<p>Some great information has been posted about these new gaming degrees that have been popping up all over. Personally I would assume that a CS degree provides stronger programming background.</p>
<p>The industry is also going through some tough times right now with a lot of studio closures, and working conditions are already not the best at most gaming studios. Pretty much the conditions of the game industry is where the vfx industry has been heading in the past few years. Here’s a list of just some of the recent closures:
[In</a> case you weren’t aware of just how bad the gaming and VFX industries have gotten, here’s a list of the major layoffs/closures just in the LAST FEW MONTHS](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/bros4oh"]In”>Reddit - Dive into anything)</p>
<p>That said, if you are good, chances are that you will still be able to find a job among all the competition out there.</p>
<p>Having worked in academia now for 15 years, I can say with fair certainty that overall rankings are not often indicative of the quality of instruction found at each school – and I think this is the most important area. </p>
<p>The scores don’t necessarily reflect the faculty’s ability to instruct and support student learning. Nor do the rankings normally rate program structure, and to what degree it is relevant in contemporary markets.</p>
<p>Buyer beware when looking at cumulative scores.</p>
<p>Couldn’t have said it better RainingAgain. As a marketer/advertiser I am skilled at making numbers dance. As a mom I have witnessed teachers coaching students during standardized tests to keep their class ranks up and even more importantly for the city to keep the real estate tax base high. I am now involved in marketing in the edu industry which has been more than an eye opener to say the least. Rankings are about revenue. Plain and simple. I am sorry to be a cynic and I know there will be critics. I’m sure there is correlation between ranking and quality but it is like anything else. You must research. It is NOT a perfevt science or a shoe in to success. You have to weigh all options. You can be at the highest ranked school and ignored or out competed. You can go to the finest hospital in the world but if you have a crappy surgeon you are going to die.</p>
<p>Rankings: I agree with the comments about rankings. I even told the folks at Utah that they really were good at answering those survey questions! In the area of game design/programming/development, I thought this list was helpful to just locate the colleges that even offered classes in this new area. There were schools on this list that I would have never even thought to have my s look at until saw them on the list. So in that sense, it was a great start. I also know that finding the right fit is important, but sometimes you do not know whether a school is a right fit or not until you get there. As I said earlier, my older transferred from USC (a highly ranked school) to a much smaller “unranked” school CalArts, that he had not even considered when he was in high school. Also, both my husband and I transferred after our second year in a very highly ranked college because we didn’t think it was a good fit for us.
Game Design Search: Knowing all that, we try to make sure our S is doing the research on these schools and trying to find the right place for him. We did rule out some of the schools on the list because they were not regionally accredited and we were concerned that if he did not like the school, he would have a problem with transferring credits. Also, I do like the schools where he can get a CS degree with an emphasis in game design/programming rather than just a Game Design degree. But that will be his choice. </p>
<p>tpcrd66- If you want to PM me, I can give you more thoughts on visits and scholarships. Happy to talk about it more.</p>
<p>I agree with Rainingagain and pamela103. I see Full Sail is on the list and that school is all about marketing and profit. More than one CC’r (including myself) recommends staying far far away from them.</p>
<p>Agree about the rankings, and taking the info with a grain of salt, but also that pertains to advertised info in general. Think about any school you have visited and their info sessions. The object is to make the sale!! Presented information is just a stepping stone, then thorough research must take place in order to make an educated decision!</p>
<p>I also found pumpkinking’s link enlightening, and it further cemented my belief that majoring in CS with a concentration/minor in game programming is the most logical pursuit. I hope that my DS also sees this, but in the end it is his decision!!</p>
<p>Now we are looking at the following for game design. The multidisciplinary focus for these schools seems to have cracked open this major. It is no longer just art or coding. Thank you for the list but Inam eager to read the reviews of each program.</p>
<p>Miami of Ohio (merit scholarship)
UCSC (in state)
Rensselaer
Rochester(merit scholarship)</p>
<p>Hi MQD, what school did you choose? My DS is also looking into this major and I’m interested in RIT, UCSC. He’s still a sophomore in high school and we’re NYers. Has anyone tried the FIT classes? Or can anyone recommend any NYC classes in CS or gaming (not ID tech camp). Thank you!</p>
<p>“The criteria we used in making this list consists, in no particular order, of the following: academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of the program and faculty, value as it relates to tuition, and geographic location. The last factor is worthy of further explanation. As we researched schools and spoke with working professionals in the industry, it became more and more evident that the location of a school really matters in the fields of animation and gaming, perhaps much more so than in many other professions. Students who attend school in animation and game design meccas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando, and to a slightly lesser extent New York City, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, and a few other cities have a distinct advantage over students in other parts of the country in terms of networking opportunities, internships, free-lance gigs, and career specific part-time work. Does that mean you must attend school in one of these cities to work in the animation or game design industry? Absolutely not. But schools located in these cities do offer real advantages that are less available elsewhere.”</p>
Any way around that?</p>