The University of Utah’s renowned Entertainment Arts & Engineering video game design program again was ranked among the best such schools in the country, according to the latest rankings by Princeton Review.
This year, EAE’s undergraduate and graduate programs each were ranked 3rd in the country. The undergraduate program has been ranked in the top three since 2011 and was previously ranked No. 1 in 2013 and 2016. Similarly, the graduate program has been in the top five since 2013, earning the top spot in 2015. It was ranked 3rd last year.
EAE is an interdisciplinary program launched in 2007 and represents work between the University of Utah’s College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts. The undergraduate program is part of the College of Engineering’s School of Computing.
Below is the news release from Princeton Review.
NEW YORK, March 21, 2017 — The Princeton Review™ today released its eighth annual ranking lists naming the best undergraduate and graduate schools for students to study—and launch a career in—game design.
The University of Southern California captured the #1 spot on the undergraduate schools list (up from #2 in 2016). Southern Methodist University ranked #1 on the graduate schools list (also up from #2 last year).
The full lists, which name the “Top 50” undergraduate and “Top 25” graduate schools, are posted at Top Schools for Game Design 2017. There, users can also get information on The Princeton Review’s methodology for this project and its detailed profiles of the schools with guidance for applicants on their programs, admission requirements, and financial aid.
The Princeton Review chose the schools based on its 2016 survey of 150 institutions in the U.S., Canada and abroad offering game design degree programs or courses. The 40-question survey gathered data on everything from the schools’ game design academic offerings and lab facilities to their graduates’ starting salaries and career achievements. More than 40 data points in four areas (academics, faculty, technology, and career) were analyzed to tally the lists.
Game design is an exciting field and programs are springing up in colleges all over the world,
said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor in Chief. We want to help students find the best program for their needs and interests. The top schools on our lists have outstanding faculties and great facilities which will give students the skills and experience they need to pursue a career in this dynamic and burgeoning field.
Undergrad and grad students enrolled in the schools that made the lists also gain valuable professional experience while in school. According to The Princeton Review’s 2016 survey of administrators at the schools, about 89% of their undergrad and/or graduate game design students that graduated in their 2016 classes developed actionable plans to launch games while in school. Moreover, 57% of undergrads and 65% of grad students at these school programs worked on games that were shipped before they graduated.
The Princeton Review has reported its game design program rankings annually since 2010. It has teamed up with PC Gamer , a monthly magazine published by Future plc, as its reporting partner on this project since 2013. PC Gamer’s May issue has a feature on the ranking lists that details the schools’ unique programs, prominent professors, and alumni. The issue lands in subscriber mailboxes this week and on newsstands 3/28.
The “Top 25” schools on The Princeton Review list, “Top 50 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2017,” are:
- University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
- Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
- University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
- DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
- Becker College (Worcester, MA)
- Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
- New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
- The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia)
- Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
- Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
- Vancouver Film School (Vancouver, British Columbia)
- Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
- Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
- Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
- University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
- The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
- DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
- Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
- Ferris State University (Big Rapids, MI)
- University of California-Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
- Cogswell College (San Jose, CA)
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
- Miami University (Oxford, OH)
For the full list of top 50 undergraduate schools, go to Top Schools for Game Design 2017.
The Princeton Review’s “Top 25 Graduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2017” are:
- Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
- University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
- University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
- Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
- University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
- New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
- DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
- Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
- Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
- DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
- Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
- University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
- American University (Washington, DC)
- Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)
- Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT)
- The Ohio State University—Columbus (Columbus, OH)
- University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI)
- Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
- University of Malta (Msida, Malta)
- University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
- University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL)