Whether you're just getting into game design or honing existing skills, the perfect game design program for you is out there. Read up on the 50 best undergraduate and 25 best graduate programs in the country and beyond.
Charting a path for your education isn't as easy as videogames make it out to be. As much as we'd love to become masters of our crafts by placing points into a skill tree or reading the right lore book from cover to cover, it actually calls for a skill even more impressive than acrobatics or speech: picking the right university for your needs. If you're interested in a career in game design, or curious about where you could fit in on a team of talented artists, here's your first stop.
Every year, the Princeton Review ranks the 50 best undergraduate and 25 best graduate programs for video game design, rated through a set of criteria from graduate employment percentage to notable alumni and faculty quality. These are the best of the best schools in the country and beyond, and reviewing these options—regardless of which you ultimately choose—is an excellent first step toward your dream career.
To get your creative juices flowing, we've also included some 'homework' projects based on real challenges game developers face today, and talk about how level design and animation help shape modern videogames.
Want to know more? Check out The Princeton Review's website for further info: www.princetonreview.com/game-design
UNDERGRADUATE RANKINGS
1. University of Southern California
2024 Grads Hired: 61%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $116,000
Faculty: TreaAndrea Russworm (Author, "Gaming Representation"), Mark Bolas (Founder, Fakespace Labs)
Graduates: Jenova Chen (Thatgamecompany), Brent Strong (Disney)
https://games.usc.edu/
2. New York University
2024 Grads Hired: 24%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $76,400
Faculty: Eric Zimmerman (Gamelab), Dr. Mitu Khandaker (Spirit AI)
Graduates: Jenny Jiao-Hsia (IGF), Carol Mertz (Exploding Kittens)
https://gamecenter.nyu.edu
3. Clark University
2024 Grads Hired: 65%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $69,000
Faculty: Ezra Cove (Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine), Scott Niemi
Graduates: Gary Goldberg (Fable Vision Studios), Stanley Pierre-Louis (ESA)
https://www.clarku.edu/interactive-media-bapr
4. University of Utah
2024 Grads Hired: 52%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $72,304
Faculty: Michael Young PhD, Jose Zagal PhD (Game Studies)
Graduates: Doug Bowser (COO of Nintendo), Nolan Bushnell (Found of Atari)
https://games.utah.edu/
5. University of Central Florida
2024 Grads Hired: 40%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $46,429
Faculty: Dr. Maria Harrington, Dr. Peter Smith
Graduates: Richard Ugarte (Epic), Alexia Mandeville (Niantic)
https://communication.ucf.edu/games-and-interactive-media
6. Rochester Institute of Technology
2024 Grads Hired: 91%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $83,600
Faculty: David I. Schwartz, Flip Philips
Graduates: Elan Lee (Exploding Kittens), Steven Van Slyke (co-inventor of OLED)
https://igm.rit.edu
7. Drexel University
2024 Grads Hired: 88%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $80,000
Faculty: Dr. Paul Diefenbach (OpenWorlds Inc.), Dr. Frank Lee
Graduates: Girish Balakrishnan (Netflix), Greg Lebanov (Chicory, Wandersong)
https://linktr.ee/gdap
8. Abertay University
2024 Grads Hired: 54%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $45,000
Faculty: Fraser Simpson (YoYo Games), Ruth Falconer (Women in Games)
Graduates: Zoe Sams (Riot), Richard Jolly (Splash Damage)
https://www.abertay.ac.uk/study-apply/how-to-apply
9. Champlain College
2024 Grads Hired: 64%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $50,226
Faculty: Jessie Leigh Gagnon (Riot Games, Phoenix Labs), Jason Della Rocca (Execution Labs)
Graduates: Heather Conover (Riot), Alex Martens (Rockstar)
gamestudio.champlain.edu
10. Michigan State University
2024 Grads Hired: 80%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $60,000
Faculty: Brian Winn (Will Winn Games), Ricardo Guimaraes (Blizzard, Ubisoft)
Graduates: Brian Murray (EA), Steven Messinger (Rockstar)
https://gamedev.msu.edu
11. DigiPen Institute of Technology
2024 Grads Hired: 44%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $91,870
Faculty: Claude Comair (Nintendo), Ellen Guon Beeman (EA, Microsoft)
Graduates: Kim Swift (Portal designer), Alex Williams (Studio Wildcard)
www.digipen.edu
12. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
2024 Grads Hired: 50%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $82,000
Faculty: Ben Schneider (Standing Stone, Turbine), Walt Yarbrough (EA, Turbine)
Graduates: Michael Gesner (Riot), Jon Radoff (Beamable)
https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/interactive-media-game-development
13. Falmouth University
2024 Grads Hired: 35%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $27,500
Faculty: Tanya Krzwinska, William Huber
Graduates: Rex Crowle (Media Molecule), Sophie Shepher (Respawn)
https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/departments/games-academy
14. Savannah College of Art and Design
2024 Grads Hired: 6%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $55,000
Faculty: Nye Warburton, Cyril Guichard (Electrotank)
Graduates: Chad Dezem (Insomniac), Harrison Pink (Blizzard)
https://www.scad.edu/admission/admission-information
15. Shawnee State University
2024 Grads Hired: 50%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $73,500
Faculty: Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme, Greg Lyons
Graduates: Dan Clark (Epic), Derek Lewis (Insomniac)
https://www.shawnee.edu/admission
16. Vancouver Film School
2024 Grads Hired: 14%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $65,000
Faculty: Ramus Dahl Tindborg (Klei), Joe Bonar (Unity)
Graduates: Armando Troisi (MY.GAMES, Ubisoft), Jack Kelly (New World Interactive)
vfs.edu/programs/game-design
17. Purdue University
2024 Grads Hired: 84%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $65,093
Faculty: Robert Howard, Jeffery Kesselman
Graduates: Jeff Hanna (Volition), Keith Self-Ballard (PlayStation)
https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/profile/davewhit
18. Full Sail University
2024 Grads Hired: 7%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $62,109
Faculty: Graham Leeb, Jason Hinders
Graduates: Alejandro Garcia-Tunon (Ghostpunch Games), Shaun McCabe (Insomniac)
https://www.fullsail.edu
19. LaSalle College Vancouver
2024 Grads Hired: 52%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $55,000
Faculty: Saeed Mirjalili PhD, Ivaldo de Sosa
Graduates: Jarett Metcalfe (EA), Dani Merrithew (Blizzard)
https://www.lasallecollegevancouver.com
20. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2024 Grads Hired: 27%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $74,917
Faculty: Maurice Suckling (Epic, 2K), Philip Vanderhyden
Graduates: Karthik Bala (Velen Studios), Jesse Schell (Schell Games)
https://hass.rpi.edu/games-and-simulation-arts-and-sciences
21. Quinnipiac University
2024 Grads Hired: 4%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $68,000
Faculty: Roger Clark (Rockstar), Peter Zoppi (Treyarch)
Graduates: Donovan Sepulveda (Riot), Zaria Brogdon (Rockstar)
games.qu.edu
22. Howest University of Applied Sciences
2024 Grads Hired: 44%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: NR
Faculty: Tristan Clarysse (Larian, Bioware), Kevin Hoefman (Larian)
Graduates: NR
https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/
23. Bradley University
2024 Grads Hired: 39%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $50,000
Faculty: David Abzug (Deep Silver), Ray Hazlip (Deep Silver)
Graduates: Diana Hughes, Joseph Lax (Sony Santa Monica)
https://www.bradley.edu/academic/departments/im/major/game-design/
24. University of Wisconsin-Stout
2024 Grads Hired: 22%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $64,065
Faculty: Dr. Andrew Williams, Kim Loken
Graduates: Jose Estrada (Riot), Margaret Rigotti (Dreamworks)
https://www.uwstout.edu/programs/bfa-game-design-development-art
25. New England Institute of Technology
2024 Grads Hired: 35%
2024 Grads Mean Salary: $50,000
Faculty: William Culbertson (Hasbro), Jordan Dubreuil
Graduates: Mr. Daniel Laba (Blizzard), Daniel Cuccia (Sony)
www.neit.edu
