Dec 05, 2025

2025-2026 Undergraduate Bulletin

Game & Media Studies, B.S.

Game & Media Studies, B.S.: 4-year sequence

Introduction:

The program prepares students for careers with intersections between communication, digital media, management, and user research through flexible, interdisciplinary work grounded in the liberal arts. Core courses are paired with those in Game Design & Development through innovative teaching. Career areas include: Design and Narrative, Data and Marketing, Production and Project Management, User Experience Research. The program will be accredited as part of UW-Stout’s institutional accreditation under the Higher Learning Commission.

Over the course of this program, students will:

Gain multidisciplinary/cross-functional collaborative experience.

Manage large, long-term team projects through design methods.

Apply critical frameworks to describe, critique, and analyze texts.

Research user experience with user-centered research methods.

Learn ethics, technology, and social justice frameworks.

Enact creativity and imagination from ideation to delivery.

Students will graduate with excellent digital and oral communication skills, familiar with agile design methods, capable of leading interdisciplinary teams in digital production, trained in user research methods and practices, fluent in data literacy, and with critical and creative thinking skills to navigate challenges for several occupations.

General Requirements

Bachelor of Science Degree

Total for Graduation:	120 credits
Stout Core:	40 credits
Major Studies:	80 credits

Program Requirements

Stout Core (40 credits)

Communication Skills (9 credits)

ENGL-101 Composition 1 (3 cr.) or
ENGL-101HON Honors Composition 1 (3 cr.)
ENGL-102 Composition 2 (3 cr.) or
ENGL-102HON Honors Composition 2 (3 cr.)
COMST-100 Fundamentals of Communication (3 cr.)

Analytical Reasoning and Natural Sciences (10 credits)

Courses must be from the areas of analytic reasoning and natural sciences. At least one mathematics or statistics course and a natural science course with a lab are required.

Arts and Humanities (6 credits)

Courses must be selected from the list of approved arts and humanities courses.

Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)

Courses must be selected from the list of approved social and behavioral sciences courses.

Social Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning (3 credits)

Courses must be selected from the list of approved social responsibility and ethical reasoning courses.

Course Selective-1 :

Electives to reach 40 Stout Core credits

Courses/credits may be selected from any category to meet the 40-credit requirement.

Students must also take courses with the following designations:

Students can choose courses that meet more than one requirement (one Stout Core category and either a RES or GLP designation).

Racial and Ethnic Studies (2 courses)

Global Perspectives (2 courses)

GMS Core (20 credits)

GMS core courses

ENGL-122 Game & Media Studies (3 cr.)
ENGL-150 Issues in Games & Interactive Media (3 cr.)
ENGL-222 Introduction to Cross-Functional Teams (3 cr.)
ENGL-322 Worldbuilding (3 cr.)
ENGL-450 Games Research User Experience (3 cr.)
ENGL-451 Game & Media Studies Capstone (3 cr.)
ENGL-398 Field Experience (1 cr.)
Taken twice OR once WITH
ENGL-349 Cooperative Education Experience (1 cr.)

Interdisciplinary Core (30 credits)

Flexible either/or courses from multiple disciplines.

PHOTO-130 Introduction to Still and Moving Image Photography (3 cr.)
ENGL-350 Digital Storytelling (3 cr.) or
DES-176 Introduction to Visual Narrative (3 cr.)
CS-141 Introduction to Programming (3 cr.) or
CS-144 Computer Science I (4 cr.)
ARTH-340 History of Interactive Media (3 cr.) or
ARTH-341 History of Film (3 cr.)
LIT-208 Fiction Into Film (3 cr.) or
LIT-230 American Cinema (3 cr.)
POLS-305 Clickbait: News, Media, and Politics in the U.S. (3 cr.)
PHIL-235 General Ethics (3 cr.) or
ICT-215 Cybertechnology Ethics (3 cr.)
WGS-205 Introduction to Queer Studies (3 cr.) or
WGS-210 Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 cr.)
APSS-300 Quantitative Research Methods (3 cr.) or
APSS-301 Qualitative Research Methods (3 cr.)
BUMGT-380 Principles of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (3 cr.)

Selectives (15 credits)

Selected from a list of courses appropriate to the program outcomes.

CS-248 Web and Internet Programming (3 cr.)
DES-200 Design Concepts and Problems (3 cr.)
DES-322 Tabletop Game Design and Development (3 cr.)
DES-310 Graphic Design I (3 cr.)
DES-325 Introduction to Web Design (4 cr.)
DES-361 Transmedia Studio (3 cr.)
DES-371 Interactive Media Design (3 cr.)
ENGL-121 Introduction to Professional Communication (3 cr.)
ENGL-125 Professional Writing Elements of Style (3 cr.)
ENGL-207 Writing for the Media (3 cr.)
ENGL-225 Editing Processes and Practices (3 cr.)
ENGL-255 Writing for Children and Young Adults (3 cr.)
ENGL-345 Usability Design and Testing (3 cr.)
ENGL-371 Rhetorical Theory (3 cr.)
ENGL-385 Document Design (3 cr.)
ENGL-388 Content Strategy (3 cr.)
ENGL-418 Convergent Communication (3 cr.)
ENGL-435 User Documentation (3 cr.)
PSYC-225 Psychology of Video Games (3 cr.)
ENGL-245 Creative Writing (3 cr.)
ENGL-342 Creative Writing II (3 cr.)
MUSIC-236 Music in Media (3 cr.)
MUSIC-350 Digital Sound Studio (3 cr.)

Applied Field (15 credits)

In consultation with their advisor, students select a minor or a set of 15 credits to complement their degree, customized to their career ambition. Any undergraduate credits may be used for the Applied Field.

Applying to UW-Stout

Academic Programs & Courses

Dive Into Campus Life

Elevate Your Business

Our Polytechnic Advantage