdown. Through researching and employing effective instructional design in an online space, she helped students better engage with the content given by the professors. She also helped professors by teaching them how to make and edit videos for class.

As an alum, Truong believes that La Salle helped her become an independent thinker and problem solver. “La Salle University is an institution that pursues lifelong learning,” said Truong. She emphasizes taking the tools and lessons given in class and building upon it outside of class. Currently, Truong is also currently an adjunct at La Salle, teaching a section of Intro to Visual Design. She imparts the same lesson of self-teaching to her students, preparing them for real work after college. “There are times where you will not know how to do something, but you can work through the challenge by taking it upon yourself to research and learn something new in the absence of a teacher or class.”

Outside of her professional work, Truong engages in many activities related to the Digital Arts. She owns an Etsy shop called JawnsByMay, creating stickers, prints, illustrations, and custom designs. She also enjoys photography and shoots professionally for close friends and family. She has volunteered as a graphic designer for many different organizations. Notably, she has volunteered in the Asian American Heritage Month Festival, held annually in May located in Franklin Square Park. She designed flyers and other advertisements for the festival.

She offers this advice to DART students:

  • Firstly, networking is very important. It is scary, but necessary. You need to put yourself out there, but the process is easier now in the modern age with many social media applications available. Put your work up, communicate with others in your field, and take notice of any constructive feedback you receive.
  • Secondly, after graduation, students should not feel pressured to find work through the traditional route. Focus on building your portfolio and remember to be open to opportunities. There will be favorable and unfavorable opportunities, but even in an unfavorable opportunity, there will always be something to learn or takeaway from the experience.
  • Lastly, you will likely experience impostor syndrome. Truong spoke about her own experiences of dealing with impostor syndrome. There are times where you will feel your peers are succeeding and you are stagnant because you’re not following the same route as other people. You could also feel like you don’t belong in a job that you landed. Truong overcame these feelings by reflecting on how she got the job, validating herself and practicing to not look to harshly on herself. Essentially, what she teaches is the importance of giving yourself more credit. Having a good support system is also helpful when combating impostor syndrome. Talking to a friend who works in the same field as you and validating each other is very beneficial.
  • To summarize, be unafraid to put yourself out there when networking, be open to opportunities, and remember to practice a balance of humility and pride in your work and yourself.

Cory Anotado, ’09

Name: Cory Anotado
Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design
Graduation Year: Class of 2009
Occupation: Creative director of Dreamscape Marketing

Cory Anotado is a La Sallian graduate of 2009. He is the creative director of Dreamscape Marketing in Columbia, Maryland. He is experienced in graphic design, web design, and game design. He is also an enthusiast of all thing games and has the work catalog to prove it. Cory is the founder of PacDude Games and runs the Buzzer Blog, a premiere game show news website. He has a passion for game shows and board games, which is not your typical definition of a gamer nowadays. He loves to create anything that is fun.

PacDudes Games was created in 2000, publishing online Flash games. Since then, the business expanded to creating interactive softwares, websites, logo designs, and board games. It takes on commissions and personal projects. One of the recent projects that Cory developed is Pundle, an online flash game that is reminiscent of Wordle and Wheel of Fortune. Pundle is a puzzle game you can play daily that provides a riddle to players that can be solved by entering letters that the player guesses are part of the answer. Each answer is a pun creating a charming and enjoyable experience.

When asked about how La Salle helped him grow, Cory advocated the benefits of being in a small department. La Salle fostered a supportive learning environment that helped him to explore different disciplines related to Digital Arts. For his independent study, Cory wanted to do a workshop where he taught people how to animate in flash. This independent study was possible because the La Salle DART program allowed him to explore the things he wanted to do.

After graduation, Cory focused on maintaining a good portfolio of work which took a couple of years. He applied to agencies that needed his particular skillset. The mission was to find the right workplace that would challenge and help him grow, but still be manageable. He advised not to treat job interviews as an audition for yourself. It should be a conversation, and a fact-finding mission about the company on your end as well. Ask questions that will determine if this workplace is best for you. Research on Glassdoor or Indeed. Don’t sell yourself short.

Cory also gave some advice for people already in the field. Dealing with burnout is a typical problem that people will face later on in their career. This could be by working too much, not having enough time for yourself, or balancing tight deadlines. When work starts getting dreadful outside of office hours, that’s a problem. Cory recommends taking time aside from work when you can. Take a mental health day for yourself to recharge and focus on the people you love, or even your pets. Working in a production environment involves learning new skills and techniques and sacrificing a lot of things like your technical prowess, polish, and creative vision to get the necessary work done. In short, all this can take a toll on one’s mental health. You won’t be able to produce work that will meet your clients’ expectations if you are burnt out. There will be work you’re not going to be proud of, and that’s okay. While the client’s opinions take priority, at the end of the day, learning to separate yourself from your production work will be helpful in dealing with burnout.

Cory Anotado’s journey is inspiring because it shows that you don’t have to sacrifice what you are passionate about versus what will make you money. He teaches how to take care of your mental health while working in Digital Arts. Lastly, as long as you remember to have fun in what you do and stick with it, eventually people will notice and support you.

Jason Roeckle, ’07

Name: Jason Roeckle
Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design
Graduation Year: Class of 2007
Occupation: Manager of UX engineering at The Walt Disney Company

Jason Roeckle is a 2007 alumnus from La Salle’s Digital Arts program. He is currently a manager of UX engineering at The Walt Disney Company.

Jason says that La Salle University’s Digital Arts and Multimedia Design program provided him with an amazing set of foundational skills involving creative problem solving and expression that he uses every day. While at La Salle, Jason feels that he learned life-long lessons and values. One of the most important values that he learned and that he continues to carry with him throughout his life is to “keep learning.” He says that being inquisitive and having an eagerness to explore will get you far in life. Jason believes that continuous learning is not only recommended but required in order to grow, especially in regard to a career in Digital Arts and technology. “Specifically, when it comes to software, never invest your career entirely into one language or framework. The more diverse your knowledge base is the more valuable you are.” Students should strive to learn new things and expand their knowledge because it can only benefit them. You can learn things everyday from the people around you and share them throughout your life. This perspective led Jason to create and enhance problem solving and other skills while at La Salle. These are skills he continues to improve upon and use even after graduating from La Salle. Another La Sallian value Jason carries with him is to help others. “I strongly believe we should all do what we can, when we can, to help the impoverished and marginalized.”

Currently, Jason works at The Walt Disney Company, a job he received when a recruiter from The Walt Disney Company reached out to him. In his position, Jason creates prototype applications for smartphones, websites, and television devices. These prototypes test out new ideas, designs, and features. “Most of our current projects are top secret, but you can see some of our work from the past in the DisneyNOW, ABC, ESPN, and National Geographic.” In his job with the Walt Disney Company, Jason embodies La Salle’s value of being inquisitive and eager to explore. He is always ready to learn new things and seek new information. He also encourages current students to explore new horizons and expand their knowledge. Regarding his own work, Jason says: “Our own organization recently released a new design for the National Geographic app. Download it, and check it out!”

Jason also provided some great advice to current students. When it comes to networking, Jason says that he tries to connect with as many talented people as possible. “I found this approach works well for discovering new opportunities.” When asked about what advice he has for students who are unsure of what they want to do in the future, Jason acknowledges that it is okay not to know. He says that most students are not sure what they want to do in the future and that it takes time to figure it out. “There’s no shame in that. Keep trying things, explore outside your comfort zone, and you’ll be surprised what you learn.” Overall, Jason advises students to keep learning. Whether students know what they want to do or are still trying to figure it out, he believes that students can grow and improve themselves with what they learn. Choosing to keep exploring shows a true strive for progress.

Leo Manning, ’18

Name: Leo Manning
Major: Digital Art and Multimedia Design, Psychology
Graduation Year: Class of 2018 (May 2018)
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.
Sports/Clubs/Organizations: Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Late Night La Salle, Collegian, Campus Activities Center, Honors Program

What helped you decide on majoring in DArt?
I originally came in as a Psychology major, but during my first semester, I began to miss all of the graphic design work I did in my high school photography class. Then I declared DArt as my second major. After taking a bunch of the Digital Art courses, I realized that I was more interested in working as a graphic designer than as a therapist.

What is your favorite digital design medium/technique?
I’m a huge fan of using Adobe Illustrator with my Wacom tablet for most of my design work.

What was your experience in La Salle’s DArt Program like?
Instead of focusing on just graphic design, animation, or web coding, I learned a lot in each area, making me feel like a jack-of-all-trades. However, even though the program covers a wide range, I still feel as though I’ve learned a lot from each area and could work in multiple fields.

Who are some people who you look up to and help keep you inspired?
A lot of my inspiration actually comes from other students in my major and seeing all of the work that they do. Seeing everyone else’s projects and hearing their thoughts helps me strive to work harder and get better.

What was your favorite class in or out of the program?
My top two classes were HON 374: Global London and CSD 340: Web Scripting. Global London was a travel study to London where we learned the history and the literature of the city and then traveled there to explore the city itself. Web Scripting was a coding class that was different because aside from creating useful code, it also allowed me to use the code to create something more artistic.

Who has been the most influential member of the La Salle community on your life?
I believe that the most influential member of the La Salle community on my life would be Mina Koller, the assistant director for campus activities. From my time working in the Campus Activities Center and for Late Night La Salle, I have developed so much as a designer, an artist, and a leader. Her constructive criticism on my flyer designs pushed me to create more original designs and try harder on any designs I create.

If you could have dinner with any three people at La Salle, who would they be?
Mina Koller (Assistant Director for Campus Activities), Professor Sandy Camomile (Digital Art and Multimedia Design), and Dr. David Falcone (Psychology).

How did La Salle help you prepare you for the future beyond college?
Primarily, La Salle helped me develop my design skills. The classes that I took provided me with opportunities to practice a variety of skills and to experiment with different ideas. In addition, my time working on-campus gave me invaluable experience working with clients in a real-world setting.

What is your advice to any high school students thinking about entering the DArt program at La Salle?
When entering the DArt program at La Salle, the main things that you need are passion and patience. The passion is what drives you to try your hardest on every project, while the patience helps you achieve what seems unachievable.

Beyond the Classroom

Clubs
Clubs

Get involved in a student organization

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Clubs

To view a full list of clubs and organizations you can enjoy as a student at La Salle, visit our Student Affairs website. In particular, DArt students and those interested in the humanities might enjoy joining:

  • Digital Arts Club
  • Film Society
  • Dance Society
  • The Masque of La Salle
  • Improv 101
  • Music Society
  • Neo-African Drums ‘n Dance
  • La Salle Singers
La Salle Art Museum
La Salle Art Museum

A hidden gem of Philadelphia, free for you to explore as a student

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La Salle Art Museum

A hidden gem of Philadelphia, the La Salle Art Museum is one of the University’s treasures, free for you to explore as a student. You’ll find significant and original works of art in an intimate setting and to place them in meaningful contexts. In addition to acquiring, preserving and exhibiting its collections, the Museum offers viewers an opportunity to sharpen their aesthetic perception and to investigate the interrelationships which emerge between art and other disciplines.

Visit the La Salle Art Museum for more details and information.

Philadelphia as a Classroom
Philadelphia as a Classroom

The education you find outside of a classroom is just as important as the one you find inside

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Philadelphia as a Classroom

The education you find outside of a classroom is just as important as the one you find inside. And there’s no better city for a creative art-loving student than Philadelphia. As the fifth-largest city in the U.S., the City of Brotherly love is rich in unique historical, cultural opportunities, and brimming in the arts. From classic and traditional to modern and quirky, Philadelphia has it all—museums, theater, galleries, shops, music venues, and more. And don’t forget all the food and sports you can handle! How much of a role Philadelphia play is in your life is entirely up to you, but the options are limitless.

83% of faculty hold a Ph.D. or the highest degree in their field.

Ranked in Forbes list of Best Value Colleges in 2019.

Listed Top 4% nationally in 10-year earnings by Georgetown's Center for Education and the Workforce.

Ranked in the top 50 in the North Region on U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 list of Best Colleges.

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