Credits Courses
MASON
TRANSFER
EQUIVALENT
MASON
CORE/DEGREE
EQUIVALENT
1
SDV Course 1
SDV 100 College Success Skills OR
SDV 101 Orientation to Fine Arts (strongly recommended)
UNIV 100 General Elective
2
ENG 111 3
ENG 111 College Composition I
1
ENGH 101 Written Comm
3
ITE 152 or CSC 110 3
ITE 152 Introduction to Digital and Information Literacy and
Computer Applications OR
CSC 110 Principles of Computer Science
IT 104
CS 100
General Elective
4
MTH 154 or Higher 3 MATH 154 Quantitative Reasoning MATH 106 Quantitative
5
Science Course #1 4
BIO 101 General Biology I OR
CHM 101 Introductory Chemistry OR
ENV 121 General Environmental Science I OR
GOL 105 Physical Geology
BIOL 103/105
CHEM 103
EVPP 108/109
GEOL 101/103
Nat Science
6
CST Course 3
CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking OR
CST 110 Introduction to Human Communication
COMM 100
COMM 101
Oral Comm
7
ENG 112 3
ENG 112 College Composition II
1
ENGH XXX General Elective
8
HIS Course 3
HIS 101 Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE OR
HIS 102 Western Civilizations Post-1600 CE OR
HIS 112 World Civilizations Post-1500 CE (recommended)
HIST 101
HIST 102
HIST 125
Global History
9
Humanities/Fine Arts #1 3 CST 151 Film Appreciation I ENGH L372 Arts & Major
10
Science Course #2 4 PHY 100 Elements of Physics PHYS 103 Nat Science
A.S. General Studies
ADVANCE Program Milestones
ADVANCE Milestone Requirements: All ADVANCE students must adhere to the following requirements. For Milestones #1-#3, failure to meet these
milestones will prevent a student from matriculating to Mason and/or result in termination from ADVANCE. For Milestones #4-#7, failure to meet these
milestones may delay matriculation to Mason.
1. Students must complete their NOVA degree within 4 years of being admitted into ADVANCE. Students are highly encouraged to be continuously
enrolled at NOVA/Mason to support progress towards degree completion.
2. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at NOVA and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA upon matriculation to Mason.
3. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the fall semester must apply for NOVA spring graduation by March 1 or summer graduation by June 1.
Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the spring semester must apply for NOVA fall graduation by October 1.
4. Students must begin developmental coursework no later than the first semester in ADVANCE at NOVA.
5. Students must take first college-level MTH course and ENG 111 in the semester immediately following the completion of any MDE or EDE courses
(excluding summer).
6. In the first 30 credits, students must complete ENG 111 and ENG 112 with a C or better.
7. Students must complete a Mason Core Quantitative Reasoning course equivalent with a C or better no later than one semester before NOVA
graduation. Refer to your pathway to select the appropriate MTH course(s).
ADVANCE Program-Specific Requirements:
Portfolio Requirement:
• All students in this pathway must submit a writing sample before they can matriculate in the Computer Game Design program at George Mason
University. For Game Design, BFA Application Guidelines, please visit: https://cvpa.gmu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/computer-game-
design-admissions
• For Game Design, the writing sample review requires students to complete two essays. Students should submit their essays during the term before
they intend to matriculate to Mason. The portfolio deadline is October 1st for spring matriculation and March 1st for fall matriculation.
NOVA DEGREE
REQUIREMENT
A.S. General Studies /
B.F.A. Computer Game Design
2023-2024
11
Humanities/Fine Arts #2 3
ENG 225 Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas OR
ENG 245 British Literature OR
ENG 246 American Literature OR
ENG 255 World Literature OR
ENG 258 African American Literature OR
ENG 275 Women in Literature OR
Any 200-Level ENG Literature course
2
ENGH 202 Literature
12
Open Elective #1 3 ART 140 Introduction to Graphic Skills AVT 110 Info Tech
13
Open Elective #2 3
ART 121 Foundations of Drawing OR
ART 141 Typography I OR
ART 231 Sculpture I OR
ART 241 Painting I OR
ART 271 Printmaking I OR
PHT 101 Photography I
AVT 222
AVT 215
AVT 262
AVT 232
AVT 243
AVT 252
Major
14
Open Elective #3 3 CSC 221 Introduction to Problem Solving and Programming CS --- General Elective
15
Social/Behavioral Sciences #1 3 PSY 200 Principles of Psychology PSYC 100 Soc/Behav
16
Open Elective #4 3
ART 121 Foundations of Drawing OR
ART 141 Typography I OR
ART 231 Sculpture I OR
ART 241 Painting I OR
ART 271 Printmaking I OR
PHT 101 Photography I
AVT 222
AVT 215
AVT 262
AVT 232
AVT 243
AVT 252
Major
17
Open Elective #5 3 GAME 210 Basic Game Design GAME 210 Major
18
Open Elective #6 3 GAME 104 Two-Dimensional Design for Games GAME 104 Major
19
Open Elective #7 4 CSC 222 Object-Oriented Programming CS 112 Major
20
Social/Behavioral Sciences #2 3
GEO 220 World Regional Geography OR
PLS 140 Introduction to Comparative Politics OR
PLS 241 Introduction to International Relations OR
PSY 219 Cross-Cultural Psychology
GGS 101
GOVT 133
GOVT 132
PSYC L379
Global Understanding
61
Credits Course
MASON
CORE/DEGREE
EQUIVALENT
21 Major Core 3 GAME 230 History of Game Design Major
22
Gen Ed: Written
Communication (Upper-
level)
3
ENGH 302 Advanced Composition Written Comm
23 Major Core 3 GAME 231 Three-Dimensional Game Art I Major
24 Major Core 3 GAME 240 Gameplay Scripting Implementation I Major
25 Major Core 3 GAME 250 Music for Film and Video Major
26 Major Core 1 GAME 300 Portfolio Preparation Major
27 Major Core 3 GAME 310 Digital Game Design Major
28 Major Core 3 GAME 398 Three-Dimensional Game Art II Major
29 Major Core 3 GAME 367 Writing and Editing Music and Sound Major
30 Digital Media Elective 3
Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)
3
Major
31 Major Core 4
GAME 330 Computer Game Platform Analysis AND
GAME 331 Consumer Gaming Platform Analysis Lab
Major
32 Major Core 3 GAME 332 RS: Story Design for Computer Games Writing Intensive
33 Major Core 1 GAME 489 Pre-Internship Seminar Major
34 Major Core 3 GAME 410 Advanced Game Design Studio Major
35 Digital Media Elective 3
Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)
3
Major
A. S. GENERAL STUDIES
DEGREE TOTAL
B.F.A. Computer Game Design
MASON DEGREE
REQUIREMENT
36 Major Core 3 GAME 490 Senior Game Design Capstone (must be taken twice) Major
37 Digital Media Elective 3 Major
38 Genneral Electives 2 General Elective General Elective
39 General Electives 3 General Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor) General Elective
40 Major Core 3 GAME 491 Internship Major
41 Gen Ed: Synthesis 3 GAME 490 Senior Game Design Capstone Synthesis
120
B.F.A. COMP. GAME DESIGN
DEGREE TOTAL
Denotes a course that must be taken at George Mason University while attending NOVA. Failure to complete your co-enrollment course(s) while
attending NOVA can significantly affect your timeline for Mason graduation. Please see your ADVANCE Coach for more information and to enroll.
Additional General Notes & Resources:
• All GAME undergraduate students must earn a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA in their major. All GAME courses except GAME 101 Introduction to Game
Design (Mason Core), GAME 250 Music for Film and Video, and GAME 367 Writing and Editing Music and Sound must be passed with a grade of C or better.
• Students who complete a VCCS transfer associate degree (AS, AA, & AFA) will receive a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower division) Mason
Core general education categories. To be eligible for the waiver, the students must provide the Mason Office of Admissions with a final, official transcript
reflecting the degree conferral date. As a prerequisite for ENGH 302, ENGH 101 is not waived. Students must complete ENGH 100 or ENGH 101, or an
equivalent, with a C or higher.
• For academic policies and procedures, please see Mason catalog - https://catalog.gmu.edu/policies/
• Students seeking a bachelor's degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation.
Important Academic Information:
1
Students who complete ENG 111 after Spring 2024 will earn ENGH elective for ENG 111 and ENGH 101 for ENG 112.
2
200-level ENG literature classes include: ENG 225, ENG 230, ENG 236, ENG 237, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 256, ENG 257, ENG 258, ENG
271, ENG 275, and ENG 279.
3
For approved Digital Media Elective courses, please visit: https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/visual-performing-arts/computer-game-
design/computer-game-design-bfa/#requirementstext
Approved Digital Media Elective (Upper Level See: Advisor)
3