<p>Hi, I'm posting on this forum in the hopes that somebody will know of a college that I have missed in all of my searching. Any help will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I am trying to find accredited colleges that will give me a solid computer science degree, as well as offering plenty of education in the field of video game programming. I don't want to close of all my options so that I can only do video games; I'd like to be able to pursue any career that having a regular computer science degree would allow me to. At the same time, however, I want an intensive education in video game design/programming, since that is currently what I believe I will want my career to be.</p>
<p>So far, the only really good college I have found is USC. As far as I can tell, USC looks perfect for what I want. It has a "Computer Science (Games)" bachelor's degree that gives a solid computer science education, combined with a selection of about 28 game-related courses. I can also get a Master's in games, and a PhD if I decide I want one.</p>
<p>However, I'm worried, because all of the other universities I have looked at are not nearly as good. I think the runner-up (Georgia Tech) had about 5 video-game related courses, and even then they are for graduate students only. Of course, I understand that a university like DigiPen can give me an outstanding education in video games; however, because it doesn't have respectable accreditation, it won't prepare me for a career in much else. I want to keep my options open, and so far, USC is the only college I have seen that will let me do that.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any other colleges that are close to what I am looking for? If not, could somebody at least affirm that USC is the right choice for me? Again, thanks very much in advance for any help.</p>
<p>Here are some other schools to consider. Worcester Polytech, Stevens Institute of Technology, DePaul, Michigan State, and UC Santa Cruz. They all have computer gaming/computer science programs. Also, Penn State and RPI have some courses, but I don't know much about their programs.</p>
<p>I have no idea where you are looking, or what your stats or finances are, but maybe look at Rochester Institute of Technology. Although it is mostly a graduate program within the CS department, I think they offer an undergrad concentration in it.</p>
<p>Thank you both very much for your replies! I'll definitely look into those. I was already planning on going out of state (although probably still in the US), and as far as finances are concerned, I'll just have to find a way to pay for whatever college I decide to go to --- I think it's most important that I get the best education I can find, rather than trying to pinch pennies (I am hopefully going to get a National Merit Scholarship anyway, which should help somewhat). If I wind up with a huge student loan, well, I hear they're really low interest anyway :)</p>
<p>As far as my "stats" are concerned, I'm hoping that I have what it takes to get into my college of choice. My SAT score is 2300 total(800 in math, 800 in writing, 700 in critical reading). I maintain an above-3.5 grade average, often 4.0. I'll have already completed a year of college classes by the time I get out of high school. Hopefully, those statistics alone should qualify me for most colleges ^_^</p>
<p>yeah, the first thing that came to mind to me was USC (eh, besides the obvious bias :D). a friend of a friend in the BS CS Game program said one of the introductory classes basically entails playing old arcade games and determining what aspects of the game made it appealing/fun, etc. it doesn't get more direct than that haha.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much. This has been helpful in broadening my options for colleges. USC still looks the best to me, which is good, because this has helped me affirm that it is probably the best college for me. But now I can go about making a second choice, and a third choice, and a fourth choice. DePaul and UC Santa Cruz are looking pretty good right now.</p>
<p>I had some questions about colleges that were mentioned, if anyone has an answer. I couldn't find any game-related degrees or courses in Stevens Institute of Technology, Michigan State, or Penn State. It looks like Rochester Polytechnic Institute has (or is going to have) a game development minor, but I can't find it anywhere on their website. If anyone could give me more information on these, or show me a link that will get me to the degree and course descriptions, it would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Thank you very much. It looks like those colleges have OK video game specializations, but they only have about 5 or so classes. Still, it's more that I can add to my "second choice" or "safety" list. :)</p>
<p>By the way, does Carnegie Mellon have any game-related classes for undergraduates? I can find some OK graduate courses, but if they had undergrad classes, they would be a lot higher priority on my list of colleges.</p>
<p>for a safety, University of Hawaii has a new Video Game Design major that is actually really good because they have a partnership with some companies in Japan. The major is in the school for Academy of Creative Media at University of Hawaii Manoa. I was there for a year in the film program (the other major offered in the Creative Media program) and all the video game students were doing AMAZING stuff. I just transfered to USC though and the people here are doing really neat stuff to in the Interactive Media degree (and it has a minor in video game design). I love USC and I really think you should go. I honestly cant imagine a better school</p>
<p>This forum has been extremely helpful to me. I really can't thank you all enough for your input. I feel much more confident about my college choices now, and have many more choices than I did before.</p>
<p>@kaitylin:
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure if I can add Hawaii to my list or not. The problem with the game design degree is that is seems to be more grounded in art than in computer science. Although I suppose I could do a computer science degree too... well, we'll see.</p>
<p>Your comments on USC were very encouraging. So far I haven't heard anything bad about USC --- it's exciting to hear nothing but praise about the school I had originally picked as a first choice. I am probably going to try and visit sometime this school year.</p>
<p>Also consider Georgia Tech. They have professors in their non-engineering depts that do a fair amount of publishing about game development. Good engineering school. </p>
<p>There is a small school in VT called Champlain College that has video game development programs. Small school, more liberal arts based, but if that's what you're looking for...</p>
<p>Also, I believe SMU in Texas has always been a strong CS school and has a game development program. They have a special Game Development program <a href="http://guildhall.smu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://guildhall.smu.edu/</a> . I don't know how that coordinates with their regular degree programs. </p>
<p>RPI is in the process of getting a new game devlopment major approved (more CS that their current game development major, which is more liberal arts / art based). They also have several successful game development companies which have come out of the university environment.</p>
<p>If I were you, I'd ask how many of the grads go on to game development, and what their relationships are with the game development companies (look at where EA and others interview).</p>
<p>Cornell University: The Game Design Initiative at Cornell University (GDIAC) is a group of students, faculty, alumni, and community members who are devoted to the establishment of game design as an academic discipline.
GDIAC offers three formal courses in game design and development, which constitute the core of a Minor in Game Design offered by the College of Engineering and College of Computing & Information Sciences. Any Cornell student may take the Minor as part of their degree program regardless of their college.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvanis: The University of Pennsylvania's Department of Computer and Information Science now offers a one year Master's Degree program in Computer Graphics and Game Technology (CGGT). The goal of the program is to expose recent graduates, as well as students returning from industry, to state-of-the-art graphics and animation technologies, as well as interactive media design principles, product development methodologies and engineering entrepreneurship. This degree program will prepare students for positions requiring multi-disciplinary skills such as designers, technical animators and directors and game programmers. Opportunities for specialization will be provided in such core areas as art and animation, creative design, animation and simulation technology, human/computer interfaces and production management.</p>
<p>WPI: WPI offers an four-year B.S. degree in Interactive Media and Game Development (IMGD). WPI's IMGD major provides an outstanding cross-disciplinary education to its undergraduates in the principles of interactive applications and computer-based game development through a variety of courses and WPI's signature project-based learning. IMGD majors receive a base education in both the technical and artistic aspects of interactive media.</p>
<p>My son wanted exactly what you want and is now a freshman at University of Central Florida. He looked at, and was accepted by, other schools, like CMU and Rose-Hulman, but after seeing UCF, he just couldn't go anywhere else. It is an up-and-coming university that far exceeds its reputation. The stats available on the web and in Peterson's Guide are really two years old, so you can't see how much they have achieved, even during this short period of time. They offer good scholarships for National Merit Commended and up, too.</p>