Graduate Certificate in Game Level Design

at Sheridan College - Trafalgar Road Campus, Oakville Canada

You'll earn your graduate certificate through classes that involve:

• Researching styles, trends and new developments within the industry.
• Developing two-dimensional special effects concepts and work-ups of what they might look like complete.
• Using specialized products and equipment to animate, sculpt, create, cast and mold your creations.

Professors who know the business
Because classes are small, you'll receive lots of personal support from your professors who are themselves highly experienced in the field. Most are still active in special effects makeup. Through your study you'll also be introduced to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union representing the profession.

Practical, hands-on experience
During the summer following the first two semesters, you'll participate in a field placement where you can use your newly acquired special effects makeup skills in a professional setting. This invaluable work experience and exposure to professionals in the field can be a springboard for employment.

Long recognized for excellence in animation, digital media and technology, Sheridan now brings an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to the study of video game development. Our graduate certificate in Game Development – Advanced Programming presents a one-of-a-kind learning opportunity.

An integrated approach
Offered alongside the Game Level Design program at Sheridan's renowned Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design, our game development courses simulate a realistic work environment that integrates game programming, tool development, digital art, storytelling and project management. This unique integrated approach prepares students for success in a collaborative, highly creative work environment.

Gain industry-specific skills
Developed in response to industry need, Sheridan Game Development courses encompass both 2D and 3D game development. You'll learn advanced game programming techniques, utilize industry-standard technologies, and apply your programming skills to animation, artificial intelligence and multiplayer systems.

Additional information
Game programmers play a vital role in the industry, and are commonly involved in a project from initial conception through to production. Combined with your degree or diploma in computer science or computer programming, the Sheridan Game Development – Advanced Programming certificate will prepare you to step directly into an exciting game development career.

The benefits of our program include:

• Outstanding job prospects in a growing industry.
• Hands-on curriculum emphasizing job-specific skills.
• Collaboration with Sheridan renowned Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design.

The program’s integrated multidisciplinary approach and emphasis on applied problem-solving are unique in the field, offering the preparation employers are looking for, and advanced programming skills that stand out on a résumé.

In our program, you'll gain important industry-specific skills such as:

• Gameplay programming
• Graphics programming
• Mobile game development
• Project management
• Game documentation
• Playtesting
• Tool development

In your final semester, you'll collaborate with students from the Game Level Design program to develop and produce an original video game capstone project.

This program was designed specifically for those who have completed university or college programs. It is also open to those already working in the school system as Educational Assistants who wish to further their understanding of exceptionalities in Ontario classrooms and obtain an Ontario College Diploma.

Outstanding career preparation
This program will equip you with competencies to support students with diverse learning needs while maintaining a safe and professional environment that promotes students' well-being.

Things you'll do and learn

• Support students with academic, behavioural, and personal care needs in educational settings from kindergarten through high school
• Use Universal Design for Learning principles
• Foster social inclusion
• Work as part of the special education team
• Accurately report information related to student learning

Field placements
In Semesters 1 and 2, you'll be placed in a school where you'll support students with special needs in the classroom. Sheridan arranges the field placement experience for you. During your placement experience, you'll encounter students with a range of exceptionalities including physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, behavioural disorders, visual or hearing impairments and autism.

In this program, you'll also:

• Use assistive technology and other educational resources to implement individualized educational goals.
• Report information related to the learning environment.
• Maintain a safe and professional environment that promotes the well being of the student with special needs.
• Support inclusion of the student to aid his or her social development and sense of belonging.

You’ll learn from professors with specialized graduate degrees and who are highly experienced in the field of special education. Your Educational Support classroom activities will include:

• Group seminars and cooperative learning.
• Reflective practice linked to field placement experiences.
• Lectures combined with activity-based learning that incorporates the laptop.

Build on your existing skills and talents by learning the technical and creative process of 3D animation! Our instructors will guide you through an intense curriculum, teaching you all of the stages required to create compelling moving images. Enjoy creative and technical flexibility in your final projects, allowing you to explore and specialize.

Learn from 3D animation experts
Sheridan was the first animation school to teach computer animation, and we're still industry leaders today. Our instructors have worked on hundreds of television and film projects for major international studios. They're also mentors who are committed to supporting your success. You'll learn proven real-world solutions to production challenges while staying current with emerging tools and techniques.

A collaborative studio environment
At Sheridan, we believe a culture of sharing ideas and solutions is key to student success. In addition to your individual assignments, you'll also have opportunities to collaborate with professors and peers in our immersive and supportive studio environment. Using state-of-the-art facilities to create animated projects and a signature demo reel is great preparation for your first day on the job.

Enter an in-demand career field with digital product design

A Digital Product Design certificate from Sheridan can launch you into a growing and lucrative field in eight months. The average entry-level salary for a User Experience Designer in Ontario is $64,000 and statistics show demand for UX designers has increased 107%.* Job seekers with the broad range of skills taught in this post-graduate can be highly employable in a wide variety of industries.

Become well-rounded in all aspects of product design

The product design industry needs designers who know more than web design or UI design. Our unique program teaches required essentials for a career in multimedia design and development. You’ll learn business strategy, research methods, visual design, prototyping and more. With skills in many experience design elements, you can position yourself as a well-rounded designer and work in many roles.

Work with industry experts, software and processes

Courses are taught by experts who bring their unique industry experience into the classroom. You'll use the same software as design professionals, such as Sketch and Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Our course structure is even designed to mimic the workflow of the modern workplace. Content from one class carries over into others, ensuring you'll learn to fully develop and iterate on your ideas.

You'll learn from our highly qualified professors who have strong academic backgrounds and extensive experience working with young children, their families and the community. Our uniquely designed curriculum room will encourage and support your learning by providing hands-on experiences in a simulated early learning classroom.

What you'll learn

    Best practices for supporting young children's learning and development
    Current issues and theories of child development
    Roles and responsibilities of the early childhood educator
    Curriculum theory and approaches
    Programming for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children
    Professionalism and advocacy in early childhood education

Sheridan’s Bachelor of Animation program is designed to prepare you for a wide variety of employment opportunities within the dynamic and ever-growing field of animation. In our Animation degree program, you’ll learn from industry professionals, using the same techniques and tools that you'll eventually need in the workplace. Using state-of-the-art software and hardware, you’ll create your own stories, designs, characters and layouts, and produce your own films.

Sheridan’s animation program emphasizes classical principles of animation in a variety of forms, including 2D digital, 3D and stop motion. You’ll learn the art of storyboarding and hone your life drawing, layout and digital painting skills. Working collaboratively or individually on productions, you’ll have the opportunity to explore all aspects of animation filmmaking.

After Year 3, you’ll gain professional experience during a three-month work placement. And at our annual Industry Day, employers will fly in from across North America to meet you, see your work and conduct interviews.

Sheridan’s program combines hands-on, real-world experience backed by theoretical learning in all aspects of the industry.
Lights, camera, education!
In the first two years of this degree, you'll get a taste of everything this industry has to offer. Under the guidance of industry-experienced professors, you'll choose electives in direction, production, writing and editing to find where your talent lies. In your final semesters, you'll specialize — documentary or drama production, scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, editing or sound.

Your own film:-
Many students also want to achieve a portfolio film, and this program culminates in an exciting capstone project: create your own short film, television or transmedia project. You'll work in teams, partnering with others in different specializations to pitch, seek funding, write and produce your project. You'll go through the same process filmmakers do to prepare you for the real industry.

In Sheridan’s Craft and Design Glass Studio, you’ll be immersed in all aspects of working with glass in a supportive atmosphere.

Learn from industry leaders
Sheridan's Glass program is the oldest of its kind in Canada, founded in 1969. You'll work closely with professors whose credentials range from diplomas to PhDs and are also practicing artists who keep up with industry trends. Other studios often turn to our faculty for consultation and advice, including producers of the Netflix hit reality series Blown Away.

Glass-blowing courses are just the beginning
Our Glass program takes an innovative approach to design, craft and contemporary art. In addition to glass-blowing courses, you'll be introduced to all the other ways you can work with glass: flame-working, sand casting, kiln casting, cold working and electroplating. You'll then enjoy the freedom to specialize in your favourite techniques and express your unique personality in your assignments.

Work in a state-of-the-art Glass studio
Glory holes, furnaces, engraving wheels, cold working and flame working stations, kilns, electroplating equipment and 3D printers. No matter what type of glass work you want to do, you'll find the right tools in our fully stocked studio — which is accessible seven days a week and maintained by a full-time technologist. You can even learn how to build your own equipment!

Our Textiles Studio provides a range of traditional and contemporary techniques and methods. Learning from design professionals in our state-of-the-art facilities, you'll get hands-on experience in 2D and 3D fibre-specific approaches, including printing, weaving, dyeing, off-loom techniques, digital design and sewing. We foster and encourage experimentation and exploration of the fibre medium.

Commitment to sustainable practices
With a growing awareness of sustainable industry practices, the Textiles Studio is committed to doing our part. We purchase our dyes from reputable suppliers and grow and harvest our own natural dyes in our Dye Garden, right here on campus. You'll also help to care for our Dye Garden, making a positive environmental impact and embracing greener textile practices.

Get a foundation in all Craft and Design studios
Our program provides a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to Craft and Design. You'll major in your studio of choice while building skills in the four other disciplines. You'll work with students and faculty from across all five studios on interdisciplinary projects that bring together a range of expertise and experiences to explore the potential of contemporary art, craft and design.