Full Sail University
Private, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Full Sail University is a private for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida.[4] It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions[5] and Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts.[6] The school moved to Florida in 1980, began offering bachelor's degrees in 2005,[7] and began offering online degrees in 2007.[8] The following year, the school was granted university status by the Florida Department of Education.[9]
Motto | If you're serious about your dream, we'll take your dream seriously |
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Type | Private for-profit university[1] |
Established | 1979 |
Accreditation | ACCSC |
President | Garry Jones |
Students | 26,737 [2] |
Undergraduates | 25,532 [3] |
Location | , , United States 28°35′41″N 81°18′11″W |
Mascot | Douglas DC-3 airplane |
Website | fullsail |
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Full Sail is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges to award associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees in audio, design, computer animation and business administration.[10][11]
History
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Perspective
Full Sail University was founded by Jon Phelps in Miami, Florida, in 1979.[12] Its curriculum was centered on recording arts and offered courses in audio engineering.[13] It relocated to Orlando, Florida, in 1980 and added new courses to its core recording arts program. In 1989, Full Sail moved to its current location at Winter Park, Florida;[13] the following year, it was accredited to grant specialized associate degrees.[14]

Enrollment doubled between 1989 and 1991 at a time of increased interest in film and media studies.[15] The university had financial difficulties in 1992 and its growth slowed.[16] Between 1995 and 1999, it began offering associate degrees in computer animation, digital media, game design and development, and show production and touring; these were later expanded into full bachelor's degree programs.[14]
In 2005, the school offered its first bachelor's degree program, a Bachelor of Science degree in entertainment business.[17] In 2007, the first master's degree program—also in the entertainment industry—was offered.[18] Online degree programs began in 2007, the first of which was an online adaptation of the existing Entertainment Business Master of Science.[18]
The additions of the master's degree programs, among other factors, led to the school being recognized as a university by the state of Florida.[19] In 2008 it changed its name from Full Sail Real World Education to Full Sail University after attaining university status from the Florida Department of Education's Commission for Independent Education.[19]
The curriculum and degree programs were broadened between 2006 and 2011,[20] adding programs such as a Bachelor of Science in sports marketing and media,[21] and a Master of Science degree in game design.[22]
In 2012, WWE began filming episodes of its internet television show WWE NXT at Full Sail University.[23][24][25] In June 2015, the school began hosting the WWE Tough Enough series.[26][27][28] As part of the partnership between Full Sail and WWE, students have the opportunity to produce WWE NXT tapings, during which merchandise and tickets sales contribute to a scholarship fund for students enrolled at the university.[29][30] As of January 2018, the partnership had resulted in $385,000 in scholarships.[31][32][33] In September 2019, WWE and Full Sail University announced the expansion of their partnership. In 2020, it was announced that WWE NXT would stop taping at Full Sail University.[34]
In 2015, the university announced a partnership with Wargaming and completed building a user experience lab for conducting research projects.[35][36][37]
Full Sail University's Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting was established in 2017, with a sportscasting degree program and instruction provided by sportscaster and radio personality Dan Patrick.[38][39][40]
Campus
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The university moved to Winter Park in 1989.[41] Full Sail University's approximately 200-acre (81-hectare) campus is located 8.6 miles (13.8 kilometers) northeast of downtown Orlando. The campus has soundstages, a film backlot, and 110 studios.[42] An office building for teaching staff for the online degree program was leased in 2009.[43]

In 2010, a new game studio was named "Blackmoor" (after a campaign in Dungeons & Dragons) in honor of Dave Arneson, who taught game design at the school from 1999 to 2008.[44] In November 2010, in partnership with ESPN, the school opened a new laboratory for research and development in studio technologies.[45] Two months later, approximately 200 Full Sail Online employees moved into the Gateway Center in Downtown Orlando.[46] Also in 2011, the university announced plans to construct an 86,000-square-foot (8,000 m2) educational building to house 475 faculty and staff, additional film and television soundstages and classrooms; it was scheduled for completion in early 2012.[47] In July 2011, Full Sail acquired Lakeview Office Park in Orlando.[48]

In October 2018, Full Sail announced plans to construct an esports arena called "The Fortress".[49] The 11,200-square-foot venue opened in May 2019, serves as home of Full Sail University's esports team, Armada.[50][51][52]
In 2020, The Fortress was named a top-10 collegiate esports facility.[53] It was also named one of the "15 Most Elite Universities for Pursuing Esports Careers in North America" in 2020.[54][55] The Virtual Production Studio opened on the main campus in March 2022.[56][57]
Academics
Full Sail's academic degree programs are primarily focused on audio, film and media production,[58] video game design,[59] animation[60] and other studies related to the media and entertainment industries.[61] Full Sail began offering coursework in creating augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) projects in 2016, housed in the campus's Fabrication Lab.[62][63][64][65]
Full Sail is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC).[10][66] In 2007 and 2011, the college was subject to criticism regarding limited transferability of credits.[67][68][69]
Student outcomes
According to the College Scorecard, as of July 2024, Full Sail has a 47% graduation rate.[70] 2023–2024 Academic year prices for full-time, first-time undergrad tuition, books, fees & supplies is $26,947.[71]
Awards and rankings
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In 1989, 1990, and 1991, the Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts won Mix magazine's outstanding institutional achievement award for recording schools.[72]
In 2005, Rolling Stone called Full Sail "one of the five best music programs in the country".[73]
The college was named FAPSC School/College of the Year (an award for which only career colleges in Florida were eligible) by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges (FAPSC) in 2008, 2011,[74] and 2014.[75] Full Sail was recognized for its 21st-century best practices in distance learning by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) in 2011,[76] and was the recipient of New Media Consortium Center for Excellence Award in 2011 and 2015.[77][78]
Full Sail's Game Design master's degree has been ranked in The Princeton Review's Top 25 Graduate Program for Video Game Design since 2014.[79][80][81] Full Sail also ranked in the top 50 in The Princeton Review's list of undergraduate programs for game design in 2021.[82][83] TheWrap ranked Full Sail last place in their 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 lists of the "Top 50 Film Schools".[84][85][86] In 2018, College Magazine ranked Full Sail number five in their list of the top 10 colleges for video game design.[87] In January 2020, Animation Career Review ranked Full Sail University number 19 in their list of Top 50 Animation Schools in the US.[88]
Notable alumni
- Christopher Aker,[89] founder of Linode
- Mohammad Alavi,[90] a video game designer who helped design levels, including "All Ghillied Up" and "No Russian", in the Call of Duty series.
- Andy Anderson, record producer, songwriter, remixer
- Marcella Araica,[91] audio and mixing engineer
- J Beatzz (born Joshua Adams), record producer
- Cheese (born Jason Goldberg), record producer and audio engineer [92]
- Corey Beaulieu,[93] guitarist for the American heavy metal band Trivium
- Adam Best,[94] entrepreneur, film producer, political activist, writer
- Brad Blackwood, Grammy and Pensado Award-winning mastering engineer
- Trayvon Bromell,[95] Olympic Athlete, Track and Field
- Darren Lynn Bousman,[96] film director and screenwriter
- Bre-Z (born Calesha Murray), actress on Empire (2015) and musician[97]
- Soufiane El Khalidy,[98] actor, filmmaker and writer
- Collie Buddz (born Colin Harper),[99][100] musician and singer
- Corrin Campbell,[101] musician and singer
- Jason Citron, [102] co-founder and CEO of Discord and founder of OpenFeint
- Ryan Connolly,[103][104] filmmaker, Internet celebrity, presenter
- Chad Crawford,[105] television host
- Christine D'Clario,[106] Christian music singer and songwriter
- Deraj (born Jared Wells),[107] hip hop musician
- DJ Swivel (born Jordan Young),[108] Grammy award-winning mixer, music producer, audio engineer
- Dylan Dresdow,[109] Grammy award-winning mixer, Emmy award-winning mixer, music producer, audio engineer
- FKi 1st (born Trocon Roberts),[110] record producer and disc jockey
- JD Harmeyer,[111] producer, Howard Stern Show
- Michael Hicks,[112] game designer, musician, programmer, writer
- London on da Track (born London Holmes),[113] record producer and songwriter (attended)
- Mike Jaggerr,[114] musician, producer, songwriter
- Mokah Jasmine Johnson,[115] social activist and politician
- Kaká,[116] footballer (attended, graduation unconfirmed)
- E. L. Katz[117] Film director, producer and screenwriter
- Sebastian Krys,[118] Grammy winning audio engineer and record producer
- Ross Lara,[119] audio engineer and record producer
- Colin Leonard,[120] Grammy award-winning mastering engineer. Won 2024 Grammy for his mastering engineering work on Victoria Monét's Jaguar II
- Machinedrum (born Travis Stewart),[121][122] electronic music producer and performer
- Graham Marsh, record producer and recording engineer
- William McDowell,[123] gospel musician
- Steven C. Miller,[124] film director, editor, and screenwriter
- Nathan Nance, Emmy award-winning sound mixer and engineer
- Tre Nagella, Grammy award-winning American recording engineer, mixer and record producer
- Brett Novak,[125] director and filmmaker
- Susan Nwokedi,[126] actress, filmmaker, producer
- Offrami (born Rami Eid), music producer
- Nuh Omar, Pakistani filmmaker and marketer
- Jeff Pinilla,[127] director, editor, producer
- Viktor Prokopenya,[128] technology entrepreneur
- Gary Rizzo,[118][129] Oscar winning audio engineer, re-recording mixer
- Andrés Saavedra, Latin Grammy award-winning producer
- Rafa Sardina,[130] record producer and audio engineer
- Scott Stenzel,[131] racing driver
- Karintha Styles, entertainment journalist
- Phil Tan,[118] Grammy-winning audio engineer
- Devvon Terrell,[132] rapper and record producer
- Terrell Grice,[133] producer, singer-songwriter, YouTuber
- Alex Tumay,[134][135] audio engineer and disc jockey
- Rocco Did It Again! (born Rocco Valdes), record producer and songwriter[citation needed]
- Stuart White,[136] Grammy award-winning recording/mixing engineer[137]
- Adam Wingard,[138][139] cinematographer, film director and editor
- Alex Vincent,[140] actor
- Brian Yale 4× Grammy award-nominated bass guitarist with Matchbox Twenty
Notable faculty
Instructors at who have taught at Full Sail include Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson (game design),[141] and Oprah Winfrey's domestic partner, Stedman Graham.[142][143] Other notable instructors include James Neihouse, cinematographer and lifetime member of the Academy, a 6,000-member group that votes on Oscar nominees. Oscar-winning sound engineer Bill W. Benton teaches in the Film Production MFA program,[144] and former wrestler Ed Ferrera teaches the creative writing program.[145][146]
References
External links
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