| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue University | West Lafayette |
| 2 | Indiana University Bloomington | Bloomington |
| 3 | Indiana University Indianapolis | Indianapolis |
For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
Purdue University is home to Purdue Polytechnic Institute, which houses the Department of Computer Graphics Technology (CGT). Within the department are several paths to study game design including the CGT BS with a major in Game Development and Design; a CGT MS; and a Technology PhD. All programs are hands-on and ABET-accredited with access to state-of-the-art labs such as the Games Innovation Laboratory; Visual Effects Lab; IDEA Laboratory; VR Lab; the Experience Design Laboratory (ExLab); and the CGT Computer Lab.
The CGT BS with a Game Development and Design major is a STEM-designated program that explores game design, visualization, rendering, animation, and programming. Students will have opportunities to engage in collaborative projects with peers and instructors. Past projects have focused on areas such as games utilization in entertainment; sustainable energy, medicine, and therapy; and information visualization.
The Game Design and Development major requires 54 credit hours, with 39 credit hours focused on games. Course examples include Introduction to Games; Fundamentals of Imaging Technology; Computer Graphics Programming; Game Development I: Core Skills and Technologies; Game Development II: Design and Psychology; User Experience Design Studio; Game Development Practicum; and Contemporary Problems in Applied Computer Graphics I-II.
For the culminating experience, all CGT BS students will complete a professional portfolio across several courses. Graduates are prepared to pursue roles in game design and development, animation, visualization, simulation, software design, and advertising, among others. Program alumni have been hired at places such as Electronic Arts (EA), Amazon, Riot Games, Lockheed Martin, Zynga, Raytheon, Boeing, PepsiCo, Endeavor Air, Caterpillar, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The CGT MS at Purdue Polytechnic enrolls approximately 100 students annually. The program provides five concentrations including Games; Animation; Virtual Reality and Visualization; UX Design; and Artificial Intelligence for Computer Graphics. Students in the Games concentration will take courses such as Game Development I-II; Computer Graphics Programming; Advanced Real-Time Computer Graphics; Games Research; Computer Shaders; Experimental Statistics; and Seminar in Computer Graphics Technology.
Other CGT MS features include small class sizes; opportunities to work on real-world projects; and research opportunities. Graduates are prepared to pursue teaching, research, and other leadership roles in areas such as game design and development, animation, virtual reality, UX design, visualization, software design, artificial intelligence, computer graphics programming, and simulation.
The CGT MS program at Purdue Polytechnic culminates with the MS Thesis completed across two courses. Program alumni have been hired at places such as Google, DreamWorks, Deloitte, and Salesforce.
The Technology PhD Program at Purdue University provides opportunities to work with faculty on computer graphics, visual computing, and human-computer interaction. The program also allows students to select 30 credit hours of courses selected from six schools and departments. These courses will help students build a custom specialization.
Technology PhD also have the opportunity to select 27 credit hours from any college or school other than Purdue Polytechnic. Students interested in games typically select Computer Graphics Technology, which includes game studies, human-computer interaction, computer animation, digital enterprise systems, user experience (UX) design, artificial intelligence, computational art, data visualization, and more.
The culminating experience for the Technology PhD program is the dissertation. Program alumni are prepared to pursue leadership roles in areas such as game design and development, software design, artificial intelligence, animation, simulation, virtual reality, UX design, visualization, and computer graphics programming. Program alumni also go on to pursue careers in research, education, and consulting.
Purdue University is Indiana’s only land-grant university. Established in 1869, the school serves approximately 60,240 students, making it the second largest university in the state. Approximately 11% of all students at Purdue are enrolled at Purdue Polytechnic Institute. More than 400 programs are provided across 11 academic colleges and schools—including Purdue Polytechnic. Purdue University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington) provides multiple paths to study games across several colleges and schools. All options provide access to GameDev@IU. This student-run organization hosts workshops; collaborative game design projects; and game jams. Students can also gain valuable hands-on experience through the Indiana University Bloomington Internship Program. Students have interned everywhere from General Motors to Google.
The Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering provides five distinct paths to study game design. Established in 2000 as the School of Informatics and serving more than 4,500 students, Luddy is one of the world’s largest technology and information schools, and among the first of its kind. Within the school are the Departments of Computer Science (est. 1971); Information and Library Science (est. 1951); Intelligent Systems Engineering (est. 2016); and Statistics (est. 2006).
Serving approximately 950 students enrolled in 11 programs at all degree levels, the Department of Computer Science provides a Computer Science BS (CSCIBS) with a Game Development specialization; an undergraduate Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI) minor; and the Animal Computer Informatics PhD and minor. The Luddy School also lists a Media Arts and Science BS (MAS BS) with a specialization in Game Design and Development.
Course examples across the CSCIBS and MAS BS include Creative Concept Development; Game On! A History of Games; Game Production; Game Programming; Virtual World Design and Development; Game Development; Character Design and Animation; Storyboarding for multimedia; Augmented Reality Application Design and Development; Artificial Intelligence; Game Testing and Evaluation; Creature and Character Design for Videogames, Comics, Film, and Animation; Games and Puzzles; and Advanced Game Design and Development.
The CSCIBS and MAS BS specializations in Game Development and Game Design and Development culminate with a senior project completed across two courses.
The undergraduate Animal-Computer Interaction minor is a unique program that provides access to courses such as Game Development; Introduction to Virtual Reality; Building Virtual Worlds; Creating Virtual Assets; Human Robot Interaction; Mobile Programming; Artificial Life in Virtual Reality; and Scientific Visualization. Students in the Animal Computer Informatics PhD program have access to the same courses, as well as options such as Experience Design; Interaction Design Methods; Advanced Prototyping; Applied Machine Learning; Makerspace-Design and Foundation; Elements of AI; and Computer Vision.
The College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington provides four paths to study game design. Programs are housed in the college’s Media School. Dating back to 1911 when IU established the Department of Journalism, this multidisciplinary academic unit attracts students seeking careers in game programming, animation, graphic design for multimedia, sound production, and music composition. Specific program options for game designers include the Game Design BS and minor; and a Media BA with a Media Technologies, Games and Culture concentration. A flexible CS BA is also conferred through the College of Arts and Sciences.
Media School students may select elective courses from the Luddy School; Jacobs School of Music; and Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design. Students may also pursue a Media specialization such as Game Production, Game Audio, or Game Art. Concentrations consist of five courses. Specializations require at least three courses.
Concentration course examples include Game Experience Design; Digital Media; Games, Culture, and Society; Animation for Digital Media; Game Production; Story Lab; Game Technology; Narrative Design; Game Art and Sound; and Media Technologies and Culture. Specialization course examples include Game Analytics; Game Character Art; Introduction to Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and Computer Music; Game Environment Art; Game Experience Design; Sound for Games and Playable Media; and Game Production.
Game Design BS students at Indiana University Bloomington have the option to select courses from several areas to create a specialization. Areas include Design-Game Design Theory; Programming; Design-Games and Mind; Art; Sound; and Management, Advertising, and Public Relations. The program begins with a mix of hands-on production classes and seminars. Students will gradually advance into upper division courses, including a three-semester, three-course Game Workshop Sequence. Courses include Game Workshop I-Prototype; Game Workshop II-Demo; and Game Workshop III-Publish. Modeled after today’s top game studios, the sequence culminates with an industry-ready published game.
Graduates of the Computer Science, Game Design, and Media programs at Indiana University Bloomington are prepared to pursue advanced roles across all areas of game design and development. Program alumni have been hired at studios such as Electronic Arts (EA), Rockstar Games, Ubisoft, Blizzard Entertainment, Zynga, Owlchemy Labs, Piperworks Studios, and Gearbox Software.
Established in 1820, Indiana University Bloomington was one of the first public universities west of the Allegheny Mountains. The school is also one of the first universities to admit women. The flagship campus of the Indiana University system, IU Bloomington serves approximately 48,425 of the systems nearly 90,000 students. Indiana University Bloomington is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indianapolis) houses the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering (Ludy Indy or Luddy School). Serving more than 4,500 students across the computing, social science, and information systems design disciplines, Luddy Indy is the first school of its kind in the U.S.
Students in the Luddy School have access to programs leading to a BA, BS, MS, BS/MS, PhD, minor, or certificate. Programs related to games include the Media Arts and Science BS (MAS BS), and the Game Design and Development (GDD) minor.
The Game Design and Development minor focuses on the creation of 2D and 3D games using Unity and Unreal 4. Consisting of 15-16 credit hours of study, the program requires one introductory course (Game Design Psychology: Theory and Prototyping); one 3D graphics or programming course such as Intro to Gameplay Scripting or Introduction to 3D; two gaming core courses (Introduction to Game Design and Development and Intermediate Game Design and Development; and an advanced course or elective such as Virtual World Design and Development; Serious Games and Simulations; Game Production; Web Game Development; or Creature and Character Design for Videogames, Comics, Film, and Animation.
Upon completion of the IU Indianapolis GDD minor, students are prepared to pursue titles such as Video Game Designer, Unity 3D Game Developer, World Designer, Unreal 4 Game Developer, Level Designer, or Sound Designer for Games.
The Luddy Indy Media Arts and Science BS is a customizable program that allows students to specialize in Game Design and Development; Digital Storytelling; 3D Graphics and Animation; Video Production and Sound Design; or Web Design and Development. Across all areas, students will explore emerging technology in games and visual effects (VFX).
The Game Design and Development (GDD) specialization also explores programming, storytelling, character animation, serious games, mobile games, simulations, and more. Recommended GDD courses come from several areas including Design, Programming, and Visualization. Examples include Game Production; Virtual World Design and Development; 2D Animation; Introduction to Comics and Sequential Narratives; Creature and Character Design for Videogames, Comics, Film, and Animation; Character Design and Animation; Augmented Reality Application Design and Development; Game Testing and Evaluation; Digital Painting; and Storytelling for Multimedia.
Students will also take required core courses such as Introduction to Gameplay Scripting; Game On! A History of Video Games; Game Design Psychology: Theory and Prototyping; and Advanced Game Design and Development. To enhance the degree, GDD students will take courses such as Creative Concept Development; Technology and the Law; and Introduction to HCI Theory. In addition, the program allows students to take courses from areas such as Film, Computer Science, Journalism, Informatics, and Music as well as supportive minors such as Studio Art and Technology.
The MAS BS/GDD program at Indiana University Indianapolis culminates with the Capstone Project Internship or Capstone Project—student’s choice. Capstone projects will be presented at an exhibition of all student work from the MAS program.
Graduates of the MAS BS program at Indiana University Indianapolis are prepared to pursue advanced roles in the game design industry and other related fields. Program alumni have been hired at major companies and studios such as Pixar, Rockstar Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Sony Pictures Imageworks, Google-owned Owlchemy Labs, Pixar, Digital Domain, Gearbox Software, Activision’s Treyarch, HTC Corporation, Vision3 Interactive, and Piperworks Studios.
Indiana University Indianapolis launched as an independent campus on July 1, 2024 after Indiana University and Purdue University (formerly IUPUI) separated. The school provides more than 375 degrees and certificates to over 25,000 students from all 20 states, Puerto Rico, and 142 countries. Programs at IU Indianapolis are provided across two colleges and 16 schools. Indiana University Indianapolis is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
