Since its founding, Full Sail University has prided itself on evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of students. This has meant that, over the years, our degree programs have grown and adapted to provide students with the most relevant education and the tools they need to prepare them for future success.

Recently, Full Sail has made some adjustments to some of its associate and bachelor’s degree programs – these changes will affect students beginning at Full Sail in February 2024 and beyond, while current Full Sail students will not experience any changes to their programs. Let’s look at what these upcoming changes mean and how they will affect students who join the Full Sail community.

An Overview of the Changes

Several bachelor’s degree programs are being transitioned to what will now be called bachelor’s completion degrees with concentrations, which will be paired with a Full Sail associate program - together these undergraduate programs will offer students a very similar experience to Full Sail's current degrees, while allowing students the flexibility they need at all stages of their education and career. Another part of this adjustment involves adapting the rest of Full Sail’s associate degree programs to be associate of applied science degrees (several associate of applied science programs have been available to incoming students since 2022). These re-designed programs mainly affect course ordering and organization - moving several higher-level core courses to the associate of applied science program while moving several general education classes back into the bachelor's completion degrees, giving students an earlier introduction to their desired area of study. Ultimately, they have been designed to better prepare those who attain an associate degree for employment. In addition, the bachelor's completion portion of these degree programs will require an associate degree as a prerequisite for admission. In some cases, students who have already attained an associate degree from a community college, for example, may also qualify for admission to a Full Sail bachelor’s program using their existing academic credentials.

Why Full Sail Decided to Adapt These Undergraduate Degrees

A major aspect of Full Sail’s DNA has been the alignment of its degree programs with the needs of the industries students will be entering. This means the university has continued to adapt its curriculum to match the skills hiring managers across entertainment media and emerging technologies are seeking when selecting candidates at each stage of their learning journey. As such, Full Sail is continually innovating in its approaches to teaching, responding to changes in technology, and providing more flexibility for students.

After several years of experience introducing bachelor's completion degrees with concentrations (Information Technology associate of applied science |Cybersecurity bachelor's, Computer Science bachelor's completion | Mobile Development, Computer Science bachelor's completion | Artificial Intelligence), Full Sail's educational leaders felt it was time to introduce these updates to other bachelor's programs. According to Dr. Dave Franko, Full Sail's Vice President of Academic Affairs, these changes represent just one small step in many that Full Sail has taken over the years. “From our early days of operating a mobile recording studio through today, we have always made sure to evolve our education based on industry changes and demands,” Dr. Franko explains. “The core curriculum of this new format of our degrees is very similar to our existing programs. We simply wanted to restructure some of them to continue to give our students the most relevant skills they will need in their careers.”

Career Support and Flexibility

Career readiness has long been a focus of Full Sail's educational approach, with this latest change designed to allow students flexibility in how they pursue their education and career. The new structure for these programs will make it easier for students to plot their educational path, get the credentials they need to pursue their career, and come back to pursue further education if it fits their future career path.

Dr. Franko notes that this won’t be the last time the university will make changes to its core education model and structure. “We’re always evaluating our degree programs to give our students the best possible education for the industries they'll be entering,” he adds.

At the same time, many Full Sail programs - from certificate programs to graduate degrees - are staying in their present format, and this change will have no impact on currently enrolled students, who will receive the same level of educational rigor, career development, and ongoing support as future Full Sail students. As always, we're excited to continue to innovate our education in support of our students' dreams. If you have any questions about these changes or Full Sail University's educational approach, please reach out to our admissions team at 800.226.7625.

Affected Programs

These details apply to all new students beginning February 5, 2024 or later. When bundled together, these completion programs and their paired associate programs contain an equivalent number of courses and credit hours to the current programs listed.

Existing Completion Programs

These programs are already presented in the completion format and will not change.

Bachelor’s Track Programs

These programs will remain in Full Sail’s traditional bachelor’s degree format.

• Computer Science
• Game Business & Esports
• Game Development
• Information Technology
• Simulation & Visualization
• Sportscasting
• User Experience
• Web Development