Spotlight on 6 Top Video Game Design Schools

PRESENTED BY OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS

We asked top Game Design programs what they are most proud of with respect to their programs. Here’s what they said.

Top Undergraduate Programs in Game Design

1. Bradley University: “Bradley University is proud of the acclaim that our students' games have been receiving. We are one of only five schools nationally which had a student game featured at E3 2017. And are the only one of those five who also had student work in this year's IndieCade as an official selection. Bradley is also particularly proud of the notable successes that our female graduates have had in the (traditionally male-dominated) game industry. They have thrived and taken on leadership roles as technical artists, producers, artists, game designers, and programmers at companies such as Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft Game Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Obsidian Entertainment.”

2. Cogswell Polytechnic College: “Our faculty are game developers who have worked at companies such as Electronic Arts (EA), Activision/Blizzard, and Sony just to name a few. At Cogswell College, we inspire and challenge our students by providing experiences that emulate real-world game development. In our classes, workshops, and large projects students work with instructors who bring years of industry experience to the table. Together our instructors and students cover all aspects of game development. Whether your interest is Engineering, Game Art, Game Writing, or Audio you will have the opportunity to work alongside our faculty in creating the future of gaming.”

3. Drexel University: “Drexel's Game Design & Production provides a strong and broad foundation of skills across the field of digital content creation that enables our students to pursue obvious as well as hidden career paths. Drexel's program grew from our Digital Media department that offers an MS in addition to focused BS degrees, and now includes a PhD program. Our sister programs, Animation & Visual Effects and Interactive Digital Media, are joined by our new VR/Immersive Media program. All of these programs grew out of the core Digital Media program—not as token offerings, but as natural extensions of work already being done by our students and faculty.”

4. University of Utah: “The University of Utah's Entertainment Arts & Engineering program has a lot to be proud of. We are proud of our position as a world leader in games education, our cutting-edge games research, and our leading role in medical game development. However, we are most proud of the community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and industry professionals that we have created over the last 10 years. From the moment someone enters the University of Utah as an EAE student they begin to benefit from being connected to other people who are equally passionate about games and learning.”

5. Worcester Polytechnic Institute:  “As one of the pioneering programs in Interactive Media and Game Design (IMGD), we have the privilege of bringing together top professionals and scholars in media and games, from luminaries like Brian Moriarty (Infocom, LucasArts) and Lee Sheldon (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ubisoft) to up-and-coming visionaries like Gillian Smith (IndieCade award winner) and Ed Gutierrez (formerly Walt Disney Feature Animation). We have 17 faculty working 1-on-1 with undergraduate and graduate students to realize new applications and innovative approaches using state-of-the-art hardware and software. Our students have gone on to win a number of major awards based on games and media that they built at WPI, have started successful companies (WPI fosters and supports entrepreneurial endeavor), and have launched successful careers in a variety of fields. Our close partnerships with MassDigi and Different Games along with our strong presence at PAX East ensures that students get great visibility for their work, and our faculty are generous with their time and mentoring.”

Top Graduate Programs in Game Design

SMU Guildhall: Our faculty at SMU Guildhall are world class. By design, the faculty is recruited from the industry and the curriculum was designed in collaboration. Student games are produced by our faculty of professional developers, providing students with the ability to be mentored by thirty-year veterans of the industry. These relationships yield professional quality games and teams that are hired by studios all over the world. In fact, an entire student team was hired by Gearbox Software this year to develop an unannounced avant garde VR title. It is the first time in the history of game development programs that a major studio has hired an entire student team upon graduation. We have accumulated so much experience and talent in our faculty ranks that it has revolutionized game development programs worldwide.   

See all the Top Programs in Game Design.

Read about Graduate Programs in Game Design.