Explore how Purdue combines storytelling, design and technology to prepare students to create memorable experiences across physical, digital and virtual environments.
What is Themed Entertainment Design?
Themed Entertainment Design is the creation of immersive, story-driven experiences that combine storytelling, design, and technology. Theme parks are one visible example, but the field also includes museums, interactive media, retail, restaurants, entertainment, education, healthcare, sports and other experience-driven environments.
Is this degree only for students who want to work at Disney or Universal?
No. Theme parks are an important part of the industry, but the skills developed in the program reach much further. Students may pursue work connected to museums and exhibitions, immersive media, experiential marketing, branded environments, interactive experiences, animation, and related creative-technology fields. The skills students develop are highly transferable and can be applied well beyond themed entertainment, including careers in marketing, advertising, UX/UI, technology, product design, project management, education, healthcare, sports, media, and entrepreneurship.
Additionally, your mind will be blown when you come to realize the number of companies throughout the U.S. that produce sets, attractions, animatronics, for the two big names.
What will students learn?
Students learn to combine strong fundamentals in design with creative thinking, technology, and professional production skills. Students develop core abilities in visual communication, composition, color, typography, design thinking, user-centered design, storytelling, and the iterative design process, then apply those foundations to areas such as world-building, animation, previsualization, virtual and augmented reality, interactive technologies, narrative design, and collaborative production.
Do students need to be artists?
No. The program is intentionally multidisciplinary. Students may enter with interests in art, design, animation, technology, gaming, engineering, user experience, storytelling or project leadership. Students build individual strengths while learning how different specialties work together.
Is this a technical degree or a creative degree?
It is both. Purdue combines animation, game design, interactive media and design technology so students can turn ideas into experiences across physical, digital and virtual environments.
What kinds of career fields can graduates pursue?
Career areas include themed attraction design, animation, interactive design, experiential marketing, immersive media production, virtual reality development, exhibition and museum design, and branded environments. A student's specific path will depend on their interests, technical strengths, project experience, and portfolio.
Do students need a portfolio to apply to this program.
No, this is not an application requirement.
Will students build a portfolio during the program?
Yes. Portfolio development is incorporated throughout the curriculum. Students create work that demonstrates artistic vision, technical ability, problem solving and collaboration to help communicate their capabilities to employers and industry partners. It will help them get internships during school, and full-time jobs upon graduation.
Will students work on real projects?
Applied project work is an important part of the Purdue experience. Students have contributed to projects involving organizations such as The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Hendricks Commercial Properties, , Indiana Dunes National Park, Conner Prairie, and Fair Oaks Farms, including interactive media, 3D modeling, animation, museum experiences and attraction concepts. The program also culminates in capstone and professional experiences focused on immersive project development.
Why study Themed Entertainment Design at Purdue?
Purdue brings together design, technology and interdisciplinary collaboration rather than approaching the field only as art or entertainment. Students develop creative and technical abilities while strengthening communication, teamwork, problem solving, and project management. Indianapolis also provides a strong setting for connections to museums, sports, hospitality, healthcare, entertainment and computing.
Will students interact with industry professionals?
Industry engagement is part of the program experience through mentors, speakers, advisors, professional events and applied projects. These connections help students understand industry expectations, career pathways, and collaborative workflows.
Is there a minor for students in other majors?
Yes. Purdue offers a Themed Entertainment Design minor that complements another Purdue degree. The minor introduces immersive experience design, planning and communication, the business of themed entertainment, previsualization, and emerging trends and technologies. Students with other degrees could come from engineering, computer science, interior design and architecture, information technology, animation, game design, computer graphics, UX design, and more. The minor can be obtained from any campus, as it is offered online.
What if I am interested in engineering or animatronics?
Engineering programs teach the technical skills needed for careers such as animatronics, robotics, controls, and mechanical systems, but they typically are not focused on teaching students about the themed entertainment industry. That's where we come in. Purdue's Themed Entertainment Design program helps students understand how their technical expertise fits into the creative, collaborative, and experience-driven world of themed entertainment.
For students who want to remain primarily engineers, pairing an engineering degree with the Themed Entertainment Design minor can be a strong pathway. It allows students to develop engineering expertise while gaining industry knowledge, creative collaboration experience, and an understanding of how themed experiences are conceived and developed. Purdue industry focus groups specifically identified the university's strength in engineering as an advantage for specialties such as animatronics, where technical and creative disciplines intersect.
Can I double major?
Potentially, but it depends on the combination of majors. Purdue advising recommends that two majors within Purdue Polytechnic may be more feasible, while combining majors across colleges or between Indianapolis and West Lafayette can become difficult because of curriculum and location requirements. Students interested in this route should work with an academic advisor to determine what is possible for their specific combination. This is a challenging road and is not for everyone.
For many students, adding the Themed Entertainment Design minor may be the simpler way to combine another major with themed entertainment. The minor is designed to be the ideal complement to other disciplines.
What kind of student is a good fit for this program?
The program is a strong fit for students who enjoy creating, building, storytelling, technology, design, games, animation, or understanding how memorable experiences work. Students do not need to arrive with every skill. Curiosity, imagination, persistence and a willingness to collaborate are especially valuable.
What if a student likes technology more than art?
That is a natural fit for the program. Students can explore interactive technologies, spatial computing, VR/AR, AI, and other technical areas alongside visual and narrative design. Students who are more creatively focused also learn how technology can help turn ideas into working experiences.
What makes themed entertainment different from traditional animation or game design?
Animation and game design often emphasize screen-based experiences. Themed entertainment asks students to think more broadly about how people experience stories and environments in physical, digital, and virtual spaces. Students consider what an experience looks like, how guests move through it, how they interact with it, and how the experience makes them feel. The Experience Economy is a growing multi-billion-dollar industry giving guests, travelers, shoppers, diners, learners memorable experiences rather than just selling them a product.
Where is the program offered?
The undergraduate bachelor's degree in Themed Entertainment Design is based at Purdue University in Indianapolis, where students can connect their studies to the city's museums, sports, hospitality, healthcare, entertainment and technology communities. The minor can be obtained from any campus as it is offered online.
What types of job might I get after graduation?
Graduates will be prepared for careers that combine design, storytelling, technology, and problem solving. Depending on a student's concentration, portfolio, internships, and individual strengths, entry-level opportunities could include:
- Themed Experience Designer
- Attraction or Experience Designer
- 3D Artist / 3D Designer
- Animator
- Previsualization Artist
- Interactive Designer
- UX/UI Designer
- VR/AR or Immersive Media Designer
- Exhibit or Museum Designer
- Experiential Designer
- Production Designer
- Digital Media Designer
- Creative Technologist
- Project or Production Coordinator
- Experiential Marketing Designer
Most importantly, the degree is designed to prepare students for more than one specific job title. Students build a combination of design fundamentals, technical skills, collaboration experience, and portfolio work that can be applied across themed entertainment as well as fields such as marketing, advertising, UX, technology, product design, media, and other creative industries.
What makes Purdue's degree different from other programs?
Purdue's Themed Entertainment Design program combines design, technology, storytelling, and hands-on problem solving in ways that are difficult to replicate at a traditional art or design school.
- The power of Purdue engineering and technology. Students are part of a university globally known for engineering and technology, with opportunities to collaborate and interact with students and faculty from technical disciplines. That creates a different environment than an art-school-only approach, especially for an industry where designers, engineers, technologists, artists, and project leaders have to work together.
- A Midwest advantage. We are based in Indianapolis, a major capital city, rather than concentrating solely on the traditional Florida theme park market. This allows students to think about themed and experience design more broadly, with connections to sports, museums, healthcare, hospitality, technology, retail, and other industries that create experiences for people.
- Technology is part of the creative process. Students explore emerging tools such as AI, VR/AR, spatial computing, interactive technology, animation, and previsualization. We approach AI as a tool that can accelerate and enhance creative workflows, while keeping human creativity, judgment, and decision-making at the center of the process.
- Students make things, not just images of things. Students won't spend their entire education designing on a computer. They will build, construct, prototype, experiment, and get their hands dirty. Students move beyond the screen to prototype, fabricate, construct, test, and refine physical ideas. Working collaboratively with designers and technology students, they learn to solve real problems by making things, testing them, and figuring out how to make them work.
Ultimately, Purdue students learn to speak both the creative and technical languages of themed entertainment, preparing them to collaborate across the many disciplines it takes to create a successful experience.