| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York University | New York |
| 2 | Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester |
| 3 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy |
| 4 | The New School | New York |
| 5 | Cornell University | Ithaca |
For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
New York University’s (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts (NYU Tisch) houses NYU Game Center, which consists of the Game Design BFA, MFA, and minor programs. Single courses are available for students enrolled in most majors. Course examples include 3D Game Studio-Unity; Game Design I-II; Game Development-Team Studio; and Code Lab.
All degree-seeking students have the opportunity to participate in workshops, tournaments, and playtests; professional game conferences such as PRACTICE—Game Design in Detail; The Game Center Incubator; and study abroad experiences at any one of NYU’s 14 global academic centers in Abu Dhabi, Ghana, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Madrid, London, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Paris, Sydney, Washington D.C., Prague, Berlin, and Florence. Students also have opportunities to intern at places such as Disney, Riot Games, and Blizzard Entertainment.
The Game Design BFA culminates with a capstone project. The MFA culminates with a thesis. Capstone and thesis projects can be completed individually or with a group. MFA projects will be presented at the NYU Game Center Spring Show. Across programs, graduates have been hired at places such as Tencent Games, Microsoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Rockstar Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Google, Disney, Ubisoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), Riot Games, Nickelodeon, Amazon, Nintendo, and Ubisoft.
In 2016, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) became the world’s first university to publish a video game on the Xbox One gaming platform. The school is also home to Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS), which houses the School of Interactive Games and Media (IGM). Degree paths include the BS and MS in Game Design and Development (GDD); an accelerated BS/MS; and minors in Game Design and Game Development. RIT’s College of Art and Design’s School of Design also has a STEM-designated 3D Digital Design BFA with specializations in Game Arts and 3D Visualization.
All students may participate in Creative Industry Day. This networking event welcomes reps from places such as Epic Games, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Students also have the opportunity to complete up to two paid blocks of cooperative education experiences with places such as Epic Games, Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), and Google.
Other program highlights include lectures, workshops, seminars, and demonstrations by industry professionals; access to state-of-the-art production facilities and the Digital Games Hub; independent study; and the opportunity to develop and commercialize student games at RIT’s MAGIC Spell Studios.
Undergraduate programs culminate with a final project and capstone show. Students in the GDD MS program will complete a capstone project including the 700-level Capstone Design and Capstone Development courses.
Graduates of the GDD and 3D Digital Design programs at RIT can be found at places such as Tencent Games, Disney, Lockheed Martin, Rockstar Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Microsoft, Epic Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), Riot Games, Apple, Electronic Arts (EA), Insomniac Games, and Nickelodeon.
The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) houses the Games and Experiential Media (GEM) Department. At the undergraduate level, GEM has a Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) BS with six concentrations including Electronic Arts; Computer Science; Writing; Cognitive Science; Music; and Management. At the graduate level, the department houses the Critical Game Design (CGDS) MS and PhD programs. As part of HASS, all options are Houdini Certified, with access to The Center of Excellence in Digital Game Development.
Funded by NYSTAR (Empire State Development Division of Science, Technology and Innovation), the center hosts the Game Developers Conference (GDC); STEAM educational programs; GameFest; lectures and technical workshops; a games incubator known as the Level Upstate Mentorship Program; game jams and hackathons; and research in fields such as game AI, virtual reality, wargaming, and historical simulations.
Other program highlights include interdisciplinary curriculums that allow students to explore areas such as 3D animation, music and audio for games, programming, experimental game design, software engineering, and digital arts; professional internships; research projects and game prototypes; and the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (NTU Singapore).
GEM and other RPI alumni have been hired at places such as Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Electronic Arts (EA), DreamWorks Animation, Epic Games, Boeing, Disney, Hasbro, Apple, Gearbox Software, Lockheed Martin, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Adobe, Google, RTX, Amazon, IBM, Dell, HP, Red Hat, and Meta.
Parsons School of Design (Parsons) is The New School’s largest academic unit. Within Parsons is a STEM-Designated Design and Technology (DT) program with BFA and MFA options. The BFA program has two pathways including Game Design and Creative Technology. The MFA provides opportunities to work on projects with external partners such as Sony PlayStation, IBM, and Samsung. Graduate students also benefit from the Cloud Salon webinar series, which features guest speakers from places such as Meta Reality Labs.
Students in both programs have opportunities to visit or work on projects with Atari, Nickelodeon, Apple, and MTV, to name a few. Other DT program benefits include access to state-of-the-art production facilities; collaborative projects with students across all New School majors; professional internships; and study abroad experiences in places such as London, Florence, and Paris.
The Parsons DT BFA and MFA programs culminate with a thesis project. Graduates are often hired at places such as Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), Ubisoft, Twitch, Google, HBO, Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Amazon, Fjord, MTV, IDEO, Bose Corporation, Meta, Gensler, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
The Game Design Initiative at Cornell University (GDIAC) was the first program of its kind at an Ivy League School. Established in 2001, the initiative is housed in Cornell Bowers College of Computing and Information Sciences’ (CIS) Department of Computer Science. This interdisciplinary program consists of a Game Design minor open to students across all majors at Cornell. However, the minor is ideal for students in the Computer Science BS (CS BS) program, which also consists of course such as Algorithmic Game Theory; Advanced Topics in Computer Game Architecture; Machine Learning; and Cloud Computing.
Program highlights include project-based learning; curriculum that emphasizes gameplay design, software development, game analytics, and project management; the option to select courses from other departments—examples include Game Studies and Japan and History and Theory of Digital Art; and depending on the major, professional internships and participation in Cornell’s study abroad (SA) program, including locations such as China, India, Paris, Ghana, the UK, Denmark, and Madrid.
The GDIAC Game Design minor culminates with an individual or group project (console, mobile, PC, VR/AR). Final projects may be entered into the annual GDIAC Showcase. Cornell Games and CS graduates can be found at places such as Tencent Games, Nintendo, Riot Games, NASA, Apple, Microsoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Blizzard Entertainment, Google, PlayStation, Valve Corporation, Bethesda, Naughty Dog, Zynga, Oracle, TikTok, Meta, IBM, Dell, Hulu, and Snapchat.
