The Ohio State University Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design

The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) operates as an interdisciplinary research and teaching center within The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Rather than acting as an independent degree-granting school, ACCAD functions as a collaborative facility providing technological infrastructure, project-based research spaces, and specialized coursework for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in affiliated university departments.

The center's roots go back to digital art pioneer Charles Csuri's early computer animation research in the 1960s and the Computer Graphics Research Group established in 1971, before formally reorganizing as ACCAD in 1987. This foundation shapes a curriculum that approaches creative digital media from both an artistic and computational perspective, encouraging students to script, engineer, and customize digital systems rather than relying solely on commercial software defaults.

Affiliated Academic Pathways

Students access ACCAD through partner departments across Ohio State. Primary pathways include:

• MFA in Design (Digital Animation and Interactive Media): A three-year, 60-credit-hour terminal degree progressing from conceptual design through studio application to thesis development.
• MFA in Art (Art & Technology): Focuses on creative computational practice and electronic media.
• MFA in Dance (Dance and Technology): Integrates human movement, choreographic research, and digital capture.
• MFA in Theatre (Theatrical Media Design): Centers on digital media for stage and performance.
• Moving Image Production (BA): An undergraduate major engaging with screen-based and time-based digital media.

Course offerings advance from foundational time-based media into dedicated sequences covering 3D computer animation, virtual modeling, procedural shading, and experimental scripting. Students work with mathematical routines in tools like Autodesk Maya to build custom animation tools, alongside visual programming, environmental sensors, and real-time generative systems for interactive physical installations.

Specialist Research Facilities

ACCAD houses several specialized laboratories designed to support performance capture, virtual environments, and audio-visual production:

• Motion Lab: A 2,500-square-foot space equipped with a sprung wood floor for movement research, a 12-camera Vicon Valkyrie optical tracking system, Faceware facial capture gear, immersive audio, and virtual reality headsets. It supports real-time retargeting of motion data into game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity.
• Simulation (SIM) Lab: Dedicated to prototyping non-traditional interaction and XR experiences, featuring full-body tracking staging, large-scale projection, and stereoscopic displays.
• Sonic Arts Lab: An acoustically isolated composition and mixing space configured with multi-channel surround monitoring and high-definition projection.
• Video Lab: Networked high-compute workstations tailored for heavy digital compositing and rendering pipelines.

Instruction and research at ACCAD take place strictly on campus in Columbus, with students participating in physical labs, collaborative critiques, and on-site production teams.