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Full Sail University

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Full Sail Real World Education
File:Full Sail 13b.jpg
TypePrivate University
Established1979
PresidentGarry Jones
Students5,000
Location
Winter Park
,
Florida
,
USA
CampusSuburban (178 acres)
Websitefullsail.com

28°35′47.65″N 81°18′4.77″W / 28.5965694°N 81.3013250°W / 28.5965694; -81.3013250 Full Sail Real World Education is a Private University located in Winter Park, Florida, geared toward the entertainment industry and known for its around-the-clock schedule. It offers degree programs in Computer Animation, Digital Arts & Design, Entertainment Business, Film, Game Development, Music Business, Recording Arts, and Show Production & Touring. Full Sail awards associate's, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees after 12 to 21 months of an accelerated education.

The school is owned by Full Sail, Inc.

History

Full Sail was founded in 1979 as a recording studio workshop. A Film program was added in 1988, and the school was accredited to award specialized associate’s degrees in 1990. A third degree in Digital Media was added in 1995, followed by Game Design and Show Production & Touring in 1998.

Full Sail received additional accreditation in 1998, allowing the school to issue associate of science degrees, and 1999 saw the addition of a Computer Animation associate’s degree. In 2003, Full Sail added its first bachelor’s degree in Entertainment Business (designed to be combined with an additional Full Sail associate’s degree), followed quickly by the Game Design & Development program. The company was originally called Full Sail Recorders, Inc., subsequently Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts, and finally the name was changed to Full Sail, Inc. in 2000.[1]

In 2005, three programs – Computer Animation, Digital Arts & Design (formerly Digital Media), and Film – were expanded and accredited to be offered as Bachelor of Science degrees. In 2007, the Entertainment Business Bachelor's Degree Program was altered to become the Music Business Bachelor of Science Degree Program[2], and the school introduced its first master's program, in Entertainment Business[3].

Academics

Degree Programs

As of March 2007, Full Sail is offering the following degree programs:

Master of Science in Entertainment Business
Bachelor of Science in Computer Animation
Bachelor of Science in Digital Arts & Design
Bachelor of Science in Music Business
Bachelor of Science in Film
Bachelor of Science in Game Development
Associate of Science in Recording Arts
Associate of Science in Show Production & Touring

Full Sail has become known for offering an “accelerated” education – the school’s degree programs can be completed in less than half the time of a typical college degree – the associate’s programs are 12 months long, the bachelor’s programs are 21 months long, and the master's program is 13 months long.

Scheduling

Full Sail has gained a reputation for having a challenging lab and class schedule. The school essentially operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with students in class or lab for 4 hours at a time; lectures generally take place between the hours of 9:00am and 9:00pm, while labs run throughout the day.

Full Sail’s degree programs start monthly. Throughout the course of a program, the average Full Sail student will have two courses at one time, with one course occurring on three days a week and the other course occurring on two. This course load can fluctuate, however, according to the student’s program and month.

Courses are generally four weeks long, but some are longer, and new courses start every four weeks. This schedule allows Full Sail a fluid, if intense, operating method. If a student fails a course for poor grades (as opposed to poor attendance), they can take the course over again the following month at no additional cost, as long as the schedule for the degree is maintained. If a student fails a class for poor attendance, however, they must pay the course cost again to retake it.

Costs

Unlike many colleges, Full Sail’s tuition prices cover all expenses for a degree program. Course manuals (sometimes created by the school for the specific courses) for all classes are provided at no additional cost, and any art supplies or other materials are provided at no cost upon entering the course requiring them.

Tuition costs range from $43,005 (for Show Production & Touring) to $64,775 (for Game Development) for the entire degree program. As the school is located in Orlando, Florida, relocation (and living expenses, if necessary) will add additional costs. In 2007, the school introduced a new program called Apple Launch Box - every student in the school now receives an Apple Mac Book Pro with software relevant to their degree program (except for Game Development students, who still receive a PC laptop). The cost of this computer is an additional institutional fee which can range from $1900 to $2700, depending on the program and software configuration.

Student life

File:Full Sail Students.jpg

Student life, like the school itself, is different from a typical college. Since a new class starts every month, classmates who start at the same time frequently stay together throughout the program. Class sizes vary from 21 to 85 students, with a maximum number of 120 students in classes where students from different degree programs are combined.

There are several groups and clubs within the different degree programs of the school, each oriented toward student interests. Students in the relevant degree program generally manage the groups, with an instructor providing support.

Full Sail does not have on-campus student housing, due to a surplus of apartment complexes in the immediate area of the school. Most students live within 5 miles of the school, and popular apartment complexes include Summerwalk, Crane's Landing, Whisper Lake, The Park, Park Baldwin Palms, and Auvers Village among others. Most Full Sail students choose to live with roommates, to lower the expenses of apartment rental. The school has a housing department, which provides prospective students with information about local apartment complexes, and keeps track of students who are looking for roommates.

Notable Full Sail alumni & productions

Full Sail alumni have contributed to the following projects, among others:

Games

TV & Movies

Music

Views of Full Sail

Industry recognition

Criticism

Full Sail's curriculum has been criticized due to the fact that credit earned for coursework completed at Full Sail usually cannot be transferred to most traditional colleges and universities. Full Sail is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, which is a national accreditor of primarily vocational schools and career schools within the United States. Most four year colleges and universities in the U.S. are regionally accredited, and do not recognize national accreditation such as ACCSCT (see [40]). To guarantee transferability of credit from Full Sail to traditional four-year colleges throughout the United States, regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools would be required. Fundamental changes to the current Full Sail curriculum would be needed to meet the necessary requirements of regional accreditation, including switching to a more conventional semester-hours based schedule, requiring a wider variety of general education credits, and utilizing teaching faculty with Master's or Doctorate degrees (see [41]).

Notable alumni

Some notable Full Sail alumni:

Full Sail maintains a website with notable industry activity by alumni, called Grads on the Move.

Notable faculty

Notable faculty members include:

References

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