3D Game Design
certificate program
Seattle Central Community College
DURATION About four and a half months. TUITION $1,250. WHO IT’S FOR Hardcore gamers, wannabe architects of virtual worlds. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN How to render a wooden crate so realistic you’ll worry about splinters—and that’s just in the first week. By “design,” they mean “animate,” so this is for digital artists, not programmers. And by “artists,” we mean "artists”: The current instructor at SCCC’s program comes from Bellevue-based ArenaNet (creators of the online world of Guild Wars), so he knows from building animated landscapes. Even better: Teachers will review your postgraduation portfolio and help you land a gig. And there’s nothing fake about that. GETTING STARTED Visit learnatcentral.org; classes for the winter session start January 5.
Guardianship
certificate program
University of Washington Professional and Continuing Education
DURATION Six months. TUITION $2,700. WHO IT’S FOR Patient peeps who believe in social justice, have a knack for nurturing, and can balance a checkbook. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN How to be an advocate. Like the protective big brothers of the health-care world, certified professional guardians fight for the rights of their incapacitated clients and manage the medical, legal, and financial details of their everyday lives. It’s demanding work, but the program, which ranges from navigating social services to the ethics of acting as a legal proxy, is the most rigorous in the country. GETTING STARTED Call 206-685-8936 or visit extension.washington.edu/ext; the next program begins in spring 2010.
Alternative Routes to Certification
45 credits, teaching certificate
Seattle Pacific University
DURATION About a year and a half, plus—if necessary—one semester of brush-up courses on subjects like math, science, or English. TUITION $23,250, although that will likely increase for the 2010–11 academic year; financial aid is available. WHO IT’S FOR Anyone who, like Whitney Houston, believes the children are our future. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN That you never stop learning—ever. Tailored to the schedules of career changers who want to make a quick occupational conversion, the full-time ARC program is intense: Five weeks of all-day, on-campus study on subjects like educational methodology and classroom management lead directly into nine months of student teaching (along with one night a week of on-campus study). The work is worth it, though. You’ll be ready to commandeer a classroom in 12 months, and with about two more quarters of work you’ll earn a master’s in teaching. GETTING STARTED Visit spu.edu; the application deadline for the 2010 program is February 14.
Published: October 2009
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