Huntington University has been named to College Recruiter’s list of “hidden gem” colleges in the United States for employers seeking graduates with skills in animation, interactive technology, video graphics and special effects.

HU’s digital media arts program was established in 2005 and includes majors in animation, broadcast-fusion media, film production and film studies. The department was launched by faculty members Steve Leeper and Bryan Ballinger, both of whom worked on the popular “VeggieTales” series.

The digital media arts department at HU has the largest number of majors in the school, with 130 during the 2013-2014 academic year, representing 13 percent of the undergraduate population.

The top 11 “hidden gem” schools for U.S. employers seeking graduates with digital media arts skills are:

1. Brigham Young University-Provo
2. Loyola Marymount University
3. Bradley University
4. George Mason University
5. Rochester Institute of Technology
6. DePaul University
7. New Jersey Institute of Technology
8. Minneapolis College of Art and Design
9. Huntington University
10. University of Hawaii at Manoa
11. Savannah College of Art and Design

“The national ranking of HU’s digital media arts department affirms the strength of our graduates in the marketplace,” stated Dr. Lance Clark, department chair. “High-caliber companies like Paramount and DreamWorks are employing Huntington University graduates, and this year alone our students have won more than 30 regional and national awards.”

College Recruiter, a leading niche job board for college and grads searching for entry-level jobs and students searching for internships, generated the rankings using its database of 185 majors at nearly 4,000 one- and two-year colleges and 3,000 four-year colleges and universities across the U.S.

The modeling for the project was to identify the schools that featured high SAT/ACT scores for entering students, high average starting salaries for the regions in which the schools were located, a high percentage of graduates working in their chosen field of study and a majority of the graduating class available for recruitment by employers.

Many schools may have an excellent graduating class, but often students are going to graduate school or already committed to work for other employers. “Hidden gem” schools are those at which employers will most likely find high quality candidates who are ready, willing and able to say yes to an offer of employment upon graduation.

Source: Huntington University