UF Online’s Digital Arts and Sciences Program Fosters Lasting Mentorship

Connecting online students with online educators like never before, UF Online’s Digital Arts and Sciences bachelor’s degree program promotes mentorship and student-faculty collaboration.

For UF faculty member Darius Brown and UF Online student Jacob Silvey, the experience has been transformative. Brown – a lecturer who teaches video production classes and leads hands-on internships – has mentored Silvey throughout the foundational years of his education and career. Brown believes mentorship is the most rewarding part of being an online instructor. 

“Once you get to learn a student’s goals and aspirations, you can craft a better experience for them. That’s what it takes to get the best out of an online program at a top university,” Brown said. “We need to make sure that the student is building a mentor-mentee relationship. It’s really important for our online students to feel that empowerment and understanding that we are here to serve as best as we can and we really want to see them succeed.” 

Silvey enrolled in the Digital Arts and Sciences program in Fall 2021 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Spring 2023. He now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, working as a production associate at Merit Street Media – a television network that hosts shows like “Dr. Phil Primetime” and “PBR Now.”

“Studying online opened up a lot of opportunities for me,” Silvey said.


Digital Arts and Sciences

UF Online offers a B.A. in Digital Arts and Sciences (BADAS) designed for online students to immerse themselves in every aspect of the new and developing digital landscape. Offered by the College of the Arts, this undergraduate program combines the arts, communications, and technology. Learn more below.