| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge |
| 2 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette |
| 3 | Loyola University New Orleans | New Orleans |
For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
Louisiana State University (LSU) provides several paths to study games. Options include the Digital Media Arts and Engineering MS (MS DMAE); a Digital Media Arts and Engineering (DMART) minor; and the minor in Digital Media Arts and Engineering Technology (DMAET). All students have 24/7 access to the DMAE LAB equipped with GameMaker; Microsoft Visual Studio; state-of-the-art Alienware workstations; a 1,500 square feet OptiTrack motion capture system; Autodesk Maya, Adobe, Epic Unreal, and SideFX Houdini; and Audio Recording Studios.
Other program benefits the opportunity to participate in the LSU Global Game Jam; collaborative, interdisciplinary projects; and the Digital Media Internship. All programs culminate with the Capstone Production Team course, where students will complete an approved final project. Graduates can be found at places such as Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Hearts Media Services, Google, and Meta.
The Ray P. Authement College of Sciences at University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette or UL) houses the School of Computing and Informatics. Within the school is a Computer Science BS program with a concentration in Video Game Design and Development. Program highlights include access to state-of-the-art production studios, the Virtual Reality Lab, Digital Media Resource Center (DMRC), and the Animation Studio; industry internships; and the opportunity to work on independent projects in areas such as AI, computer graphics, and human-computer interaction (HCI).
The Computer Science BS at UL Lafayette culminates with the Senior Project course, worth three credits. During the course, students will design and develop an original game. UL School of Computing and Informatics graduates go on to land positions with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Electronic Arts (EA), Amazon, Sledgehammer Games, Google, Blur Studios, Microsoft, IBM, Halliburton, Intel, and CGI.
Loyola University New Orleans (Loyno) provides two paths to study games. The College of Arts and Sciences, houses the Math and Computer Science Department, home to the Computer Science BS (CS BS) with a concentration in Game Programming. The College of Music and Media is home to the School of Communication and Design, which houses a BDes with a concentration in Interactive Design.
The CS BS (Game Programming) is a focused, technical degree that covers areas such as programming languages, computer graphics, software engineering, algorithms, and operating systems. A major component of the program is a professional internship that allows students to gain marketable experience at local, regional, and global game design studios.
The BDES (Interactive Design) is a broader degree that explores areas such as video games, artificial intelligence (AI), mobile apps, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), web design, and data visualization.
Other highlights across programs include in-demand electives; access to state-of-the-art production facilities; immersive workshops; collaborative projects; and participation in the Loyno study abroad program with opportunities to travel to places such as China, the UK, Japan, France, Korea, Switzerland, and India.
The CS BS (Game Programming) culminates with the Game Programming Capstone course. The BDes (Interactive Design) culminates with the Senior Capstone course and presentation at the Department of Design Senior Capstone Show.
Across programs and departments, graduates have been hired at places such as Electronic Arts (EA), Google, Disney Animation, Sledgehammer Games, Microsoft, Blur Studio, Epic Systems, Oracle, Meta, inXile Entertainment (an Xbox Game Studio), Survios, Intel, Deloitte, Yahoo, KPMG, and Red Hat.
