Top 10 Game Design Schools in America

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, March 1, 2011 - GamePro Media (http://www.gamepro.com) and ThePrinceton Review (http://www.princetonreview.com) have teamed up for the second consecutive year to recognize the top schools offering video game design programs.

Reported in the AprilGamePromagazine (on newsstands March 8, 2011), the "Top Schools for Video Game Design Study for 2011" features 30 schools in all. It names the top 10 undergraduate and top 10 graduate schools, plus five schools in each group as Honorable Mentions.

The Princeton Review, one of the nation's best known education services companies, chose the schools based on a comprehensive survey it conducted in the 2010 - 2011 academic year of administrators at 150 institutions offering video game design coursework and/or degrees in the United States and Canada.

The survey, which included more than 50 questions, covered a wide range of topics, from academics and faculty credentials to graduates' employment and career achievements.

List choices were based on criteria that broadly covered the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure. The Princeton Review also factored in data it collected from the schools on their scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.

The top 10 undergraduate schools for video game design study for 2011 are:

1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
2. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
3. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
4. The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
5. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
7. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
8. Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
9. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
10. Becker College (Worcester, MA)

The top 10 graduate schools for video game design study for 2011 are:

1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
2. University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
3. Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
5. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
6. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
7. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
8. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
9. Parsons The New School for Design (New York, NY)
10. The University of Texas at Dallas (Dallas, TX

Guess which school I attend. 8)

Drexel?

Drexel?

jaqulle999

I wonder if other big school well pick this up (has in the whole Ivy League).

BTW the only reason any school has a game design degree is because of EA.

My friend attends Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for game design, he graduates later this month actually. It's not on the list though...oh well.

I wonder if other big school well pick this up (has in the whole Ivy League).

BTW the only reason any school has a game design degree is because of EA.

Wolfetan

Good for you, I'm sure that'll help.

I won't lie, though: I know too many good developers that never attended universities (in subjects related to game design) to know that a graduation course or a diploma won't make you a good developer.

[QUOTE="Wolfetan"]

I wonder if other big school well pick this up (has in the whole Ivy League).

BTW the only reason any school has a game design degree is because of EA.

mrmusicman247

My friend attends Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for game design, he graduates later this month actually. It's not on the list though...oh well.

XCNormX

I feel bad for him.

[QUOTE="XCNormX"]

My friend attends Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for game design, he graduates later this month actually. It's not on the list though...oh well.

Ingenemployee

I feel bad for him.

Ha, why is that?

Good for you, I'm sure that'll help.

I won't lie, though: I know too many good developers that never attended universities (in subjects related to game design) to know that a graduation course or a diploma won't make you a good developer.

TehOverkill

[QUOTE="Ingenemployee"]

[QUOTE="XCNormX"]

My friend attends Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL for game design, he graduates later this month actually. It's not on the list though...oh well.

XCNormX

I feel bad for him.

Ha, why is that?

If he does not get into the video game industry that game design degree is just an expensive piece of paper.

I have 3 friends that live in Massachusetts that go to Full Sail University for game design.. they take the online courses though. bleh. i could never do that..

I wonder if they know about those 2 in Worcester.

[QUOTE="XCNormX"]

[QUOTE="Ingenemployee"]

I feel bad for him.

Ingenemployee

Ha, why is that?

If he does not get into the video game industry that game design degree is just an expensive piece of paper.

Yeah that would suck, I've heard from a lot of people that Full Sail feeds you a lot of bull, but I keep on supporting him and still feel that he'll make it...I hope. It seemed like a great school when I went down to visit him.

[QUOTE="TehOverkill"]

Good for you, I'm sure that'll help.

I won't lie, though: I know too many good developers that never attended universities (in subjects related to game design) to know that a graduation course or a diploma won't make you a good developer.

mrmusicman247

Certainly. Do you already have any independent projects? I know a few sites where you send them the game, they make it available, and if it's good, your game gets front-page with an extensive article describing it. Used to work that way, anyway.

I liked the feedback they gave.

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"][QUOTE="TehOverkill"]

Good for you, I'm sure that'll help.

I won't lie, though: I know too many good developers that never attended universities (in subjects related to game design) to know that a graduation course or a diploma won't make you a good developer.

TehOverkill

Certainly. Do you already have any independent projects? I know a few sites where you send them the game, they make it available, and if it's good, your game gets front-page with an extensive article describing it. Used to work that way, anyway.

I liked the feedback they gave.

[QUOTE="Ingenemployee"]

[QUOTE="XCNormX"]

Ha, why is that?

XCNormX

If he does not get into the video game industry that game design degree is just an expensive piece of paper.

Yeah that would suck, I've heard from a lot of people that Full Sail feeds you a lot of bull, but I keep on supporting him and still feel that he'll make it...I hope. It seemed like a great school when I went down to visit him.

He should have found a school that had a good computer science degree instead, it would have given him something to fall back on that would also pay well.

i always thought full sail was suppose to be top notch for game design... guess not.

Easier way? Learn to mod games and be active in the community and you will get a job placement if your mods are good enough.

I know somebody who goes to a game programming course in Rochester, I would like to look at that school, does anyone know what the recommended GPA for that school is? Mine is around 3.0, last time I checked it was 3.33.

You're much better off studying computer science at a good school. That way if game design doesn't pan out you still have a degree in something useful.

Easier way? Learn to mod games and be active in the community and you will get a job placement if your mods are good enough.

Aku101

[QUOTE="XCNormX"]

[QUOTE="Ingenemployee"]

If he does not get into the video game industry that game design degree is just an expensive piece of paper.

Ingenemployee

Yeah that would suck, I've heard from a lot of people that Full Sail feeds you a lot of bull, but I keep on supporting him and still feel that he'll make it...I hope. It seemed like a great school when I went down to visit him.

He should have found a school that had a good computer science degree instead, it would have given him something to fall back on that would also pay well.

Yeah maybe, couldn't go wrong doing that. But him and I both took a computer course for 2 years at Vocational Technical school and got A+ certified. So he could fall back with that as well as further him self in some more schooling for it if he wanted. But this has always been his dream and he went for it, couldn't be a waste from what he's already learned and accomplished. The game they've been working on for 4 months (which is when the final project started) was great when I tested the beta out, and now it's going to gold so that's a plus so far.

By the way the game is King's Toll, just wanted to get the name out there. :D

Easier way? Learn to mod games and be active in the community and you will get a job placement if your mods are good enough.

Aku101

I know a guy who went to the Savannah College of Art and Design. Pretty good school and he did a great job there. Unfortunately, he's struggling big-time to get a job somewhere. I wouldn't suggest going into video game design, personally.