Urban Arts Partnership (UAP) is pleased to announce a partnership with Unity that will help underserved students in its School of Interactive Arts (SIA) program learn the art and science of game design while developing high-level programming skills that bring their creative endeavors to life.

SIA programs develop middle and high school students’ mastery of game design, connect them to tech industry professionals through master classes and 1:1 mentoring, and equip them with compelling skills in multiple artistic and technical disciplines.

Unity is the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content. Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and others, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life.

Unity’s platform is a cornerstone of the SIA program and provides student creators access to technology that allows them to shape and change the world around them through dynamic and inspirational games. Unity’s partnership with UAP includes financial support for programming, connections with other educational communities around the country, and opportunities for collaboration with the Unity Education Team.

“Unity’s support comes at just the right time to help us scale SIA to serve twice as many students this coming year. We’re grateful that Unity is contributing to our growth.” said UAP CEO Philip Courtney.

“Providing underrepresented students with the tools to learn real-time 3D and the economic opportunity that comes with those skills, is directly in line with Unity Social Impact’s mission,” said Jessica Lindl, Vice President of Social Impact, Unity. “We know that technical skills are being required for the jobs of today and even more so the jobs of tomorrow. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Urban Arts Partnership’s School of Interactive Arts to equip youth with a strong foundation for their careers.”

This year, over 2,000 students and over 50 educators will participate in SIA programming thanks in part to the generous support of the Unity Charitable Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation.

About Urban Arts Partnership:

UAP’s mission is to provide students from low-income communities with a quality 21st century education that is rooted in the arts and technology, preparing them for lifelong success. Since 1991, UAP has served over 250,000 students and 2,000 teachers across 150 schools.

About the School of Interactive Arts:

The School of Interactive Arts (SIA) is a game design program from UAP that prepares students to consider and enroll in college programs to pursue careers in STEM fields. Created in 2017 in response to a fast-growing video game industry lacking workforce diversity, SIA teaches students from Title I schools to create their own video games.