Rankings for animation/game design schools

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>Pamela, FIT ( Fashion Institute of Technology) is a NY State public school and is considered quite good for a lot of art and design programs. Don’t let the name fool you. I know it has a decent program in Animation and Interactive media. SUNY purchase has a decent art program,but it doesn’t have a strong program in the digital arena as far as I can see. Check out Alfred State University’s program in Expanded Media and Electronic Integrated Art. In addition to the public ones that I mentioned, NY has a lot of good programs such as at Parsons, Pratt, SVA, RIT, Rennsselaer etc. However, most of these latter programs are private schools.Although Rochester Institute of Technology is a private school, they tend to give away a lot of scholarship money. You should check them out too.</p>

<p>As for Towson, I would bet that the software is up to date. One question you might want to ask is whether they teach 3d animation at all. If so, do they teach and/or use Maya!</p>

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<p>Ok just checked. In the digital design concentration they have three 3d courses. They use MAYA and gamesalad (like I have a clue what I am talking about!). Interesting - they also offer a certificate in this program now as well as weekend classes. The software is up to date. I found the list of computers and software applications online. Going to look into Rochester too. Purchase is 10 minutes from our house. Too close for comfort - LOL and we looked into new paltz but it seemed much more fine arts focused. Alfred might be an option. I wonder if FIT has a graduate program. Thinking after his bachelors he will work in NY and go to school. I guess at that point there are better schools for his MFA than FIT. Well thanks for your help! As you can see I need it!</p>

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<p>FIT does have a grad program. Upon reviewing their grad offerings, I didn’t see anything in 3d or animation for grad work. If he is interested in grad programs, I would strongly suggest School of Visual Arts that is reputed to have the best grad program on the east coast for 3d computer art and interactive graphics. Yes, it isn’t cheap because it is a private school. Even worse, they are a for profit school and give very little scholarships. However, they have fabulous connections. Other strong grad programs for 3d on the east coast would be Pratt and RIT.</p>

<p>Pamela, three courses in 3d sound good, however, there are dozens of areas that a good 3d curriculum would cover besides three courses. Two courses alone can be devoted to animation and modeling each. you could have whole courses in Matte Painting, lighting, skinning, programing using Houdini, Python and mel script, VFX, Rigging, texturing etc. Trust me: Three courses aren’t enough.
As for helping you, I would be glad to do so anytime. I really studied these programs for my daughter.</p>

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<p>Pamela, I focused on schools in NY. SCAD has some strong offerings in both 2d and 3d with additional courses in sequential art. They are also a private school , and I don’t know whether they have the same connections as SVA.</p>

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<p>Thanks taxguy…this is really very informative and a little overwhelming too! Never realized a masters degree was going to be involved as well. Have you looked at Towson’s site recently? If not would you mind checking out their program since you have done so much research? Would appreciate your input as this changed in 2011. Thanks so much again…and yes, I also heard Pratt was awesome!</p>

<p>[Degree</a> Requirements - Digital Art & Design Track - Art + Design Major - Undergraduate Programs - Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education - Towson University](<a href=“http://www.towson.edu/art/undergraduate/artstudio/digitalartdesign/degreerequirements.asp]Degree”>http://www.towson.edu/art/undergraduate/artstudio/digitalartdesign/degreerequirements.asp) This launched in 2011.</p>

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<p>Pamela, If I were you, I would compare what Towson has as offerings to that of SCAD, Pratt and SVA. Also,Ask Towson what companies participate in internships.</p>

<p>Frankly, the Towson program didn’t look bad. I know that they have a new building and new facilities too. It just isn’t known in the industry for animation or Motion. Maybe they are good. It’s just too hard to tell. </p>

<p>By the way, be advised that Towson’s Digital Design program is a screened program. If your son is not already admitted, he would need a minimum gpa of 2.67 and have no course under B-. In addition, he would need to submit a digital portfolio. It doesn’t seem like a slam dunk that he would get in. What will he do if he doesn’t maintain the required GPA or have a sufficient portfolio? He probably couldn’t transfer at that point. Did you ask yourself that question? To me, this is a much more important issue.</p>

<p>As far as realizing a masters degree would be necessary, we didn’t know that either. It probably isn’t necessary for web design, which is the primary focus of most digital design programs. Additional training would only be very useful if you kid wants some facit of Digital Design other than web design. However, as I said, Digital Design programs do provide a strong foundation for most types of digital work and grad study. A kid just probably needs additional study for a few of the specialized areas such as animation, whether 2d or 3d or smart phone application design and programing.</p>

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<p>The Princeton Review ranks programs/majors in various colleges/universities. Here is the 2012 ranking for game design:</p>

<p>Game Design Ranking by Princeton Review 2012 Top Five</p>

<p>Undergraduate</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Univ. of Southern California</p></li>
<li><p>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</p></li>
<li><p>University of Utah</p></li>
<li><p>DigiPen Institute of Technology</p></li>
<li><p>The Art Institute of Vancouver</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Graduate</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Univ. of Southern California</p></li>
<li><p>Rochester Institute of Technology</p></li>
<li><p>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</p></li>
<li><p>Univ. of Central Florida</p></li>
<li><p>Southern Methodist Univ.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>The entire list can be accessed on the Princeton Review website.</p>

<p>Criteria Used:</p>

<p>Faculty
Curriculum
Facilities
Infrastructure
Scholarship Data
Financial Aid
Career Opportunities</p>

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<p>Thanks for the list, GeorgiaGirl. And thanks for your expertise, Taxguy. </p>

<p>S (10th grade) is interested in game development and is still trying to figure out if he should go towards game development or character development. It’s so confusing out there with disjointed information.</p>

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<p>Game development is often broken down into 1) game design: creating the story, designing game mechanics, gameplay, level design, rules, scoring, etc, and 2) programming–often referred to as development in the game world. The art assets (character art, level background art, animation) are not called “game design” in most Interactive Media programs. It is confusing!</p>

<p>If a student loves “story,” loves creating puzzles, loves to invent new worlds–they are headed in the direction of game designer. (major: game design/Interactive media)</p>

<p>If they love all that, but their great skills are working with people, setting deadlines, keeping all the different creative folks heading for the right goal, they sound like a game producer (major: game design, or CompSci (games), or Business with games emphasis)</p>

<p>If they have studio art skills/background, love to draw characters, settings. Use 3-D animation programs or want to, they are sounding like a Game Artist (major: animation, digital art, etc–often found in non-university art schools)</p>

<p>If they love to figure out how to make a game work, love to code, have tried Unity, HTML5, et al, they are sounding like a future developer (programmer) and might major in CompSci, especially at schools that have a games emphasis.</p>

<p>While many of these jobs loosely fall under Game Design, they require different talents, skill sets, and training. From fine art to Story writer to coding software, the student may need very different educational training.</p>

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<p>Thanks, madbean, for your expertise. I’m going to print this out for my DS!</p>

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<p>Madbean, thanks for the game development breakdown. I will share this with my DS who wants to pursue a career in game design. He says his focus is game programming, but I still think your description would benefit him to see the other options.</p>

<p>BTW - any opinions on college majors for game programming? Some colleges offer degrees in Video Game Design/Development, but if you’re going into programming do you think it would be safer to major in CS with a specialization in say video game programming? I would think it is very difficult to get a job in game programming and therefore CS would leave you many more job options!</p>

32

<p>RIT has a game design major with a programming emphasis. In fact, you probably can double major in computer science there.</p>

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<p>This is a relatively new specialty field for college graduates, and yet I’ve seen first-hand the hiring frenzy for those with this training. Really a wonderful boom time amid other professions that seem to offer less opportunities at the present. Of course, everything is subject to change. Console games were huge for many years, but a sudden switch to social games (FB, online) radically altered the marketplace (and job openings). Almost as suddenly, the mobile game changed platforms of choice, and programmers needed different skills/languages. The best schools must keep up with such a rapidly changing universe and that isn’t easy.</p>

<p>For those who want to pursue game programming at a 4-year university, there are several California schools who offer CS majors with specialties in games such as the top-ranked games specialty at USC Viterbi, as well as a five-year old program at UC Santa Cruz, and a newer one at UC Irvine. Typically, CompSci departments with games specialties pursue close ties with the games industry and often feature perks like on campus internships/job fairs, industry insiders who become adjunct professors, career-centers with up-to-date job postings in this specific field, and other help into the field after graduation. USC, for example, is the school I know best (both sons there) and it has official connections with companies like Microsoft, Disney Interactive, Sony, and Naughty Dog, to name only a few. In fact, literally hundreds of game industry professionals attend USC’s end-of-semester final game project presentations. This is not the only way to go. Other strong university CompSci programs (CMU, MIT, et al) while reach colleges for most, will naturally give a student a great leg up, no matter what specialty they want to pursue. </p>

<p>I’ve also heard about other schools entering this specialty on the programming side, so this list is very incomplete. But looking at GeorgiaGirl’s post may give you a place to start.</p>

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<p>Princeton Review just released the top Game Design School Rankings. I thought I would paste them here to help out others looking into these schools. My S used last year’s rankings as a start to decide where to apply. He applied to 8 schools on the list and so far has been accepted to 6 (Utah, DePaul, Drexel, Becker, Miami, MSU) and waiting to hear from the last 2 (WPI and Northeastern.) He wanted to be in or near a city. He is also leaning to the programming side but enjoys the graphic design side too. In some schools he applied as a CS major with an emphasis in Games, and other schools as a Game Design major. It is like comparing apples and oranges as schools are trying to figure out what to do with this unique major. Any thoughts on these schools would be helpful. (FYI-My S looked at USC seriously but did not apply because he did not think it would be a good fit for him as an undergrad. My older son went to USC for 2 years and was very successful there but didn’t like his program in the music school and transferred to a better fit for him-where he is very happy.) </p>

<p>So here is the list-The Princeton Review’s “Top 15 Undergraduate Schools to Study Video Game Design for 2013(in order of ranking)”:</p>

<pre><code>University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia / CAN)
Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
Becker College (Worcester, MA)
New England Institute of Technology (East Greenwich, RI)
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
</code></pre>

<p>The Princeton Review’s “Top 15 Graduate Schools to Study Video Game Design for 2013” are:</p>

<pre><code>University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
New York University / NYU-POLY (New York, NY)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Parsons The New School for Design (New York, NY)
DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
</code></pre>

<p>Honorable Mentions – Undergraduate Schools (alpha order):</p>

<p>Bradley University (Peoria, IL)</p>

<p>Champlain College (Burlington, VT)</p>

<p>DePaul University (Chicago, IL)</p>

<p>Ferris State University (Grand Rapids, MI)</p>

<p>Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)</p>

<p>Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)</p>

<p>Miami University (Oxford, OH)</p>

<p>New York University / NYU-POLY (New York, NY)</p>

<p>Northeastern University (Boston, MA)</p>

<p>Oklahoma Christian University (Edmond, OK)</p>

<p>Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT)</p>

<p>University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)</p>

<p>The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)</p>

<p>University of Wisconsin – Stout (Menomonie, WI)</p>

<p>Vancouver Film School (Vancouver, British Columbia / CAN)</p>

<p>Honorable Mentions – Graduate Schools (alpha order):</p>

<p>Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)</p>

<p>Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)</p>

<p>Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT)</p>

<p>University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)</p>

<p>Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)</p>

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<p>Thanks for the 2013 list. My DS’14, as a junior, also has used the 2012 list to start his search. My concern with the game development degree is its limits on job opportunities. I think a CS degree with a concentration in game programming is much more open to career opportunities, but it is my son going to college not me so I can only advise him. Also, if he majors in CS with a concentration in game development will that equate to less opportunities in the game programming field (which is where he says he wants to be)? So I have been trying to advise him to look at colleges that have both CS and Game Development (programming side) to leave his options open in case he changes his mind. Does Becker offer a CS degree? I don’t think I saw it on their website, but if they do I would also encourage my son to apply there.</p>

<p>Anyone with any information on the undergrad programs??</p>

36

<p>The liting of schools also came with a link to PCGamer magazine which supposedly today will post their descriptions of each school with strengths and weaknesses.</p>

<p>My son is waiting to hear back from a few schools.</p>

<p>One of his acceptances is intriguing … Miami University of Ohio … On the alpha 15-30 list. Do you have any opinions on the gaming program?</p>

<p>I am wondering about a small but growing interdesciplinary gaming program within a larger university setting for a geeky guy. I like the healthy male female ratio since he gets along with women better than men and I assume the intimate program creates a community. Any thoughts? They are offering a full tuition scholarship. Th</p>

37

<p>MDQ, my son got into Miami but ruled it out because of its location. Also, we are in the Chicago area and there are a lot of local kids that go there and we have heard mixed reviews. It has a reputation that it is very “preppy” - yes that is the term I still heard used- with a lot of people in fraternities and sororities. I have also talked to a recent grad who said that is not entirely a fair reputation. I also talked to an admissions persons there and I think they are developing a new major in this area, so I would inquire about that.
We recently visited University of Utah and my son really liked it. He was very excited to hear it ranked #1 this year. The people in charge of the program that we met were great and spent a lot of time with us. Their program is pretty rigid with not a lot of room for electives, but my s thought the classes looked great. Plus, it is easy to establish residency for sophomore year and pay the $7k in-state tuition.
We are still waiting to hear about scholarships from several other schools- should be interesting April!</p>

38

<p>Leilajean, I’ve been doing an incredible amouont of premliminary research (via the Princeton List) and just saw the update yesterday as well. Thanks for sharing.<br>
I was wondering if you visited any of the other schools yet that your son applied to and what his/your thoughts about them are. We are looking to make visit plans and really don’t know quite where to begin. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, are ANY of these schools generous with aid/scholarships? I certainly hope so!! Thank you!!</p>

39

<p>I’m just so happy this thread has kept going because I learn something new with each post. The big takeaway I have is this industry is emerging faster than I can type and the traditional schools are clamoring to get with the program or they will lose out - life is tough enough for them already. My son is still in Towson which hasn’t even ranked and only launched their digital design concentration last year. He is staying another year as he will be a sophomore with hopefully a better idea of area of focus and then depending on towson’s progress with their program will either decide to go back to school in ny or stay. Very confusing I must say!!</p>

40

<p>Has anyone been successful in accessing the school info on PCGamer? I am failing miserably:(</p>