The Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) is a department at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the

Pittsburgh Technology Center Pittsburgh Technology Center (PTC) is an office park located in the South Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PTC, on the 48 acre site of a former Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill, is a hub of advanced academic and corporate technolog ...

. The ETC offers a two-year Masters of Entertainment Technology (MET) degree, jointly conferred by Carnegie Mellon University's

College of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America * Alabama School of Fi ...

and School of Computer Science. Students enrolled in the ETC learn interdisciplinary skills in design, art and technology, and are prepared for environments where artists and technologists work hand-in-hand, such as theme parks, interactive museum exhibits, website design and development, and the creation of video games.

History

The ETC was co-founded by Donald Marinelli, a Professor of Drama, and

Randy Pausch Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learn ...

, a Professor of Computer Science, in 1999. The ETC has a history of having agreements with certain companies, such as Electronic Arts, Activision, and Rockstar Games, where the companies agree to hire a set number of ETC graduates each year.

Curriculum

The ETC's curriculum is split into 4 semesters, with a required industry internship in between the second and third semesters. The first semester includes required classes, such as Building Virtual Worlds, Fundamentals of Entertainment Technology, Improvisational Acting, and a Visual Storytelling class. The next three semesters all consist of a semester-long project course, and one elective class, which can be any other class taught at

. The project course consists of 5 team-based projects, each of which is completed with a scrambled team of students, and in a two-week period.

Faculty

* Don Marinelli * Drew Davidson * Brenda Bakker Harger * Mike Christel * Ruth Comley * John Dessler *

Chris Klug Chris Klug (born November 18, 1972) is a professional alpine snowboarder. After receiving a liver transplant in 2000 to treat primary sclerosing cholangitis, he went on to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, winning a bronze ...

* Jiyoung Lee * Michelle Macau * Carl Rosendahl * Shirley Saldamarco * Jesse Schell * David Culyba * Scott Stevens * Jessica Trybus * Ralph Vituccio

Adjunct Faculty

* John Buchanan * Mk Haley * David Gurwin * Kerry Handron * Jessica Hodgins * Eric Paulos * Luis Von Ahn * William J (Chip) Walter * John Wesner * Josh Yelon

Staff

* Steve Audia * MaryCatherine Dieterle * Rebecca Lombardi * Bryan Maher * Cari Marty * Julie McKenzie * Janice Metz * Vicki Poklemba * David Purta * Valerie Sofranko * Susan Timko * Jon Underwood * Caitlin Zunic

Corporate partners

* Maiy El-Wakil * Craig Lipchin * Shawn Walters

Visiting scholars

* Anthony Daniels *

Nick Fortugno Nicholas Fortugno (born May 13, 1975) is an American game designer and educator. Fortugno is CCO of Playmatics LLC, a New York City-based game development studio focusing on casual games and co-founded with Margaret Wallace. Fortugno is perhaps ...

* Michael Keaton * Oscar Garcia Panella * Mickey McManus * Katie Salen

In memoriam

* Anne Humphreys *

References

External links

* {{coord, 40.43184, -79.96192, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Educational institutions established in 1999 Schools and departments of Carnegie Mellon 1999 establishments in Pennsylvania