People always ask, “how did you get so good at art?” and things to that effect. She ever calmly tells them that she merely practiced all the time to hone her craft. That and she went to art school online.

People are usually surprised upon hearing this, but it is more common than you would think. Online schools, in general, are increasingly becoming dependable and reliable options for students and learners in which circumstances don’t allow them to attend a face to face school.

Since it seems such an unorthodox way of learning in general (compared to what we’re used to, that is):

• How do you go about even navigating a degree program?
• Where do you apply?
• What do I do about transcripts and other miscellaneous information?

Here we break down the online art degree educational pathway for you.

Why Online Art Schools?

Can You Get An Art Degree Online?

Yes! Along with many other degrees, art degrees are not only achievable online, but for some, it may be a more comfortable setup and system than traditional art classes at a college or university.

If you think that online school doesn’t include significant schools and universities, you’re sadly mistaken, as not only do major universities have robust online programs in general, but many have online art components as well.

What Can You Do With An Art Degree?

The possibilities are amazing and extremely nonlinear. You can apply to various art jobs in many different industries, and the list is long. This includes graphic design, advertising, gaming art design, concept artist, freelance artist, art professor, animator, and even an interior designer.

The beautiful thing about online art degrees is the freedom they grant those who earn them.

Online schools have some of the best instructors and professors I’ve experienced. I should know; I got my degree entirely online!

What Are These Art Degree Programs?

Many of these art degrees are very similar, if not outright, the same as classes and degree programs they offer in person. A large number of schools and academies provide programs like Master of Fine Arts in theater, animation, drawing, fashion, art history, museum studies, film & media, and even a degree in songwriting.

Online Art Degree Program Map

The different pathways through an art degree vary depending on where you attend or plan to attend. Some of these pathways can even begin in the latter part of high school with the help of an advisor or counselor.

However, let’s break down what a general path could potentially look like for you if you decided to pursue an online art degree. Here’s the basic breakdown you’ll usually see.

This can vary by school, especially online courses. To distill everything down more simply, I’ll refer to the culmination of all of the varied and uniquely different programs as ‘phases,’ as each school has a different set of semesters, years, and plans.

• First phase
  • In the first phase, you’ll usually engage in courses that teach you the fundamentals in different art fields. This could be in the form of classes like ‘drawing I,’ ‘Art History I,’ ‘Photography I,’ and other similar courses that aim to introduce the student to the concepts and fundamentals.
  • Included with these classes are your usual general education credits like math classes and the like.
• Second phase
  • The second term in school will test what you’ve learned in the fundamental classes and take it a step further. Think of this as the ‘medium’ difficult in your schooling journey.
• Third phase
  • The third phase can range from the most advanced classes to a fully-fledged internship. This is usually where all of your skills are put to the ultimate test, culmination in graduation, and earning your art degree.

Okay, but how much is a Bachelor’s Degree in Art?

That depends. Things like your financial situation, in addition to how much financial aid you can acquire before attending, will determine much of the cost of your online art degree.

For schools in person, the cost can be anywhere from around $30,000 to around $50,000. Keep in mind, much of that price tag includes fees and other on-campus aspects like room and board, local transportation, academic activity, and personal use.

If you are achieving your degree online, it takes a massive chunk out of your possible expenses. No stinky dorm room: just the comfort of your own bedroom, home, or studio to learn the ins and outs of your preferred art field.

A particularly useful aspect of earning an online art degree rather than in person is the amount of freedom you have to pursue other aspects of life. Perhaps you already have a job, either part-time or full time, that occupies so much of your time that you wouldn’t usually be able to attend a class. If you’re supporting your family, this especially comes in handy.

As with all colleges and universities, you will need your high school diploma or G.E.D. equivalent to the bare minimum for gaining admission into these schools.

What Are The Best Art Degrees?

It really depends on what you want to study individually, but I present a list of consistently highly ranked schools offering great art degrees. These are ranked on how often they’re mentioned online as some of the best art schools, as well as the reliability of their online components.

The diversity of arts programs are analyzed and helps them make it on the list. There are also some free options and courses offered through smaller schools and academies. Here are the heavy hitters:

Savannah College of Art and Design

• Located in Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A., online
• Tuition: Average is $41K after aid
• Website

SCAD has always been a reliable school for all things artistic, and their online degrees are no different. It has everything from traditional design to interior design.

Different types of programs or degrees offered:

• Bachelor
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication / Advertising & Branding
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication / Graphic Design
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication / Photography
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication in Sequential Art
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
• Masters
  • Master of Arts in Animation
  • Master of Arts in Design Management
  • Master of Arts in Fashion
  • Master of Arts in Graphic Design & Visual Communication
  • Master of Arts in Illustration
  • Master of Arts in Interior Design
  • Master of Arts in Luxury & Fashion Management
  • Master of Arts in Motion Media Design
  • Master of Arts in Photography
  • Master of Arts in Preservation Design
  • Online Master of Arts in Interactive Design and Game Development
• M.F.A.
  • Master of Fine Arts in Fashion
  • Master of Fine Arts in Animation
  • Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design & Visual Communication
  • Master of Fine Arts in Illustration
  • Master of Fine Arts in Motion Media Design
  • Master of Fine Arts in Painting
  • Master of Fine Arts in Photography
  • Master of Fine Arts in Writing

Verdict:

This is overall, the best choice of online art school for any artist. SCAD is a universally celebrated and reliable art school. As time goes on, I can see them adding even more classes to their online program.

Liberty University

• Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.A., online
• Tuition: Average is $28K after aid
• Website

Liberty University is a private Christian college. It has a staggering amount of students who attend online courses, (95,000), rather than on campus, (15,000). The art programs are offered 100% online, allowing you to live your life on your own terms while earning an education.

“The online graphic design program from Liberty University requires a 180-hour internship and a 30-hour practicum to complete. This degree, as well as other online degrees from the institution, are constantly updated to stay current with industry trends…”

Different types of programs or degrees offered:

• Masters
  • Master of Arts in Composition
  • Master of Arts in History
  • Master of Arts in Visual Communication Design
• M.F.A.
  • Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design

Verdict:

Liberty University is a solid choice of online art school. If you take your personal faith seriously as well, this is a great combination. Regardless of politics or religion, it has an excellent reputation for keeping up with industry standards, so whatever you learn will always be up to date and extremely topical.

Southern New Hampshire University

• Located in Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire, United States, online
• Tuition: Average is $41K after aid
• Website

SNHU is another instance of a university having way more students online than off, translating to over 87,000 online-only students, and just under 4,000 on campus. Southern New Hampshire University’s online programs are many, including the arts. They focus mainly on graphic design and especially game development.

This is the perfect avenue for those interested in creating some excellent game concept artwork, or even designing the next big game!

Different types of programs or degrees offered:

• Bachelors
  • Online B.A. in Digital Photography
  • Online B.A. in Graphic Design – 3D Modeling and Animation
  • Online B.A. in Graphic Design
  • Online B.A. in Game Art & Development

Verdict:

Southern New Hampshire University has great potential to become a powerhouse in the art department. Although they don’t have as many options as SCAD, (which are most other universities), they’re slowly but surely building up their online component to be at the forefront of online learning.

Full Sail University

• Located in Winter Park, Florida, United States, online
• Tuition: Average is $26K after aid
• Website

Full Sail is always a reliable option for the arts. Their specialties lie not only with the visual arts, but they also have a fantastic music program in which you can learn history and theory. It was initially a recording studio and workshop but quickly got its act together as a viable and respected university for the arts that are always highly-ranked.

“All of the bachelor’s programs take 29 months or less and are completely online. In the online master of fine arts in media design program, students dive into a full-scale branding project. They learn how to identify a client’s needs and develop creative pieces based on a variety of information.”

It also has a markedly less yearly tuition than other schools, which should attract those who are hesitant or perhaps on the fence about earning an online degree.

Different types of programs or degrees offered:

• Bachelors
  • Bachelor of Science in Digital Cinematography
  • Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design
  • Bachelor of Science in Game Art
• M.F.A.
  • Master of Fine Arts in Media Design

Verdict:

Full Sail is totally deserving of its welcoming environment for artists, and that goes for online too. Full Sail’s online programs are a great taste of what the university represents in terms of creative and artistic power.

The following are some great options to actually build yourself up, both mentally and portfolio-wise, before jumping into a full-fledged degree. These classes and courses may warm you up to the idea of classes, as well as a valuable structure of a class to get you in the swing of things. You can even use them as credits for transferring to universities listed above!

Sophia Learning

• Located entirely online
• Tuition: Free
• Website

They advertise “Low-cost, self-paced courses for college credit in a fresh and fun learning environment.” They guarantee many of their courses can be transferred to other institutions.

Although their programs in art specifically are in its infancy, there is potential to grow into a tour de force of art education. If you’re looking for a fantastic option free of charge, this is probably the best bet for the hesitant art student.

Different types of programs or degrees offered:

• Art History I

This class is based on introducing the student to the very fundamentals of art and its place in the world. This covers the period of art history from prehistoric times to the Renaissance.

• Art History II

The second class dealing in art, Sophia Learning’s course is based around continuing the critical look at different pieces of art and artists from the Renaissance to the present day.

Verdict:

Sophia Learning is a new little curriculum that you can follow if you aren’t sure if you’re ready to apply to a university. These classes are free and may be lacking in what you may want or expect from an accredited university. However, Sophia Learning can be everything from a great time killer to a great primer to any sort of college or accredited course you take.

SmART School

• Located entirely online

“Real-time feedback, Classroom discussion, weekly social connectivity, and Superior interactive online Art mentoring from anywhere.”

The SmART School is dedicated to teaching students through mentorship programs to make sure students get a valuable hands-on art education. The SmART School has a surprisingly large number of different courses it offers.

Many of these programs are listed as small interactive classes once a week for 14 weeks. They also have extremely small class sizes, so you can bet you’re getting important focus and essential critiques on artwork and projects, all with the assistance of industry professionals. They also often host a special industry guest per semester for whichever class best applies to their talents.

They also offer new lectures from industry professionals and mentors with a Q&A afterward:

• Courses with Mentor Marc Scheff
  • Beginning Figure Drawing
    • Wed 9 am-12 noon Eastern Time
    • 8 students max
    • $1,050
  • Beginning Illustration
    • Tues 2:30-5:30 pm Eastern Time
    • 8 students max
    • $1,595

• Courses with Mentor Winona Nelson
  • Gaming Illustration and Character Design
    • Special industry guest: Cynthia Sheppard, illustrator and creative director for Wizards of the Coast
    • Mon 4-7 Eastern Time
    • 10 Students max
    • $2,500

• Courses with Mentor Donato Giancola
  • Mythology & Narrative Painting
    • Wed 4:30-7:30 Eastern Time
    • Ten students max
    • $2,500

• Courses with Mentor Dan Dos Santos
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy Illustration for Book Covers
    • Thurs 4-7 Eastern Time
    • 10 students max
    • $2,500

• Courses with Mentor Sam Weber
  • Conceptual Illustration
    • Special industry guest: Claire Merchlinsky, Illustrator and former freelance art director for the New Yorker and current freelance art director for Medium.com
    • Fri 3-6 pm Eastern Time
    • Ten students maximum class size
    • $2,500

• Courses with Mentor Rebecca Leveille Guay
  • Contemporary Figurative Painting with Gesture and Emotion
    • Special guests: Erica Berkowitz & Joe Weinreb, owners of Haven Gallery
    • Tues 11 am-2 pm Eastern Time
    • 10 students max
    • $2,500

• Courses with Mentors Martin Wittfooth & Brad Kunkle
  • Magical Realism: Painting the Figure and Nature
    • Tues 6-10 pm Eastern Time
    • 14 students max
    • $2,500

• Courses with Greg Manchess & Scott Fischer
  • Comic Covers, Book Covers & Dynamic Storytelling
    • Wed 8-11 pm Eastern Time
    • 14 students max
    • $2500

Verdict:

The SmART School may be the best option for those who are on the fence about joining a university specializing in a particular field. That goes double for those who aren’t sure what they would major in at college.

SmART is perfect for explorers in what you want to take. They offer ‘survey’ classes, or ‘watch only’ enrollments for students who can’t scrounge up the cash. These programs give prospective students and learners the chance to observe these classes without doing the full workload and seeing if they’d be a good fit at SmART School.

Courses provided by the Museum of Modern Art

• Located in New York, New York, online

“The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions and the world’s finest collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental. Our mission is helping you understand, enjoy, and use the art of our time.”

What can be said that hasn’t already been said about the Museum of Modern Art in New York City? It’s an iconic institution housing some of the world’s most iconic and significant pieces of art. There is art by Vincent Van Gogh (Starry Night), Andy Warhol (Campbell’s Soup Cans), and Claude Monet (Water Lilies).

MoMA is offering free courses through Coursera. These courses are taught by actual members of the staff and experts in their respective fields.

Here are some courses offered through the MoMA. They all have the option to earn a certificate at the end of courses to add to your resume or profiles online:

• Fashion as Design
  • Beginner Level
  • Approx. 22 hours to complete
• In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting
  • Beginner Level
  • Approx. 38 hours to complete
• What Is Contemporary Art?
  • Beginner Level
  • Approx. 12 hours to complete
• Art & Ideas: Teaching with Themes
  • Approx. 11 hours to complete
• Art & Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies For Your Classroom
  • Approx. 8 hours to complete
• Seeing Through Photographs
  • Approx. 16 hours to complete
• Art & Activity: Interactive Strategies for Engaging with Art
  • Approx. 10 hours to complete
• Modern Art & Ideas
  • Beginner Level
  • Approx. 13 hours to complete

Verdict:

I highly recommend these free classes to nearly everyone, not just artists. If you are an artist, these should be mandatory for your continuing education as they go incredibly in-depth about the fundamentals of art.

With most of the classes being able to be completed in a span of several hours, there’s really no excuse not to at least check them out. Their deadlines are entirely flexible, so there’s no pressure on the learner.

I also recommend visiting the actual museum if you’re able to ASAP!

The Final Verdict

Luckily for you, there is no shortage of options, and they’ll only be growing more abundant in the coming months. Online learning is at a critical point where it may become the norm, edging out the traditional model of applying, visiting campuses, and attending a monotonous orientation far from home.

Now, you can hunker down with your computer, log into your school or institution’s program, and get to practicing and learning some unique courses taught by fantastic professors and instructors.

To break it down simply, here is the final verdict:

Value: Full Sail University

The balance between Full Sail’s quality and relatively cheaper tuition than other schools makes it the best value out of the bunch. This is the logical place to explore if you’re on the fence about a university workload. Although you’ll still be paying a large sum, (it I.S. college, after all)

Free Courses: Courses by the Museum of Modern Art

The free courses given out by the staff of the MoMA are without a doubt some of the most useful free resources a budding artist could get. There’s literally nothing to lose, as many of these are entirely free to enroll in, and only a few even begin to crack the 20-hour mark to complete.

A quick and easy exploration into specific topics can help pin down interest for you. These courses are for people who aren’t sure about a university, and perhaps they aren’t sure what to major in.

They are also recommended for people who may have a busy schedule, as they have incredibly flexible deadlines for progress and projects.

Recommended: Savannah College of Art and Design

Savannah College of Art and Design is by far and away, one of the best choices for an art school in the country. They’ve also outdone themselves by providing a fantastic online art degree program where people can experience SCAD’s prestigious reputation and the knowledge of their instructors.

Savannah College of Art and Design is tailored for those who are entirely ready to hit the books and take on a university course load. This is recommended for people who don’t have a busy schedule, as a college load may be intimidating.

SCAD’s coursework and content are the most robust and diverse, allowing for any number of educational pathways through the college’s online portion.

If you are unsure whether or not you’re personally ready for a university workload, (and I wouldn’t blame you!), perhaps taking some of the classes and courses offered by the MoMA and Sophia Learning could be right up your alley.

If you’re ready for a university, any of these is an absolute slam dunk for a great educational choice. No more lugging books; just get out of bed and log on!

What Is Programming?

If you aren’t familiar with computer programming, it is the creation of executable computer programs and files by using lines of code. In simpler terms, it’s using a ‘language’ to build programs and applications. Everything you access on the computer has been coded in some way, shape, or form.

The versatile world of programming has tons of fantastic potential for those of you who like to tool around and manipulate software. However, if you aren’t familiar with programming like some, never fear! There are now clear and concise ways in which you can easily break through into a career in programming. Allow me to be your guide on your journey in programming.

Programming: Some Basic Information

You may be thinking that you need a heavy-duty master’s degree to even think about becoming a hotshot computer programmer, but you’d be mistaken. There are more than enough paths you can take, both in-person and online, that can provide you with not only a degree or certification but a valuable grasp on one or various programming languages.

Programming can be an extremely lucrative field to get into. On Glassdoor, the salary is ~$57,000 to an impressive $100,000 annually, with the average pay being somewhere around $75,000.

Wage and demand will vary by region. If you’re in an urban hub like San Francisco or Philadelphia, chances are the pay will be more to your liking than programming in Des Moines, Iowa.

Getting An Associate’s in Computer Programming

Should you get an Associate Degree in Computer Programming?

Although it’s entirely up to you, yes, it is highly recommended you get some sort of degree in computer programming. While not necessary per se, if your school offers it, you show an aptitude, curiosity, or eagerness to learn, receiving an associate degree in computer programming is a great move.

A degree in computer programming will include topics like logic, Java, Linux, and computer security.

It’s debated amongst some whether an associate degree in computer programming is enough. Still, overall, a lot of companies are willing to hire if you have this certification, have a portfolio of projects, and, perhaps most important, a willingness to learn and grow.

“Sure, if you want to be a network architect, you’re almost certainly going to need a computer science (or related) degree. But for many other tech jobs, a computer-science degree is a nice addition, not a necessity. What matters to many employers is ambition and a willingness to learn on the part of tech candidates.”

It’s one of those situations where it boils down to who’s looking to hire, who you’re applying with, and who you interact with. Luckily with computer programming, it seems the job market and its requirements are pretty flexible compared to many other fields.

What You Can Do With An Associate’s Degree

You can be employed in three of the most common programming fields: a computer programmer, programmer analyst, and a web developer. Web developers, in particular, enjoy relatively good job security and job growth, and the outlook for them over the next ten years is looking decent.

An added feature of earning an education in computer programming is, of course, the new and exciting ways in which you can network with other computer gurus. Networking itself can help propel you into a career.

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” never has that been more appropriate when talking about networking. You can pick the brains of experts in the field, and even land yourself an entry-level position.

Educational Paths for Computer Programming

Computer programming has become an extremely viable course curriculum in schools in recent years. There are many programs, and regardless of which you choose, you will be learning the fundamentals of computer programming, along with new ways to approach programming and computing problems and ideas.

Computer programming is also offered in bachelor’s programs as well, giving you an even more significant advantage once you graduate.

Sometimes high schools can offer computer programming electives or something similar. Web design, in particular, has become a mainstay in technology courses. After that, you applying to a school for that specific major is your best bet in furthering your education.

The best avenues to take are through your local community college or a fully accredited online school or program. Community colleges like Bucks County Community College and Ocean County College offer both face-to-face and online learning. They are some of the most highly ranked in terms of computer science programs.

Courses: Computer Programming Program

So we know that computer programming is coding and building programs. But what can you expect in terms of courses? We compiled some classes and subjects that continuously pop up on some of the most common courses for programming majors.

• Java Programming
• Information Systems
• Computer Science
• Database Design & Application Development
• Visual Basic Programming
• Programming Essentials
• Computer Networks
• Introduction to Computer Applications

There are many more, including much more specific elective classes that are unique to each college or online course of study.

How Long Does It Take to Get A Degree?

Getting an associate degree in computer programming will take two years, or about 90 credits if you are a full-time student. If life gets in the way, like having a job on top of going to school, it could take longer. However, you can take summer courses to make up for lost time during the regular school year.

With online classes becoming more frequent and more streamlined, you can work out a system that works best for your personal style of learning.

Now we explore what you’ve been waiting for: jobs and careers.

Highest-Paying Associate Degrees in Tech

There’s a ton of variety to what jobs and careers you can nab as a computer programming graduate. Based on the BLS’s estimate, these jobs are only going to become more prevalent and widespread, especially with remote work and working from home becoming the norm. Some of the highest-paying associate degrees in technology are:

• Computer Science or Computer Engineering
  • Computer Programmer
  • Support Specialist
  • Systems Analyst
  • Software Engineer
  • Software Developer
  • App Developer
  • Data Engineer
  • Data Scientist
  • Machine Learning Engineer

These degrees seemed to have been more lucrative than even one in biomedical engineering technology and network engineering!

Tips on How to Land A Job

So now you find yourself on the hunt. You have the information about what kind of jobs you can land with your shiny new degree in computer programming, but you’re not sure where to start. You have that spiffy suit and tie all picked out to impress the hiring manager, but who’s hiring, and how do you get their attention?

There are a few ways to do this:

Build your portfolio

Building an impressive, robust portfolio is one that should be a prerequisite to applying to jobs. Hiring managers will still scope out your application, but it is always helpful to have some sort of meaningful project that you have worked on in the past in your portfolio. You want your potential employer to be seriously impressed with what you can accomplish with just a few lines of code.

Did you develop a website in high school? Your own game using HTML in college? Tell them about it! Words count for a lot in interviews, but tangible results count even more.

Get to know the company, generate questions

You may find the job hunt can be a long, lonely road sometimes, and you could be sending your application out to a bunch of employers at once. Blasting out apps all willy nilly can be dangerous, as you can lose track of who you’ve applied to.

Be aware of who you send out your work to and research them. Browse their site and get to know the key individuals, if possible. This way, you can generate questions you may have about the company and its executives. Questions to the employer matter in interviews, and a well-placed, meaningful question can show you care about the company to which you’re applying.

Network

I can’t stress the importance of networking enough. It could easily be the difference between you having a job overnight and job searching for months. Like it or not, careers have a lot to do with who you know, and if you become part of a valuable and helpful network of like-minded programmers with connections, it can only benefit you.

It’s best if you build up networks during your associate program. These could include professors and students you meet along the way.

Conclusion

Is an associate’s degree in computer programming enough? Sometimes it can be. However, with the world-changing, and computer science becoming a dominant field with some very high-paying career paths, I would overall recommend getting your bachelor’s degree in computer programming.

An associate degree is worth it, but going that extra two years and getting a bachelor’s could give you a valuable leg up on the competition during a job search.

What is becoming more common is learning via online classes. It is entirely possible to earn a degree online, even I’ve done it. In our busy lives, we don’t have time to tackle everything in one day.

The CG Spectrum College of Digital Art & Animation is bringing design principles from the physical classroom to the online webspace.

They encourage aspiring designers of all ages and aspirations to apply. Whether you’re fresh out of high school and ready to take on the world, or looking for a mid-career change. Their VFX, Animation, and Game Development curriculum and schedule can work for you.

With all that said, online digital design schools can be hit or miss. Is CG Spectrum really worth your time and money?

Let’s take a deeper look at CG Spectrum’s program and find out.

Learning Online: What Are the Benefits?

There are definite benefits to learning online. Especially if you’re exploring a concentration within the creative field.

Flexibility

First, if you have a job or would simply prefer a flexible class schedule, online learning offers a variety of scheduling options to fit your life. You’re able to carry on with hobbies, social relationships, and career.

Accessibility

There’s also the matter of students not living near their desired school. If you aren’t able to travel, what are the chances that you will be able to start your design education?

Advancement

If you’re a developer or a designer looking to advance your knowledge and skills, online training offers a great opportunity. You aren’t constrained by 50-minute classes, and you won’t have to spend extra time in the university’s computer lab trying to make deadlines. All you need is a reliable internet connection, a solid computer to run the software, and violà.

CG Spectrum

CG Spectrum, as advertised, is a completely, 100% online designer school for those looking to build a foundation in which to make great creative projects, or master their existing knowledgebase. No travel necessary; it’s all online.

You will interact with mentors through webcam chats with one-on-one sessions that emphasize the student’s wants and needs, a feature I consider valuable.

They’re physically headquartered in Australia, but in (virtual) reality, they are headquartered right on your internet. They are also an Unreal Academic Partner, Unreal Authorized Training Center, SideFX Certified Training Provider, and Toon Boom Authorized Training Center.

What Does CG Spectrum Offer?

CG Spectrum offers a wide array of classes and pathways. As of right now, they offer:

• Game Development courses (Game Design, Programming, Game Art & Animation)
• Real-time 3D Technical Art & Virtual Production courses
• 2D & 3D Animation courses
• 3D Modeling courses
• Visual Effects courses
• Concept Art courses
• Digital Illustration courses

Who Would Benefit?

CG Spectrum is for anyone with a desire to learn more and enhance their skills in animation, development, and design.

Since CG Spectrum is completely online, it caters to those who are looking for quality education in design or those who cannot attend a standard university or design school; either by distance, scheduling, or financial reasons.

This gives someone who is roughing it alone in Alaska, for example, a fair shot at creating some great content!

Mentors

CG Spectrum’s mentorship system is probably their best feature! This program matches you with an industry veteran for your tenure at CG Spectrum.

You can speak to them, ask questions, and learn invaluable information about the industry. Your mentor will also give you weekly updates, critique your work, and a whole lot more through a Zoom call.

This includes 140+ mentors from all over the world, in every time zone. You will have mentors like:

• Troy Dunniway, Game Design (Rainbow Six Vegas, Munch’s Oddysee, Command and Conquer)
• Scot Bayless, Game Development (Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 007: Everything or Nothing, Devil May Cry)
• Daniel Hourigan, FX (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Game of Thrones, The Wolverine)
• Firas Hosn, Game Programming (Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed and Watchdogs franchises)
• Bryan Bentley, 3D Modeling (Pacific Rim, Warcraft)
• Brandon Reimchen, Concept Art (EA, Activision, Disney Interactive)
• Scott Claus, 2D Animation (Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Road to El Dorado)
• Simon Warwick, Real-time 3D & Virtual Production (Batman: Arkham City)
• Sean Amlaner, Compositing (Star Trek: Picard, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Avengers: Infinity War)
• Spectra, 3D Animation (Far Cry 6, Uncharted 4)
• William Faucher, Real-time 3D & Virtual Production (Real-time Artist & YouTuber)
• Carl Shedd, Real-time 3D & Virtual Production (Borderlands, Rage)
• Bernie Kang, Concept Art (World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3)
• Eric Wilkerson, Digital Illustration (Magic: The Gathering)
• Hong Chan Lim, 3D Modeling (Overwatch 1 & 2, WildStar)
• Brittany Piacente, VFX (Loki, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Black Panther, Blade Runner 2049)
• Genevieve Camilleri, VFX (Love and Monsters, Kong: Skull Island, Mad Max: Fury Road)

These mentors will be available for on-demand videos, live chat, and most importantly, advice and insight into creative projects.

Faculty

Any institution worth its salt is only as good as its instructors, and here is where CG Spectrum shines. They employ both veterans of animation, as well as experts currently working within the industry. For digital design, you absolutely need those strong, prominent voices from different fields to help you on your way. This is a plus.

Along with the faculty, they allow students to meet with them, either through weekly video chats or via the online community.

There are also Technical Assistants who are always around to help troubleshoot. They organize regular challenges to help students practice their skills and get to know each other.

Interested? Here’s How it Works

First, you’ll need to fill out an application and contact their admission department for things like scheduling, tuition questions, and any other questions you may have. After you have figured that out, it’s time to move on to the curriculum.

Like many online courses, you can start immediately by either watching or reading pre-recorded lectures. From there, it’s up to you. You can research, and complete your assignments on your time.

As you work, you’ll have access to your mentor, eventually giving the instructor your draft of that week’s work. You’ll then meet with the instructor (via video chat) for questions and review.

An added bonus is that your Q&A sessions are recorded. This means you can reference the recording anytime you need it.

After making any improvements, you’ll hand in your assignment.

From there, you’ll build on what you’ve learned with a new project, using the same process as before. Before you know it, you’ll have a functional prototype you can be proud of.

Virtual Community

Like any good online community, CG Spectrum has discussion boards. Like with many other online outlets, this is where students, mentors, and others can all come together and share projects, tutorials, and more.

Programs Offered

Let’s start with animation and which classes, design aspects, and specializations you’ll learn:

Animation

Introduction to 3D Animation

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• For animation rookies, this is a solid place to start your 3D design journey.

3D Animation Course

• Beginner ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Build strong 3D foundations working your way up to animating a believable fight scene from scratch using Maya. Term 1 of this 3D animation course is the same curriculum as the introduction course, so if you’ve already completed the intro, you can jump to term two.

Advanced 3D Animation Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• This is where your 3D knowledge will be put to the test with advanced character acting and creature animation. All of the advanced courses include a portfolio and career development term to help get you job-ready. In the end, you’ll get your animation certificate of completion and have a cool portfolio. (Prerequisite = The 9-month 3D animation course)

Introduction to 2D Animation

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Like the 3D animation courses, 2D delves into the rich and creative world of 2D design. Use this as a stepping stone towards more advanced classes, and eventually, a certification. Using software like Toon Boom Harmony, you’ll learn physics, principles of animation, and more.

2D Animation Course

• Beginner to Intermediate ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Learn hand-drawn style character and creature animation, finishing with a pantomime and 2-person dialogue scene. Term 1 of this 2D animation course is the same curriculum as the introduction course, so if you’ve completed the intro, you go straight to term 2.

Advanced 2D Animation Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• This is where you’ll put everything you know about 2D animation to the test. Get the hang of cut-out animation and have fun with ToonBoom’s FX and compositing tools. You’ll also be taught by some serious talent. Ever heard of Disney or DreamWorks? Learn from artists like Scott Claus who worked at both of those iconic studios, and other 2D artists who worked on hits like Klaus or Rick & Morty.

3D Modeling

Introduction to 3D Modeling

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• This is where you’ll get to dip your toes into the waters of 3D modeling. The process of creating characters, worlds, and environments will make a lot more sense after completing this class.

3D Modeling Course

• Beginner ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Build realistic and stylized props, characters, creatures and environments for films and games using Maya, ZBrush and Substance Painter. Term 1 of this 3D modeling course is the same curriculum as the introduction course, so if you’ve already completed the intro, you can jump to term 2.

Advanced 3D Modeling Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Putting your 3D modeling skills to the test, this class will introduce more advanced concepts for you to explore and ultimately prepare you for a career as a 3D modeler for film and games.

Digital Painting

Introduction to Concept Art & Illustration

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Fans of iconic concept art like the films Star Wars and Dune will feel right at home here. If drawing out your ideas is your forte, this is the avenue you should take.

Concept Art & Illustration Course

• Beginner to Intermediate ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Start to discover your unique artistic style here. Learn art fundamentals like composition, color, value, light, perspective and anatomy. Your mentors could be artists who have worked on games like World of Warcraft and Magic: The Gathering.

Advanced Concept Art Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Taking what you now know regarding concepts and workflow, you will map out your advanced journey towards a concept art diploma. This is where your portfolio will truly shine.

Advanced Illustration Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Level up your skills and portfolio by learning how to make cool art for films, video games and publishing. It’s not just the technical skills, you’ll learn how to work with clients, and different ways to promote yourself, and pros and cons of freelance vs working in a studio.

Game Development

Introduction to Game Design

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Start your game design journey with game mechanics, systems, genres, level design and world-building. Then build your own game in Unreal Engine.

Game Design Course

• Intermediate ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Learn the ins and outs of game design. Ever wondered how certain game elements interacted with each other? Here you will finally find out the ‘mysterious’ aspects behind some of our favorite games.

Introduction to Game Programming

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• No coding skills needed to start this course. Learn C++ and essential game programming concepts, and build a basic game from scratch.

Game Programming Course

• Intermediate⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• This is where it gets interesting! Using C++, build fun 2D and 3D levels in Unreal Engine with interactive animated characters.

Foundations for Game Art & Animation

• Beginner ⋅ 10 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Learn 3D animation and modeling, and apply them to advanced game design. You’ll build worlds, characters, and more using software like Maya and Unreal Engine.

Real-Time 3D & Virtual Production

Introduction to Real-Time 3D & Virtual Production

• Beginner to Intermediate ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• This short course helps beginners wanting to work in film or games get the hang of Unreal Engine and surrounding pipelines including basic rigging, animation, and motion capture.

Real-Time 3D Technical Art & Virtual Production Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• There’s a lot of demand for skilled real-time 3D technical artists, and this course prepares you for just that. Learn virtual production fundamentals, world building, lighting and camera essentials.
• By the time you’re done, you’ll have made a film quality cinematic shot using Unreal Engine.
• CG Spectrum is an Unreal Authorized Training Center and Unreal Academic Partner

Visual Effects

Foundations for Visual Effects

• Beginner ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• How does a character like Sephiroth from Final Fantasy execute his magical attacks? In this class, you’ll utilize software like Maya, Substance Painter, Houdini and Nuke to create your own visual effects.

Introduction to Houdini FX

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Sometimes you just want to blow stuff up! Learn scripting with VEX, particles, advanced geometry, and use Houdini to create believable explosions and natural disasters.

Houdini FX Diploma

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 10 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Using Houdini software will be essential for your VFX adventures in the industry. Every FX artist needs to know how to create destruction, explosions, and water simulations. The course also covers how to model, texture, simulate, and render your cool VFX shots from scratch.
• SideFX Houdini Certified School

Introduction to Nuke VFX Compositing

• Beginner ⋅ 3 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Learn to integrate digital assets with live-action footage using Nuke software. Practice basic rotoscoping and green screen keying, then build a VFX shot from scratch.

Nuke VFX Compositing Course

• Intermediate to Advanced ⋅ 9 Months
• Weekly Online, 20 hours
• Once again, focusing on cutting-edge software in the business, in this class you’ll learn everything you need to know about Nuke compositing, including rotoscoping, digital painting, keying, scripting, lighting deaging, set extensions, and other advanced techniques used by top VFX studios.

Tuition and Fees

Of course, this impressive list of courses and industry veteran assistance doesn’t come for free.

Applying for CG Spectrum is as simple as filling out an online form, followed by waiting for a response from the school to help get you started. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

Unfortunately, CG Spectrum does not offer financial aid or scholarships. You can contact them further regarding any financial questions and their payment plan options.

Why Go to CG Spectrum?

It seems that this school has a lot to offer. The curriculum’s a good fit for most digital design beginners. We probably wouldn’t recommend them for graphic or web design. The focus is primarily on character, environment, digital effects, and game development.

Career Specific Training

CG Spectrum provides specific, job-based training. There are no guarantees, but this should only help graduates find a job.

They also have an in-house Career Development Manager who offers free career services like portfolio/CV reviews, help with job applications, interview practice, and exclusive events with studios and industry guests.

Classroom Size

Another attractive aspect is the class sizes. Say goodbye to online classes of 30 or more. Your classes would be capped at a maximum of 4. This intimate atmosphere allows for a more comprehensive and focused relationship between students and instructors.

Mostly Positive Reviews

This all sounds great, but what are people saying about CG Spectrum? Lauren Wakley, a game illustrator, gives a glowing review:

“As an aspiring Concept Artist, it’s been amazing to have an industry professional as a mentor…Having one on one feedback has been so helpful…I’ve learned so much in these past six months and have also gained much more motivation to work hard for my dream job.”

Another student, Forrest Anthony, had this to say about his positive experience:

“The very personal learning experience I had through CG spectrum encouraged me to dig deep with questions and figure out how to really improve. I got the attention I needed from my mentor and broke through the frustrating plateau I had been at before starting.”

A Reddit user had this to say:

“My mentor hasn’t worked on AAA games but is working in the industry and still has an impressive portfolio. It seems like the mentors have mixed backgrounds and it’s kinda random which one you’re going to get, although you could probably ask when a certain mentor would be available and wait until they have a class (not positive though).”

What’s the Verdict?

Ultimately, CG Spectrum is for those who are looking for a high-quality curriculum, with the flexibility of learning online. We like the program for Animation, effects, and game dev, but probably not for web or graphic design.

If you’d like even more information, you can request free info here, and explore some of their free resources here. These include models to toy around with and outlines for some basic design projects.

But, with the help of advertisers and investors, that number is rising much faster.

In 2017, investors contributed $750 million, making up 50% of the worldwide market size.

Advertisers and sponsors contributed over $250 million. Those numbers put the end-of-2017 market valuation of esports at 1.5 billion dollars. End-of-year projections expect esports to be a $2.3 billion market in 2022.

That’s some serious growth…

And now, US colleges are jumping on board the global esports train:

Only seven colleges and universities had varsity esports programs in July of 2016. By 2018 there were 63 institutions.

The largest US organization is the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), which formed in 2016. NACE is “a nonprofit membership association organized by and on behalf of our member institutions” (US colleges).

The NACE program describes a varsity esports program as “the principal teams representing a college or university. Primarily these teams compete against similar teams at peer educational institutions.”

Esports, of course, are video games played competitively. This can be anything from 5 v 5 teamwork-testers like League of Legends, to 1 v 1 strategy-dominant Hearthstone, to anything-can-happen PUBG, and beyond.

Why Are College Varsity Esports a Big Deal?

The NACE website quotes an article in the June 22, 2015 issue of ESPN The Magazine, which said that 27 million people watched the 2014 championship tournament for League of Legends.

DOTA 2 pulled 20 million viewers in 2014.

Those are impressive numbers without context.

They’re even more impressive when you consider the viewership for other major sporting events that year: 5 million watched the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Finals. The World Series had 13.8 million. The NBA Finals had 15.5 million.

Clearly, professional esports is already a big deal.

The growing popularity of college varsity esports is not just great for the future of professional esports and gaming in general (and make no mistake, it’s growing: the NCAA is already considering their role in the sport).

College varsity esports is another avenue in which colleges can attract students, celebrate the diversity of interests on campus, and invest money to benefit more of their student body.

With esports, a little investing goes a long way.

Esports training facilities are more affordable than regular sports training facilities. And, with the right sponsors, some programs don’t have to worry about supplying the gaming chairs, or high-end computers, or other gear.

And an esports training facility doesn’t need a new, state-of-the-art million-dollar building. Many schools recommission old rooms that aren’t seeing much use. They gut it, spruce it up, and fill it with gaming gear.

Boom, there’s your varsity esports training facility.

When you think about the kind of money that’s dumped into sports (even state taxpayer money, for things like stadiums), it’s impressive to think that they’re getting outwatched by esports. Part of this could be the ease of viewing, since big tournaments, like the League of Legends Worlds, are free to watch and based online.

All you need is internet access. That’s significantly easier than, say, finding free MLB World Series coverage online (hint: barring free trials to service providers, a free option does not exist).

It’s accessible, it’s already popular, and now advertisers and sponsors are dumping hundreds of million dollars into it. If colleges continue to get on board with varsity programs (they show no signs of slowing down), this will be a “thing” in no time.

Future Implications?

While many in positions of power are slow to accept the place esports have in this world, everything is moving in the right direction.

The reason for the slow-to-adopt mindset probably rests in the stigma of playing video games: A lazy human’s pastime. A waste of time. Nerdy. Child’s entertainment. Just kids playing games.

The people in positions of power don’t all understand what esports really are. They don’t see the value in it, or they don’t care to see the value in it, likely because of some preconceived notions or some bad intel.

If you think about it, every college sport can be distilled to “kids playing games,” as Phil Alexander, a Miami University professor who teaches game design and co-directs the varsity esports team at Miami, said in an interview with Rolling Stone.

In his interview, Alexander says he’d “be shocked if we don’t see major collegiate varsity leagues by 2020.”

More colleges are joining every month, even with the $2500 registration fee instituted by NACE.

There’s another element that Alexander mentions which is really fascinating, which Brian Crecente captures well in his article: “[Alexander] sees the connection between pro players and college reversed from traditional sports. In esports…most pro-gamers’ careers end at 27 or 28 and then they want to go back to school.”

This, as Alexander goes on to point out, would mean collegiate varsity esports could be a viable end-of-career option for professional esports competitors. They could get post-career scholarships, still have a place in esports, and get the education they bypassed to go pro in games in the first place.

It seems like a real win-win.

The growth of esports has everyone excited: even cities are getting involved.

Arlington, Texas, for example, is building a $10 million stadium.

They’re talking about a 100,000-square-foot space that “will be the largest and most flexible esports stadium in the country.”

And this esports center isn’t even a new construction: they’re “transforming previously underutilized space of the Arling Convention Center,” which “showcases the adaptive re-use potential of esports. This innovative transformation of space is also comparatively inexpensive and more efficient than new construction. ”

If you’re wondering about the dynamics of varsity esports, or you’re interested in becoming a varsity player yourself, this next section is for you (Keep in mind that the list of colleges with varsity esports programs grows almost daily).

Varsity Esports by The Numbers

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Here are 20 colleges with varsity esports programs:

20 Colleges with Varsity Esports Programs

Miami University (of Ohio)

Miami University of Ohio is a school in Division I athletics. They were the first top-tier US university to launch a varsity eSports program, and it’s worked out well for them: Their varsity Overwatch team took first place in the NACE Overwatch Tournament for the 2017 season.

The varsity esports program formed after their popular student-run eSports club started asking the university for an official varsity program (if you’re in a successful esports club at your college, but don’t have a varsity team in place, it never hurts to start asking for one!).

Boise State University (Idaho)

Boise State University is another Division I school (and, while the athletic division of a school doesn’t matter for esports – yet – it doesn’t hurt to have the support of D1 programs behind the movement).

Boise State University is part of NACE, through which they compete against other colleges in organized tournaments. The varsity program is open to both part and full-time students, undergraduates, and graduates alike.

BSU also participates in tournaments from other organizations like Collegiate Star League, TESPA, uLOL and more.

A list of their current games lineup includes Overwatch, Hearthstone, Rocket League, League of Legends, and Heroes of the Storm.

Georgia Southern University (Georgia)

The Georgia Southern University (Division I) Eagles took second place in the NACE Overwatch championship, losing a nailbiter to Miami University in the 2017 season.

Their official Southern Collegiate Gaming website describes what they do in the varsity esports program as:

• “Empowering: We empower gamers mentally physically and spiritually in order to prepare them for the real world.’
• “Equipping: We equip our gamers with high-performance resources and tools to ensure their success and victory.”
• “Challenging: We challenge our gamers to always be better than the day before by creating a strong competitive atmosphere built around teamwork.”

They have teams for a number of games: Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros., PUBG, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and CS: GO. They also have a number of 1st and 2nd place finishes in various collegiate tournaments.

Georgia State University (Georgia)

Georgia State University (Division I) joined the world of varsity esports in the 17-18 academic year. They’re part of both NACE and the GEL (which stands for Georgia Esports League).

Georgia State University holds members of the varsity team “to a high academic standard and [they] must maintain eligibility at levels required for a HOPE scholarship.”

Their first season games included:

• Brawlhalla (in the Georgia Esports League)
• League of Legends (in the NACE League)
• Smite (in the NACE League)

The university uses Twitch to live stream their tournament and competition participation. Georgia State University “esports efforts include student participation in broadcasting, production, and marketing of esports and tournaments, coaching, student management, and game development.”

University of California-Irvine (California)

UCI (Division I) was “the first public university to create an official esports program and is regarded as one of the best and most comprehensive in the world.”

The program officially started in 2016. That same year, they opened the UCI eSports Arena and started offering scholarships to their League of Legends players.

UCI promotes four “pillars” in their esports program:

• Competition: They “recruit the best gamers in the world to compete for [their] teams in the top collegiate leagues in North America. [They] offer scholarships to players for both League of Legends and Overwatch.”
• Academics & Research: They’re big on games-related research. As an example, they point to a study that showed how memory could be improved by playing Minecraft (and other 3D immersive games).
• Community: UCI has a bunch of gaming clubs, and the club teams get access to jerseys, the arena, and even some travel expenses.
• Entertainment: UCI puts some focus on streaming and hosting, with their shoutcasting/streaming station in the arena. They also host local tournaments for both recreational and competitive players.

University of Akron (Ohio)

The University of Akron (another division I school) is launching its varsity esports program in the fall of 2018.

They want to assemble teams to compete in games like Overwatch, CS:GO, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Hearthstone.

They’re offering scholarships for varsity gamers while encouraging gamers at all skill levels to tryout.

The program is “also looking for students in engineering, computer science, communications, health and wellness, and other fields to help build our eSports arenas, broadcast games, design materials, and assist with training and nutrition. All are welcome!”

We’re wondering about the optimal diet for varsity esports players–what maximizes concentration and boosts dexterity through the roof?

University of Utah (Utah)

When the University of Utah (Division I) was asked: “why esports at a university?” The U responded with “the answer is actually quite simple, the University of Utah does not back away or back down from interesting things that are happening in the world that have a real impact on people.”

The University of Utah was the first power five school to have a varsity esports team.

They offer partial scholarships to varsity players. Students who want to be varsity gamers at the U “must be enrolled as full-time students…maintain a nominal GPA…progress 20% of degree with each season…” and they’re only “eligible for 4 seasons of play within 5 years from first full-time enrollment.”

Western Kentucky University (Kentucky)

WKU (Division I) was the second public university to start a varsity team back in the fall of 2016.

Now, though, their future is looking uncertain. Because of Kentucky’s budget cuts for higher education, and a recently imposed NACE membership fee of $2500, the WKU varsity esports team is struggling to stay in the game.

They only have two teams and participate in two games: League of Legends and Overwatch. The WKU team participated in the NACE Overwatch tournament for 2017.

College of St. Joseph (Vermont)

The College of St. Joseph was the first New England school to offer a varsity esports program.

The program just opened a “brand-new state-of-the-art eSports arena.” The room features a big ol’ viewing screen to the benefit of spectators, as well as for strategy review for varsity teams.

CSJ is currently recruiting students for teams to compete in Fortnite, Rocket League, League of Legends, and Hearthstone. The teams compete in local online tournaments, and also open their practices to spectators.

Bellevue University (Nebraska)

The Bellevue University Bruins esports program started in the fall of 2017.

They spared no expense on equipping their team with top tier equipment: “Alienware desktops with the best processors, the best graphics cards, extremely good gaming monitors; everything we really need to see our program succeed.”

Bellevue University offers scholarships to varsity players, which, according to their promotional video, has already made a difference in one student’s ability to afford an education there.

Right now, the Bruins focus on League of Legends. They have a designated training space, the “Bruin Bunker,” where players can hone their LoL skills.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (AZ)

The Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Gold Wings esports team participates in the Collegiate Star League.

The program focuses on League of Legends. One of the Gold Wings’ cherished assets is their coach, Derek ‘Lohpally’ Abrams, who “analyzes game footage, observes practice sessions, and focuses in on what each player–and the team as a whole–can do better.”

Abrams “has played and coached E-Sports at a professional level prior to coming to Embry-Riddle.”

The Gold Wings have three teams in total, their primary team which competes at the division one level, and two teams that recruit new players and compete at lower levels.

DigiPen Institute of Technology (Washington)

Though the information is elusive, multiple sources point to DigiPen being registered with NACE and having an esports team.

DigiPen Institute of Technology is very welcoming of gamers, offering not just a great game dev program, but also encouraging students at the institute to play student-made games, and facilitating clubs that encourage the playing of games in general.

It’s worth keeping an eye on DigiPen to see how their varsity esports plans develop and unfold.

Harrisburg University (Pennsylvania)

Harrisburg University only has one varsity sport: esports.

They’re registered with NACE and are kicking off their inaugural season in the fall of 2018. The director of their program is Chad Smeltz, who has extensive esports coaching experience. Their head coach is Jeff Wang, who is world-ranked as a gamer.

Harrisburg University is offering full athletic scholarships to 15 students who earn a spot on the team.

The preliminary game roster includes Overwatch, Hearthstone, and League of Legends.

King University (Tennessee)

King University announced its varsity esports team and NACE membership in 2018.

King University has a proud history of picking up the slack on underserved sports: cycling, tumbling, women’s wrestling, and, now, esports.

The program is planning to compete in two games in their first season: League of Legends and Overwatch. They’re recruiting now and plan to compete in the 2018-19 season/academic year.

The university also plans to offer scholarships to varsity esports players.

Texas Wesleyan University (Texas)

Texas Wesleyan University (a Division II athletics school, for those keeping the score at home), launched several varsity esports teams.

They’re planning to compete at a varsity level in Overwatch, League of Legends, and Hearthstone.

TXWES is offering $2,000 esports scholarships that are performance-based and game history-based. They’ll have up to 12 available for varsity players.

They’ve joined three big esports leagues: NACE (first college in Texas to do so), University League of Legends, and TESPA.

St. Ambrose University (Iowa)

The St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees are kicking off their foray in varsity esports in the fall of 2018.

Players will have the opportunity to earn talent-based scholarships for their gaming skills in Overwatch or League of Legends, the two games SAU is focusing on for now. They plan to join NACE once their program is up and running.

SAU is another school that champions underrepresented sports: men’s and women’s bowling, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving, for example.

The program is still looking for a head coach.

University of South Carolina Sumter (SC)

Even though the University of South Carolina Sumter’s official esports page doesn’t have much to go on, the USC Sumter esports team is alive and well.

The program entered its 3rd year in 2017 when it participated in the NACE Overwatch tournament. That makes USC Sumter one of the first schools to establish a varsity esports team. They offer scholarships to players, have a dedicated facility for practicing and for playing.

In 2017 there were 30 students in the program, with the number increasing each year. The program competes in Overwatch, Hearthstone, and League of Legends, but is looking to add more games to that list over the next couple years.

Kansas Wesleyan University (Kansas)

The Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes have been on the varsity esports scene since 2015. They compete in the Collegiate Star League via League of Legends.

The program also participates in Hearthstone, Rocket League, and Overwatch, and competed in the NACE Overwatch tournament in 2017. Smash Bros will be joining that list before long (if it hasn’t already).

University of Jamestown (North Dakota)

The University of Jamestown kicked off its varsity esports program in the fall of 2017. All competitions are broadcast through the UJ twitch channel.

The school is looking to fill an ambitious 25 person roster and offering up to $2000 in scholarships per varsity player. They’ve been actively recruiting from high school leagues around the country.

They participated in the NACE Overwatch tournament in the 2017 season.

Morningside College (Iowa)

The Morningside College varsity esports program kicked off with two games, Overwatch and League of Legends. They continue to entice players with up to $5,000 per year in scholarships based on talent.

The Mustangs made it to the quarterfinals in the NACE Overwatch tournament in 2017. They finished 3-3 in their first season of League of Legends, and 4-3 in Overwatch.

The program is looking to add more games to the list, including Rocket League, CS/:GO, and Heroes of the Storm.

Infographic

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SCAD has facilities in Atlanta and Hong Kong and features online learning.

And the best part is, SCAD offers at least one of its Interactive Design and Game Development Degrees at all four locations:

• Savannah
• Atlanta
• Hong Kong
• Online

The state-side flexibility isn’t crazy since both campuses are in the same state—but that’s still more flexibility than any single-campus school offers! Plus, an opportunity to learn in Hong Kong could lead to an out-of-your-shell experience.

And then there’s online learning…but if you aren’t going to a physical school to network with other students and professors and industry collaborators, there might be better options for you.

Let’s take a look at the Savannah College of Art and Design!

National Rankings

You should never put all your eggs in one basket, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use a single ranking to feel out a game design program.

In this case, we’re talking about the P. Review and their list of the Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs (and their list of the Top 25 Graduate Game Design Programs).

In 2017, the Savannah College of Art and Design Game Design Program ranked 24th on the list of the top 50—better than 50% of the top 50 game design programs out there. Their graduate Game Design Program took 15th on the list of 25—that ain’t so bad, either.

But, as we said, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. There’s more to picking a school and a program than input from the Princeton Rankings.

For example, in the past five years, students from the Savannah College of Art and Design have won the E3 College Game Competition.

Besides a shot at victory, what else do the Game Design programs at the Savannah College of Art and Design offer?

The Interactive Design and Game Development Program

The Savannah College of Art and Design offers four versions of their Interactive Design and Game Development degree:

• BA
• BFA
• MA
• MFA

The Game Development program at SCAD provides students with a chance to touch the industry, “from participation in professional conferences to opportunities to collaborate with industry giants, our students have every chance to capitalize on their passion for interactive design.”

Time to check out their undergraduate programs.

BA in Digital Media, Concentration in Game Development

The Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media with a Concentration in Game Development focuses more on general education than it’s Fine Arts counterpart.

Your coursework is broken up into four sections:

• Foundation Studies
• General Education
• Concentration
• Additional Electives

Your foundation studies include:

• Drawing
• Design
• Composition and Media
• Color Theory
• One Studio Elective

Your foundation studies make up 25 credit hours of your degree for the BA program.

Your general education studies include:

• Western Art
• Computer Art Applications
• 20th-Century Art
• Composition

And more, along with a number of subject-specific electives:

• General Electives
• Maths/Natural Sciences Electives
• Behavioral/Social Sciences Electives
• Art History Elective

Your general education will take up about 90 credit hours of your degree program (which is half of your total credit hours).

Then there are your concentration studies:

• Introduction to Game Design and Development
• Game Art
• Game Design
• Programming
• Digital Design Aesthetics
• Game Development
• Game Design

The list continues. Your concentration studies will make up 45 hours of your degree program. The final 20 hours will go to additional electives.

The BA in Digital Media also comes with an Interactive Design concentration.

The foundation and general education courses are essentially the same between the two concentrations. Naturally, the concentration hours between the two programs make up the bulk of the difference.

With Interactive Design, you can still expect to learn some Game Design. Mostly, though, you’ll be studying concepts like:

• Typography
• Interactive Web Design
• Social Media Applications

And other interactive design topics.

BFA in Interactive Design and Game Development

The BFA program in Interactive Design and Game Development differs from the BA program in a few ways.

First, the coursework breakdown is a bit different. The BFA includes:

• Foundation studies
• General Education
• Major Curriculum
• Major Curriculum Concentration
• Additional Electives

The second difference is the credit hours for each section.

Your foundation studies would make up 35 credit hours of your degree. You’d study similar topics (color, composition, drawing) and you’d also take two studio electives.

Your general education makes up only 55 credit hours. You’ll take fewer subject-based electives (i.e. one maths/sciences elective instead of two). And you’d study Western Art and Computer Art Applications.

Your major curriculum includes Interactive Design and Game Development Studio time, as well as core programming principles and digital design aesthetics, among other topics.

And, as we mentioned, you’ll need to pick a concentration. There are options for both Game Development and Interactive Design and Physical Computing. Game Development concentrations include:

• Game Art
• Game Design
• Game Tech
• Game Programming
• Game Development

You’ll have 15 additional elective hours to spend how you’d like.

The primary difference is the studio time—you’ll spend more time in the BFA applying what you know. The BA caters to a more “well-rounded” education. Which can be beneficial if you put it to good use.

Oceanography 101 might not make the most sense where you’re going…but sometimes you need to take that easy class to focus on your primetime coursework. We get it.

What Is the Story with the SCAD Faculty?

The faculty behind the Interactive Design and Game Development programs at SCAD come from a healthy mix of studios and companies:

• Midway Games
• Savage Entertainment
• Michelin
• Nickelodeon Digital
• Activision
• Acclaim Entertainment
• Hydraulx Visual Effects
• American Museum of Natural History

And there are more, to boot. Anytime you’re dealing with people in the industry or people who spent years in the industry, you know you’re signing up for something worthwhile.

Not all teachers are alike, and not all industry veterans are born to teach, but to have those experienced eyes looking over your work and giving you advice or recommendations—that’s nothing to shake a stick at.

What Do Alumni Say About Their Game Design Program?

Redditor spaz1020 says “be prepared to work, then work harder. I spent 3 years in Savannah and spent almost every night at Monty working cause your project can always be better, there’s always something to practice or learn. It was a blast and I miss it.

Currently, I work doing 3d training lessons for the military but I know plenty of people from my class working at different studios and I continually work on my portfolio and personal projects.”

When asked about those studios, spaz1020 followed up with “WB, Vicarious Vision, Volition, Sledgehammer, Amazon and plenty of indie studios…it took me a while to get this job but a few of my classmates get [sic] hired right after school at the same place, same for the other studios.

Connections and how you treat people really really matters [sic] as they can either get you that interview and help you get a job or they can say to throw [sic] your application away.”

The takeaway here is, you can definitely get a job—you just need to apply yourself (PS That isn’t going to change no matter which school you go to). And you need to be networking—another common theme with schools, no matter their caliber. You never know who is going to make a difference in your life. You never know who the gatekeepers will be.

One more parting note, from a current sophomore in the program—Darthpool_: “It’s a fantastic program, but as you’ve already heard, you get out of it what you put in. Prepared to put blood, sweat, and tears in projects?

Then this is the place for you. There’s really no ceiling on what you can do if you apply yourself. SCAD gives you absolutely every tool needed to do whatever you want with your career.”

And there you have it. SCAD isn’t a magic success pill—but it can darn sure put you in a place to succeed. The rest is up to you.

The school itself is located inside the gated backlot of Universal Studios Florida. The DAVE School’s 18,000 square foot facility includes learning and interactive labs, a dedicated Virtual and Real-Time production stage, a Vicon motion capture system, 3D printing, and VR/AR labs, and secure student access 7 days a week.

The school started with its Visual Effects Program, developing a game production program more recently. Then, in 2016, the DAVE school added two online bachelor programs. These online courses are in Motion Graphics and Production Programming.

The 2019 numbers posted for the DAVE school show a 73.91% retention and employment rates.

As we mentioned, the DAVE school offers college-level programs in Game Production, Graphics, Visual Effects, and Motion Graphics with an upcoming program in Virtual Production beginning in July 2021.

Some of these programs are exclusively campus-based, others are exclusively based online (pay attention to which is which—this will impact total cost, flexibility, etc.).

NUC University (NUC), which includes The Dave Schools is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Let’s take a look at their programs so you know what you’re getting yourself into with the DAVE school.

Game Production Diploma Program

The Game Production program at the DAVE school is a campus-based, 12-month diploma program. It consists of four different twelve-week course blocks. You’ll “work together with fellow students and instructors to create a game from scratch.”

The program is broken down as follows: 9 months fully online with the last 3 months being a studio residency at our campus located on the backlot of Universal Studios Florida.

You’ll learn how to use software like:

• Unreal Engine
• Adobe Premiere
• Adobe Substance
• Autodesk Maya
• Pixologic ZBrush
• Redshift 3D
• Marmoset
• Quixel
• Engage VR

Now, a big selling point for this program is that everything happens in “a production environment that mirrors major game studios.” You’re learning in a way that reflects how studios would operate in the real world.

You’ll learn how to design, model, rig, and animate original characters and levels. Then you’ll learn how to bring them into a game engine.

By the end of the program, according to the DAVE school website, you’ll have a “demo reel sure to impress any AAA or Indie game studios looking for artists.”

The Courses

Over the course of the program, you’ll take these courses:

• Fundamentals of Asset Creation & 3D Design
• 3D Animation: The Art of Motion
• Game Asset Creation & Immersive Techniques
• Real-Time Technologies & Studio Production

Each course “block” stacks on the knowledge from the previous block. You’ll get a thorough understanding of 3D modeling and sculpting techniques before moving on to rigging, animation, and motion capture.

Then you’ll move to actual game creation, with a look at the whole process. Finally, you’ll pick a specialty and “elevate those skills to the level required by top employers.”

For Portfolio Production, you’ll be paired with “an experienced production manager” who “will assign you tasks that contribute to the eventual completion of the project and will supervise your work.” By meeting the standards of your production manager, “you will be producing industry quality work (that will be presented on your demo reel) every single day.”

Few programs offer that kind of constant over-the-shoulder help.

This attention is helpful in that you know you’ll be making high-caliber work, and any mistakes can be quickly corrected. On the other hand, if your vision doesn’t line up with your production manager’s, you could have a miserable go of it. Important learning opportunities await in both scenarios!

Instructors for the Game Production Diploma Program

The faculty and staff at the DAVE School seem pretty solid.

• Jeff Cavitt: Environmental Artist for Forza Horizon 2
• Jon Gourley: 3D modeler for The Flash
• Roger Borelli: Lead modeler for Green Lantern the Animated Series
• Alexander Llanos: CG Artist on Conan the Barbarian
• Dean Rasmussen: Digital Artist on Snow White and the Huntsman
• Dan Greenfield: Senior artist on Solar Flux
• Angel Gonzales: Creative Lead on Walking Dead Survival Instinct

The instructors all have industry credits, which is a great sign. If the DAVE school’s big selling point is the “industry-mimicking experience,” then instruction and guidance from industry veterans are a must.

What’s the Cost?

The cost for this program (and most programs at the DAVE school) is $35,000 USD. More on this in a bit!

For now, let’s look at other programs at the DAVE school so you know what your options are.

Visual Effects Production Diploma Program

The Visual Effects Production program takes place on campus. It’s a 12-month diploma program.

In it, you will “grow your VFX skillset for a variety of CG industry jobs.” This program “gives students a broad range of skills which allows them to pursue jobs in the computer graphics industry.” This includes everything from game art, to military simulation, to feature film, to architectural visualization.

The course will also teach you the following software:

• Unreal Engine
• Pixologic ZBrush
• Autodesk Maya
• Mudbox
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Premiere
• Nuke
• Redshift 3D
• Quixel
• Engage VR

The Courses in the Program

As with Game Production, you’ll start off with the Digital Modeling and Sculpting course, and the Fundamentals of Computer animation course.

From there, you’ll go on to study Movie Magic—the art of visual effects, and Stereoscopic 3D Production.

You’ll learn:

• Character, Prop, and Environment Modeling
• 3D Animation
• Visual Effects
• Lighting and Texturing
• History of Film FX
• Digital Compositing
• Green Screen Keying
• Rotoscoping
• 2D/3D Tracking
• Demo Reel and Portfolio Creation

The courses in the program are:

• Fundamentals of Asset Creation & 3D Design
• 3D Animation: The Art of Motion
• Compositing & VFX: Principles of Integration
• Real-time Technologies & Studio Production

This program, like many of the DAVE school programs, is a highly collaborative one.

It also costs $35,000 USD.

Visual Effects Production Bachelor’s Degree Program

The Visual Effects Production Bachelor’s Degree program looks a lot like the Visual Effects Production Diploma Program with some extra courses and a bachelor’s degree attached.

It looks like that…because that’s exactly what it is.

You need to complete the 12-month diploma program on campus. You also need to complete an additional 36 credits—12 courses in general education, 8 courses in electives.

The base price is $35,000. For every general education course, it costs an additional $399. For elective courses, it’s $1,070 per course.

Motion Graphics Bachelor’s Degree Program

The Motion Graphics Bachelor’s Degree is its own program (unlike the visual effects production BA program).

It’s a 36-month program that can be completed completely online.

You’ll develop proficiencies in:

• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Indesign
• Adobe XD
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Premiere
• Autodesk Maya
• Storyboard Pro
• Engage VR

The Motion Graphics Program teaches you how to “utilize video, animation, and graphic design to convey information to a wide range of audiences.” You’ll be studying concepts like:

• The Business of Motion Graphics Advertising
• Typography and Design
• Motion Graphics Production I
• Digital Illustration
• Advanced Color Theory and Design
• Advanced Typography and Design
• Motion Graphics Production I & II
• Dynamics and Visual Effects for Motion Graphics
• Motion Graphics Business Start-ups

The Motion Graphics Course Curriculum consists of:

• Design Theory and Process
• The Business of Motion Graphics Advertising
• Digital Media Design and Production
• Typography and Design
• Color Theory and Design
• Digital Photography
• Motion Graphics Production I
• Introduction to 3D Digital Modeling
• Introduction to 3D Animation for Motion Graphics
• Digital Illustration
• Advanced Color Theory and Design
• Advanced Typography and Design
• Motion Graphics Production II
• Motion Graphics Production III
• User Experience Design
• Dynamics and Visual Effects for Motion Graphics
• Fundamentals of Business Management
• Motion Graphics Business Start-ups
• Final Projects and Demo Reel
• Career Development
• General Education Courses (36 Credit Hours Required)
• Elective Courses (24 Credit Hours Required)

It could be because this program is so new, but the total cost is only $35,000. There are no additional fees added for the electives and general education classes.

The lower price tag and the flexibility from the online nature of the program might make this option a bit more appealing for some of you.

Still, it’s a very new program.

It’s too young for retention and placement percentages, and there isn’t a lot of feedback available from students of the program (it’s unclear how many students there have been since the program’s inception).

Production Programming Bachelor’s Degree Program

The Production Programming Degree Program is the other recent addition to the DAVE School’s offerings.

It’s a 30-month, fully online bachelor’s degree program.

For this program, you’re choosing between seven different concentration tracks, where you’ll learn “how to write code for games, movies, and other productions.”

You’ll learn:

• Software design
• C++ programming
• C# programming
• Production pipelines
• Computer graphics
• Game engines
• Database management
• Unreal
• Unity
• Visual Studio

And more, depending on your track.

You can choose from the following tracks:

• Game Design
• Game Programming
• Graphics Programming
• Mixed Reality
• Mobile App Development
• Productivity
• Simulation

A Quick Breakdown of the Tracks

• Game Design will teach you “how to conceptualize games, craft gameplay mechanics, develop stories, visualize a look, support a team with documentation, test, and evaluate product outcomes.”
• Game Programming will teach you “how to build tools to assist game developers, create software that automates development tasks, simulate real-world systems…using languages such as C++ and C# and game engines like Unreal 4 and Unity.”
• Graphics Programming will teach you how to create cutting-edge visual effects. You’ll have access to VR and AR systems to start experimenting in different realities. You’ll also learn about popular multimedia libraries and procedural modeling.
• Mixed Reality will focus on virtual reality and augmented reality programming and applications.
• Mobile App Development is pretty straight forward—you’re building mobile apps.
• Productivity focuses on programming languages like C#, C++, Python, Java, and MEL to build tools or apps used by gaming, film, and other industries.
• Simulation teaches you how to recreate “processes and systems” and build “discrete events and continuous simulations.”

The Alumni Factor

Alumni from the DAVE school have worked on projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Game of Thrones, Uncharted 4: a Thief’s End, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and more.

Some alumni have certainly had successes.

With an average placement rate of 68% and a graduating class size of around 150, that means about 97 students are finding jobs after graduating (This could be a reflection of the industry and not the school—the figure could also be much worse).

Awards & Nominations

• Graduate Juan Carlos Ferra (2012) was recently recognized for his Visual Effects work at the 9th Annual Candian Screen Awards.
• The DAVE School won THREE Telly Awards at the 42nd Annual Telly Awards including 1 People’s Choice Gold Telly
• The DAVE School Graduates took home awards at the 19th Annual VES Awards held on April 6, 2021, for projects ‘The Midnight Sky’ and ‘The Mandalorian.’Graduates Patrick (PJ) Salamon and Braden Bunk took home BEST VFX win for project Man of Fire at two film festival
• The DAVE School Graduates worked on 2021 Oscar-nominated films, including Best Picture Nominee
• 42 Graduates worked on 18 nominated projects at the 19th Annual VES Awards
• Three graduates won Game of the Year for The Last of Us PT II at the 2020 Game Awards

Is the DAVE School Worth it?

Ultimately, the choice is yours. People have found success here. But recently, 45% of students have not found the success they’re looking for.

It’s further proof that the right school doesn’t automatically mean success. It’s what you put into it.

If you like the studio simulation environment, the programs, and the faculty, it’s worth giving the DAVE school a call to find out more.

Deciding what to spend and how to proceed is no easy task. Keep taking the time to do your research. Read everything you can about the programs you’re interested in.

Weigh your options. Call and ask questions. Reach out to alumni. Look up what they’re doing now. See if you like projects that the faculty have worked on during their time in the industry. Look for projects that current students are working on.

The faculty does boast award-winners, and recent alumni have worked on big-name titles. But it’s all going to come down to the time you put in, and the skills and relationships you develop.

The University of Utah received board approval to great a Game Design Degree.

Now, since 2011 The University of Utah has been one of the three best schools for video game design students, according to the Princeton Review for game design programs. Their graduate program has been in the top five schools since 2013.

But last year “The U” announced that they would be offering a game design program that exists autonomously—right now, their game design programs are offered as part of a film degree and a computer science degree.

The Princeton Review

The 2017 Princeton Review rankings have the University of Utah as #3 in the list of the top 50 game design programs. The year prior, the U took 1st place for undergraduate game design programs.

For the top 25 graduate game design programs, U of U received third place (for the second year in a row).

That alone is enough for most prospective game design students to apply to the school.

Alumni Placement and Starting Salary

Alumni from the undergrad and graduate programs go on to find work locally in Utah (many at game design studios). Others travel to California game design hubs. Plenty has found placement with big-name studios, like EA.

As an alumnus, you’ll have opportunities at a wide range of game developers. The average starting salary for undergraduates is $67,045. The average salary for alumni coming out of the graduate program is $87,332.

What’s the Staff like at the University of Utah?

The staff at the University of Utah appears to be a mix of both industry veterans and career academics.

-Roger Altizer, Jr. co-founded the Entertainment Arts and Engineering Program at the U (you know, the program you’re thinking about entering into).

He’s also a co-founder of Game Makers Anonymous, which is an indie game co-op. Altizer works with medical games, and he’s the Director of Digital Medicine at the Center for Medical Innovation.

It’s worth noting that he kicked off his career as a video game tester for Microsoft back in the early 2000s.

-Ryan Bown is an assistant professor in the Game Art and Technical Art programs. He’s worked on “half a dozen published games which include EIRE and Disney Infinity.”

He primarily teaches in the Unreal Engine, exploring concepts like modeling and texturing.

-Ashley Brown used to teach in the UK, but now she teaches user experience and design at the University of Utah. She also researched topics like emergent gameplay.

-Jon Dean is an industry instructor in game production. This makes sense since he’s “produced more than 250 game titles across all major gaming platform [sic] including consoles, handhelds, and mobile.”

He’s worked as Vice-president and General Manager at Electronic Arts. He served as Executive Producer on plenty of hit games for both EA and EA Sports.

-Joe Olson has worked in the video game industry for more than a decade. He’s worked on published games like Epic Mickey, Tak, Tak 2, and Disney Infinity.

And that’s just a handful of the faculty driving the learning efforts at the University of Utah in the EAE Program.

There are others who have won awards for their thought-pushing papers on computer and human interaction, others who have won awards for the board games and tabletop RPGs they’ve created.

The Entertainment Arts and Engineering Program seems to have cultivated a good mix of industry experience and research-based experience.

The Approach to Learning

According to an article from Deseret News, featuring an interview with Robert Kessler, the EAE Program’s Executive Director and Founder, The University of Utah “students are immersed in an environment where they need to learn how to interact with all of their project collaborators…artists, engineers, producers, and designers.

[Professors] spend a lot of time on mentoring and coaching students through the challenges of working with a large team.”

In addition to the team-based practice, something that closely mimics the real-world of game design, every student is required to publish a game. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the undergraduate or the graduate program, you don’t leave the EAE program without publishing a video game with your team.

Why? Kessler says “When you have a game credit out there, you’ve got an advantage over everybody else…Now, when [students are] in an interview, they can talk about their experience of actually developing a game rather than answering a question about if they can responsibly handle a role on a game development team.”

Undergrad Programs at The University of Utah

There are a number of game design-related undergraduate paths you can choose from at the U.

You can get a Computer Science BS Degree with a Games/EAE emphasis. In order to declare your major, you need to fulfill certain pre-major requisites:

• Foundations of Computer Science
• Object-Oriented Programming
• Algorithm/Data Structures
• Calculus I
• Calculus II

In order to apply for your full major status, you need at least a C- or better in every class, and a minimum GPA of 3.0.

You’ll take general education courses which will include:

• Intermediate writing
• American Institutions

And then you’ll dive into the meat of the CS program, with courses covering:

• Discrete Structures
• Computer Organization
• Software Practice
• Algorithms
• Computer Systems
• Traditional Game Development
• Machinima
• Serious Game Development

You’ll also choose “Area Focus Electives”. You’ll pick a few elective classes from an area of interest. These areas include:

• AI/Analytics
• Core/Fundamentals
• Human-Centered Computing
• Infrastructure

Your studies will culminate in a Capstone project.

You can also get a Computer Science BS Degree with an emphasis solely in Entertainment Arts & Engineering (EAE).

The pre-major requirements and general education classes are very similar. But your major courses will include:

• Artificial Intelligence
• 3D Modelling
• Databases

And more. There are also film requirements for this major, which include two courses:

• Intro to Video Games
• Film Production

The BS in Game Design (The new program debuting in the spring of 2018) has a different set of pre-major requisites:

• Survey of Games
• Digital Content Creation
• Programming for all: Beginning Programming
• Programming for all: Extended Applications

The courses you study in your major will look something like this:

• Ethics in Games
• Traditional Game Development
• Alternative Game Development

All game-related programs have a senior project that results in a published game. For the BS in game design, you’ll need to meet with an Entertainment Arts & Engineering advisor to plan your course selection. This will depend on your interests as a prospective game designer but could include areas of focus such as:

• Game Design
• Technical Art
• Game Arts
• Game Production

“Two Cents” from an EAE Graduate

At the time they wrote this, Redditor GlassesOff was a senior in the undergraduate EAE Program. We’re assuming they went on to graduate…

Anyway, the post says

“What it really all comes down to is your work ethic and skill set…With the CS degree, you’re going to have a lot of intense work and hard classes, but you’ll learn the skills you need in the class to have a good chance at some of the industry jobs.

For the art side, you really have to focus on what you want to do with games. There are so many different areas and skills you can learn, but you really need to hone in on one talent.

The classes will give you a good start with the various areas, but finding your favorite early is important…I feel like I have the potential to get a job in the industry, but it really comes down to your skills and experiences.” – GlassesOff

There you have it. The University of Utah’s third-place ranking isn’t an accident. With the right amount of effort on your part, you can put your time at the U and your education to great use in the game design field.

So let’s talk about it!

The Animation & Visual Effects Degree Program

The School of Animation & Visual Effects is home to the degree of the same name. According to Academy of Art University, this program affords you the opportunity to learn from “some of today’s most accomplished professionals in the heart of the animation industry.”

Here’s some basic cost information for the complete Bachelor’s Degree Program in Animation and Visual Effects (assuming it takes you four years to complete):

• Tuition and fees: $115,911
• Books and supplies: $9,272
• Off-campus room and board: $53,168
• On-campus room and board: $63,168

The university isn’t required to calculate job placement rates for students who have completed the program (and the Academy of Art has opted not to).

The University does include some averages on money borrowing and student debt as it relates to this animation program:

• The typical graduate leaves with $35,417 in debt (median debt for borrowers).
• The typical monthly loan payment is $407 per month with 6.8% interest rate (this is the median monthly payment, if the debt is repaid at 6.8% over a ten year period—this might not be the most realistic number, because a variety of factors influence the interest rate and repayment period).
• The typical graduate earns $30,171 per year post-graduation.

Alright! Enough of the numbers! Let’s talk about the program.

There are a number (oops, sorry) of areas you can focus on under the umbrella of animation.

Storyboarding

“The storyboarding emphasis translates a script into a series of motion sequences.”

This focus only has a BFA available.

3D Animation

“The 3D animation emphasis is designed for students interested in acquiring the basic to advanced skills necessary to become a professional character animator.”

This focus is available as BFA and MFA degree programs.

3D Modeling

“The 3D modeling emphasis is designed for students interested in acquiring the basic to advanced skills necessary to work in the field of animation as a professional modeler (hard, organic, etc.).”

This focus is available as BFA and MFA degree programs.

2D Animation and Stop Motion

“The 2D animation and stop motion emphasis is designed for students interested in acquiring basic to advanced skills in classical, hand-drawn animation.”

This focus is available as BFA and MFA degree programs.

Visual Effects

“The Visual Effects program is designed to provide students with expertise in directing a complete, short animated film, designing and building 3D characters, and fully integrating visual effects shots from concept to post-production.”

This focus is available as AA, BFA, and MFA degree programs.

Who Teaches in the Animation & Visual Effects Program?

Chris Armstrong: He spent more than 10 years working at Industrial Light & Magic. He worked on Star Wars Episode 1 and Star Wars Episode 2, and other projects, like Galaxy Quest and The Mask.

Tom Bertino: He spent nearly 20 years working at Industrial Light & Magic. He also worked on The Mask and was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA for the CG work he did. He’s worked on a lot of projects—that’s what happens when you spend over 30 years in the industry.

Charles Keagle: He’s worked on Ren and Stimpy, he’s worked at Pixar on Toy Story 2, and he worked on South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, among other things. He’s had work shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Sherrie Sinclair: She worked with Disney for just about nine years with credits on films like The Lion King, Mulan, Tarzan, Pocahontas, and Lilo and Stitch.

One more, for good measure (although this is far from the whole list!).

Elizabeth Sousa: She’s created work for a long list of big-name companies: Disney, Maxis, Paramount, Virgin, ABC, NBC, and Fox. She’s been a professional artist since 1978 and teaching at the Academy of Art University since 2003.

Thoughts on This Program

The Animation and Visual Effects program is on the expensive side (spoiler alert: they all are). There are a lot of well-connected staff members. And it is located in San Francisco, which is a big animation and visual effects hub.

You’ll have to decide if the cost is something you can handle. You might also be interested in their online degree program for Animation and Visual Effects.

Game Development Degree Program

The Game Development degree, from the School of Game Development, “gives students a well-rounded education in the arts with an emphasis on applying techniques in game design, concept art, 3D modeling, rigging, lighting, and animation.”

You’ll learn concepts like:

• Production methods working in teams
• Unique control types
• Rapid development through iterative processes
• Monetization

You’ll know about game engine tech, fundamental game art principles, and pre-production to post-production processes.

Areas of Interest

You can pick between a number of different game development areas to focus on. The option to customize is only helpful if you know your choices, so we’ll touch on them quickly below.
(Availability for these areas might be impacted by the degree you’re pursuing)

The Game Development program is offered as an AA, BFA, MA, and MFA degree program.

Environment Concept Art

“Environment concept art serves an extremely important role in setting the mood, feeling, time period, and location of the game.”

3D Character Modeling

“3D Character Modelers are responsible for modeling characters and creatures in the computer, as well as accessories like armor, weapons, etc.”

You’ll get good with Maya, using it to model and texture assets.

Character Concept Art

“Character Concept Art focuses on designing all of the characters in a video game.”

This typically comes from write-ups on the character. This is another field that’s heavy on references and inspiration.

Game Design

“Game Design describes the creation of the content and rules of a video game.”

This requires developing interesting narratives and fun gameplay rules.

UI/UX Design

“UI & UX Design covers basic graphic design, layout, developing wireframes, designing mockups, and creating prototypes for usability testing.”

As we spend more and more time with screens in front of our faces, this only becomes more important.

3D Environment Modeling

“Artists who create environments and props have the ability to influence the player’s game experience through composition, style, lighting, silhouette, prop modeling, prop placement, color, texture, and shader effects.”

The Alumni Factor

Graduates from the Game Development program have worked on projects like Titan Fall 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, League of Legends, and Mafia III

They’re being hired by companies like:

• Rockstar Games
• Sony Computer Entertainment
• Blizzard
• Electronic Arts
• Telltale Games
• ArenaNet
• Crystal Dynamics
• Riot Games
• Zynga
• And more

The Faculty Roster

Let’s take a look at who’s teaching in this department!

David Goodwine: He’s worked in the industry for 17 years, spending 13 of those years working on games. He’s worked for Double Fusion, Electronic Arts, PDI/Dreamworks, and more. He has credits on titles like Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Project: Snowblind, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and more.

David Graham: He’s worked at Electronic Arts, PlayFirst, Planet Moon Studios, and Slipgate Ironworks. He’s been working in the industry for over a decade, and he co-wrote Game Coding Complete, 4th edition. Gotta’ love it when you get the person who “wrote the book” on something.

There are more industry powerhouses on the list! But for now, we’ll keep moving.

Thoughts on This Program

The estimated program costs for the BFA are the same as those of the animation program:

• Tuition and fees: $115,911
• Books and supplies: $9,272
• Off-campus room and board: $53,168
• On-campus room and board: $63,168

But the median debt for this program is slightly higher: $43,627. This obviously makes the monthly loan payment higher ($502 with 6.8% interest—again, not the best estimate to measure against).

Also, the typical graduate earnings are not listed for this program (neither are the placement statistics).

So it’s still a huge cost to attend here, barring significant financial aid—that much didn’t change with the program. You do have less of an idea of how much your peers earn once they graduate and find a job. Some internet snooping might be able to fill in the gaps.

Once again, the lack of a guarantee of success shows up! You’re the real deciding factor.

Graphic Design Degree Program

The Graphic Design program has a home in the School of Graphic Design (who saw that coming?).

According to the Academy of Art University’s Graphic Design website, their “Graphic Design program integrates practice, theory, and inquiry, while refining and encouraging innovation, critical thinking, visual literacy and conceptual problem-solving.”

The estimated program costs are the same as the other two programs. The typical debt level for graduates is $38,850. And the median earnings after graduation is $58,386.

This program is offered as a 66 credit AA degree, as a four-year certificate, and as a BFA degree program.

There is an online graphic design program as well, available as an AA, BFA, MA, and MFA online degree program.

Outside of the different degrees, there aren’t highlighted areas of focus or interest.

The Faculty Rundown

This program also boasts an impressive list of instructors.

Mary Scott: She’s worked on projects for Sony, Disney, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Hitachi, and more. She’s won industry awards. And she has almost 40 years of experience—and she might be teaching your portfolio class.

Anitra Nottingham: She’s worked as a book designer for Penguin Books Australia, and Oxford University Press. She’s also led teams as the creative director for companies like Intuit.

There are more professors to see if you’re interested.

Thoughts on This Program

This program is expensive (the third time you’re hearing this, we know).

Students have gone to Academy of Art University and now they are working their dream jobs on Titanfall 2, or League of Legends, or whatever their dream job happens to be.

There are also students that have paid for this degree and are not working their dream jobs, for one reason or another.

Your degree is not the most important thing to your career in any of these fields (hint hint, your portfolio is more important).

The connection to the industry through experienced faculty members is a big plus. So is the network you’ll enter, and the like-minded individuals that will surround you at the Academy of Art University.

But it’s the time you put in that will really make the difference. The time you put in, and the work that comes out of that. You have to decide if four years and six figures are more advantageous than a smaller, less expensive program. Keep researching. Make the most informed choice!

But the cost of college has only gone up, and the idea of getting a 6-figure degree to break into an industry that historically has not needed one is a hot debate (don’t believe us? Go on a Reddit forum).

It makes sense. A significant number of industry veterans didn’t get a “game design degree” before landing their first jobs. The programs weren’t available then. Sure, there was computer science—but plenty of game designers broke into the industry without a degree.

So… is a college degree worth it? It won’t be right for everyone. And, luckily, there are alternatives.

Alternatives to College Programs

For one, you have Coursera. Coursera is a subscription-based learning program with online courses—many of which are created by universities.

You can learn at college-level material at a much better rate—and the faster you learn, the less it costs you because it’s subscription-based.

Then there are platforms like Udemy. An online learning platform that features a dearth of courses—anything you could want! (Including video game design and development)

Udemy has a flat fee to purchase the course—for life. There are some other differences, too. And we’ll go into a course or two that each one has to offer, and why they might or might not be the right choice for you.

First, let’s start with Udemy.

Are Udemy Courses Worth it?

Here’s a little background.

Udemy has 55,000 online courses, with thousands of different instructors, and lifetime access for every purchased course. You buy it once, you have it forever. You can go back and reference it at any time!

As you’ll see in a bit, not all programs work this way. The ability to go back and reference trouble areas or review to stay sharp is a perk worth keeping in mind.

The Cost

Prices will vary, but Udemy loves to run sales. It seems like every time we check in on them to write a new piece, they have some kind of discount promotion going. For Black Friday, they’re offering 95% off on some of these video game courses.

That means you’re paying $10 for 70 hours of content. Content that normally costs $200 (which still seems like a fair trade—do you know what 70 credit hours would cost at a university?).

What Can You Learn?

Udemy’s scope of courses seems all-encompassing. What you learn is only limited by your interests (and maybe your bank account—unless there’s a blowout sale!).

For the sake of this review, we’ll look at one of their best-selling game design courses, titled:

Be a Game Developer/Designer: Complete Master Series

This “complete master series” course was developed by the School of Game Design. In the class, you’ll “learn everything you need to become a master game developer/designer!”

Well that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Let’s take a look at some promised outcomes for the course:

• You’ll spend time learning and developing with the Unity game engine
• You’ll gain an “expert understanding” in digital painting in Photoshop
• You’ll “create advanced 2D/3D games and applications”
• You’ll develop for major consoles, smartphones, and Mac and PC
• You’ll have an “expert understanding” of Mudbox, Maya, and 3DS MAX

The Course Requirements

The course requirements are pretty light if you already have a computer that can run the software you’ll be using (Unity3D, Maya, Mudbox, 3DS MAX, and Photoshop). Other than that, all you need are “general computer skills.” (And…they recommend a 3 button mouse).

Since you’ll need a computer running these programs anyway, the overhead specific to this course is pretty low (especially compared to…you guessed it! college). Course requirements like this are listed for every class, so you’ll always know what you need before you purchase a program.

The Course Descriptions

Every Udemy course offers an in-depth description of what you’ll tackle over the duration of the program.

The description for this particular course is substantial, offering nuggets like “to succeed in this competitive industry it is essential to have expert knowledge of the entire game development pipeline. You will be learning expert techniques and workflows from veterans who have been working in the game industry for over 15 years and have a passion for making great games.”

In addition to requirements and descriptions, Udemy courses provide “target audience” information. This lets you know if the course is or is not right for you. This helps with picking courses that are the appropriate skill level and have the appropriate content focus.

For our example course, Become a Game Developer/Designer: Complete Master Series, their target audience info reads as follows:

• All skill levels
• People interested in working in the game design industry
• Please [sic] who want to create and publish their own games

(It’s funny to have featured an example with such a prominent (and bizarre) typo. We assume they meant “people” not “please”—you get the point.)

The Reviews

Udemy does a good job of providing introductory information to its courses so you know what you’re getting. The descriptions, the requirements, the target audience info—all of this is helpful. But one of their most helpful features is the candid reviews from students who have participated in the class.

These are reviews from people just like you, who once sat where you sat, who once wondered if they should drop some loot on a Udemy course.

As helpful as the Udemy/course creator-provided intel is, they’re trying to sell you a product. The reviews give you an honest look and a realistic take on student experiences in the course. We’ve collected a few reviews for the Game Design course we keep referencing:

-Derek N (3 stars): “the content is great so far, however there is a lot of repetition of previously covered topics.

-Gary K (5 stars): “Very in-depth and very easy to learn and understand. More courses by this instructor will be good.”

-Colby C (4 stars): “Needs to be updated, but tons of great content to get you started”
(quick note: this was written a month before the course was updated, in 10/2017—this dated info may have been fixed).

-Ryan W (5 stars): “This has to be the absolute BEST educational experience of my life. I could not possibly give a review that truly represents how appreciative I am that this even exists, seriously. Bottom line; the ratio of money spent to knowledge earned is absolutely laughable.

I have spent THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of dollars on my education, which I will forever be grateful. However, if you are even slightly curious about any game developing, I strongly encourage you to start here.” (emphasis was Ryan’s)

Ryan goes on to suggest he’s typically a skeptic and spent a half-hour googling the course 100 different ways to see if it was a scam…

But you can see how helpful this is.

From this snapshot of feedback, you know that some pieces of content aren’t up to date, but the information is still helpful enough for that reviewer to give the course 4 stars—plus, we know the course has been updated since then.

Some customers had a hard time hearing the instructor. Other reviewers say it’s hands down the best use of their money in the history of their education.

Candid reviews make the course easier to evaluate. It makes it easier to see if it’s right for you. You hear the good things and the bad things about the course, from people looking for similar outcomes.

A Udemy Review for eLearners

One of the most common questions that users ask is if Udemy is legit? The answer is: Yes, absolutely. Udemy is pretty solid. There are some instructors and courses that are more low quality than others, but for the price, it really can’t be beaten.

Are Udemy courses worth it?

Pros

• Constantly updated material
• Great community
• Helpful Reviews
• Can give you useful concerts you won’t learn in school

Cons

• Time Sink: Courses are at least 40 hours. That can be a huge time commitment for someone who’s got a full-time job and a family to raise.
• No accreditation
• Lack of professionalism/experience of instructors
• Positive Udemy Reviews from eLearners
• Reasons Udemy May Not be Worth It
• No accreditation or certification
  • This is a big one. When you take a long course, you want it to enrich your knowledge as well as be useful later on down the road. While the subject may help you learn, they can’t be used beyond your personal experience.
• Employers don’t recognize udemy as experience.
• Unqualified instructors
  • Some unqualified instructors can weasel their way into udemy’s framework and offer low-quality classes. This is bad as it can totally turn someone off from using udemy.

Udemy Review for Instructors

The pros of teaching on Udemy

• Udemy is good for new instructors
• If you want to be a teacher or instructor, this is a great place to get started. The format is completely casual compared to something like a college lecture hall and 100% online.
• Flexibility
• The flexibility offered should also take a bunch of stress off. You can do work on your own time, and have students learn all of their material asynchronously. You provide material and let udemy do the rest.
• Passive Income
• This is a good source of secondary passive income aside from your main job. You provide the materials, and like the flexibility of udemy, you let the students and the platform do the rest.
• Access to millions of online learners
• This is a fantastic opportunity to meet eager students, new people, and fellow instructors.

The cons of teaching on Udemy

• High commissions
• Price caps
• No flexible pricing plans
• Lack of access to student data
• Udemy is not accredited
• Lack of support

The Udemy Conclusion

You have to decide for yourself if Udemy courses are for you (with the help of reviewers—wink). If you buy the course while it’s on sale and never open it, that’s a waste. If you start it, get stuck and never go back to finish it—that’s also a waste.

But, if you’re motivated, diligent, and ready to put the time in on your own schedule, Udemy’s courses are a potent, low-price option.

They’re a great way to get your feet wet to see if you like animation before going to school for it (or a way to enter a program with more skills and knowledge than your peers).

Coursera

Coursera is similar to Udemy in that it’s a platform offering online courses…

Now for some differences.

Subscription Payments and Collegiate Content

Instead of paying once and owning a course for life, Coursera charges you a monthly subscription fee for the courses.

The good news is, your first seven days are free as part of a trial period. You can test parts of a course and see if you like it. You have the ability to cancel anytime, or you can proceed with the $49 per month subscription (or annual payments for a slight discount).

Coursera Content from Michigan State University and CalArts

The subscription pricing model is not as compelling as the pay-once model used by Udemy. But the content is coming from top-tier game design schools (at a much better price than full tuition)—schools like Michigan State University and CalArts.

These schools are renowned for their game design and animation programs. Coursera makes courses available for $600 a year—100x less than what you’d pay to attend the degree program at these schools.

Granted, you’re not getting a full education and access to the same resources (or even the same content)—but the sources of this content are known for excellent programs. The price is right.

You Can Earn a Specialization, But Can You Earn College Credit?

Coursera has courses bundled as “specializations.”

You can earn certificates for specializations upon completing all the courses in the bundle. You can also take the courses individually if you’re only interested in specific topics (you won’t get the certificate, though).

The programs don’t count for college credit, but sometimes universities will give you credit for a specialization certificate earned through Coursera (definitely check with your college before signing on to this, if that’s what you’re looking for).

Candid Reviews

Like Udemy, Coursera allows students to candidly review the courses they’ve participated in.

Here are some reviews from the Michigan State University Game Design and Development Specialization. It’s a course that teaches you to “Build a game using Unity 3D. Design and create your own game, and bring it to market, in five hands-on courses.”

Take a look at what people are saying:

“Excellent entry point for whoever is thinking about designing videogames in a more serious manner. It’s focused on hands-on practice, but it also complements it with some theory, which helps you understand the global picture of video games industry.”

“Very good course, it gives a great start to work with Unity. Practical tip: make sure your PC will support Unity. My MAC was crashing a lot.”

“It’s ok but Udemy has better courses for game development” (shots fired!)

“This class is a pretty good introduction to Unity, I just don’t know that it is better than the free tutorials provided by Unity.” (take cover!)

As you can see, some people loved it, others weren’t sure it was worth the monthly price tag.

Of course, if you have the time to crank out the course in only a few months, you’ll end up paying less. And if you’re strapped for cash, Coursera does offer financial aid.

Parting Thoughts

In any case, these options are significantly less than collegiate-level courses.

They give you the tools you need to start designing and developing games on your own (no matter what level you’re a—beginner to advanced).

Both Udemy and Coursera are solid online platform options—as long as you can stick with any of the courses you enroll in. There won’t be professors making you keep up with assignments, and the price tag isn’t so large that it will necessarily keep you motivated.

Once again, your success comes down to the effort you put into the course.

The game design programs at USC are a combined effort from the Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science and the School of Cinematic Arts’ Interactive Media and Games Division.

The program was founded in 2005 when the (now multi-billion-dollar) video game industry was starting to come into its own. Over the past decade, about 2,000 students have gone through the USC game design program.

This is a school that takes its Game Design programs very seriously. The game design degree is a controversial one. Many of the industry veterans didn’t attend any game design programs because there weren’t many (or any) even ten years ago.

Now, game design programs have become more mainstream. Many colleges are creating and refining the program to attract students like you.

But not all programs are created equal, which is why we’re deep-diving into the USC video game design program. The Princeton Review ranking is certainly a good sign, and on paper, the USC game design programs look pretty impressive.

Hang around game design programs long enough and you’ll realize everyone claims their program prepares students for the industry. With the USC game design programs, as we’ll discuss in detail later, many graduates leave the school with a job lined up.

Let’s take a look at the most relevant programs, so you know what to expect from the curriculum.

Game Design & Development Degree Programs Offered at USC

The University of Southern California offers four primary major degree programs specific to game design and development:

At the undergraduate level:

• Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Media & Games
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with an emphasis in Games

At the graduate level:

• Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media & Games
• Master of Science in Computer Science with an emphasis in Games

Now, let’s look at these programs a little more closely, shall we?

Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Media & Games

According to the USC Degree programs page, “the Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Entertainment combines a broad liberal arts background with specialization in the design of games and interactive entertainment.”

USC takes the hands-on approach–you’ll make games at every level of the program. As your skills improve, you’ll develop familiarity and competency in several digital media arts.

This program lets you earn multiple industry specializations. The opportunity for specialization will broaden your skills and increase your value to companies after graduation.

Your game design education in the Interactive Media & Games program will focus on innovation, collaboration, creative leadership, and team-building. You’ll also spend time on emerging markets and platforms (AR and VR, anyone?).

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with an Emphasis in Games

“The goal of the BS in Computer Science (Games) program is to graduate students with a solid grounding in computer science and a cross-disciplinary background in game development.”

You’ll cover topics like:

• Production
• Video game programming
• Visual design for games and interactives
• Game engine programming
• Game hardware architecture
• Computer animation
• Serious game development
• Game design through the introductory and intermediate levels

This program also includes a final game development project that spans your final two semesters.

Interested in going for your Master’s degree? This program also sets you up for further education in game development or computer science graduate programs.

Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media & Games

The Master of Fine Arts in Interactive Media “is an intensive three-year program designed to prepare students to become creative thought leaders and innovators in the evolving fields of games and interactive entertainment.”

This program will hone your skills in areas like:

• Development
• Design
• Creative leadership
• Collaboration

Your third year in the program will involve a thesis project that spans the entire year. The collaboration element is prevalent here—the program “draws on the strengths of the School of Cinematic Arts”—the whole school. This includes resources from animation, sound production, producing, screenwriting, game design, and critical studies.

Master of Science in Computer Science with an Emphasis in Games

“The goal of the M.S. in Computer Science (Game Development) program is to graduate students with a core in computer science, an engineering-oriented game development core, and a concentration”.

Your concentration will be in “one of the key research directions”—the list includes:

• Cognition and games
• Game development infrastructure
• Immersion
• Serious games

Which Program is Right for You?

To know which game design program is right for you at USC, you’ll need to do a little “soul searching.”

What’s your ultimate goal?

If you love the idea of designing or producing games, then your best bet is the Interactive Media & Games degree from the School of Cinematic Arts.

If you’re more interested in technical game development, then you should go with the Viterbi School of Engineering’s Computer Science (Games) degree.

All the degrees take the hands-on approach. You’ll be using technology. You’ll be in charge of creative project development. You’ll be learning by doing, rather than hypothesizing and theorizing. Figure out what you want to focus on, and make your decision based on that.

What is the USC Minor Programs?

If you’re not sold on a game design major—no problem. It’s not for everyone.

If you want formal game design education without committing 30+ credit hours to the cause, a minor might be your best bet.

USC offers several minors, and some are more relevant than others.

Game Design Minor

This minor “teaches iterative design and prototyping skills while providing students the opportunity to explore design for new technologies and the skills of user assessment and usability testing.”

Hands-on experience with new tech, learning sequential approaches to game design, and learning how to test your creations? This is a well-rounded way to get your feet wet in the field.

Video Game Design and Management Minor

This minor “integrates theoretical concepts and practical skills to prepare students for a career in interactive entertainment, specifically the video game industry.”

In this minor, you’ll be exposed to concepts like:

• Gameplay control
• User interface
• Level design
• Game mechanics
• Storytelling
• Multiplayer

You’ll use game design software tools to build your own working video game demo throughout the minor.

The Game Design Minor and the Video Game Design and Management Minor are the most relevant minors to this review, but USC offers several others:

• Game Animation
• Game Audio
• Game Entrepreneurism
• Game User Research
• Themed Entertainment
• Video Game Programming (this one is code-heavy)
• 3D Computer Modeling and Graphics

Who’s Teaching this Stuff?

There is a huge roster of faculty supporting these programs. And the industry experience between them is dizzying! You don’t have to search long to see companies and games that you recognize.

Take a look at some of these:

You Have Tracy Fullerton, for example, who wrote Game Design Workshop—a textbook that is used worldwide in game programs.

There’s Scott Easley, who is “an Emmy, Telly and Annie-winning commercial writer/creator.”

Richard Lemarchand is the lead designer on a “critical and commercial hit series of games.” You might have heard of the series….It’s called Uncharted.

Hao Li was named the top 35 innovators under 35 in 2013 by MIT technology review. He’s held positions at Industrial Light & magic (not to mention Columbia University, Princeton University, and more).

One more—Matthew Whiting. He’s worked on games like Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, True Crime, and more. He has over 15 years of experience in the industry.

This is a small taste of some of the professors you have the opportunity to learn from at USC. Professors who have spent years in the industry, who have held positions at studios and companies where you want to work, and who wrote the book on some of these subjects.

What Else Does USC Have Going On?

Flexible, top-rated programs. An impressive roster of faculty. These are great things to have, but on their own, they don’t ensure you graduate with an awesome portfolio or great connections (hint hint—those are what count, not where you got your degree).

No, those two things come down to you and your effort. But USC does give you some helpful resources to make those things happen! Here are some other experience-boosting perks that USC offers.

Cutting Edge Facilities

You’ll have access to a motion capture stage, a Kinect development lab (in cooperation with Microsoft), and an impressive list of hardware and software available for student use.

If you’re interested in the tools and resources you’ll have at your disposal, you’ll want to check out the full list of facilities and technology.

USC Games Demo Day—AGP

USC runs what they call Advanced Game Projects. It’s where students from all across campus get together to try and develop games. Then, on Demo Day, they showcase these projects. It’s like USC’s little E3.

Here’s how it works.

In Spring semester, there’s a rigorous pitch process “wherein small teams pitch projects that are either original or developed out of the other USC Games curriculum, our selection committee (comprised of faculty from across the campus, as well as industry veterans) chooses the 5-7 games that will advance.”

You can peep the whole list for the 2016-17 games on the AGP website. There’s even a game that uses augmented reality (Way more cutting edge than you’d expect from college students, wink wink).

Other Opportunities at USC and Closing Thoughts

There are activities like “game jams” which are hosted by the local student organization, MEGA. Game jams, and opportunities like them, are great places to network with your peers.

This school will have hundreds of people like you—like-minded creatives. People looking to design great games. People looking to push the boundaries of current technology. People who want to create for the sake of creating.

It’s these opportunities that will help you succeed after college. USC will let you tap into a great network of game makers. Just look at where the alumni work: Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Disney Interactive Games, Naughty Dog, Jam City, Treyarch, and more.

It always comes down to the time you put it, not the place you go to. If you do decide to go to USC, make it count.