Gaming is an extremely popular pastime for people of all ages, and it’s only getting bigger. When you look at how esports continues to grow, and the fact that streamers and YouTube channel owners manage to make careers out of playing video games, it’s pretty easy to see how gamers may want to try building a similar career of their own or even study gaming in college. The good news is that game design courses are offered at colleges across the United States and beyond, and there are plenty of courses that will teach you what you need to know for a career in video games and let you test out the latest technologies. Here are a couple of the best colleges for students interested in gaming and what you’ll need to do to get into your dream school.
Rochester Institute of Technology
This Rochester, New York-based private university is considered one of the best in the U.S. for combining the latest technology with arts and design. RIT offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It even offers Ph.D. programs in computing and information sciences, as well as engineering. Gamers who want to attend this college don’t have to focus on programming or design, however. The university also has a Master of Fine Arts program, which can teach students everything they need to know about scriptwriting if they’d rather pursue story-related avenues in game creation.
It also offers gaming specializations, such as production, design, computer systems, graphics, and more. Students who decide to take game design and graphics courses will even be required to work co-op jobs in the field, so you can get real-world experience. The co-op jobs are even full-time and paid, and any student working them will have an edge over other recent graduates applying for jobs in the field.
Of course, getting into a private university is never an easy task, and it’s advisable that college applicants seek college admission counselling. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a counselor willing to help you get into RIT, as it comes highly recommended by many admissions counselors. The application process for the best colleges frequently requires a personal statement explaining how you’re the right fit for the college, as well as rigorous testing requirements. Even if you’re still a high school student, the right college counselor can help you prepare for these events in advance, so you’ll be better prepared than other new applicants when the time comes.
Digipen Institute of Technology
If you’re someone who really likes to collect as many CSGO skins as possible, and you really get into seeing how the animations work for weapons in-game, then Digipen is a great choice for you. Here, you’ll really get into the technical side of creating video games by building game worlds, character designs, and yes, even weapon skins of your own. Graduates from this university have landed jobs at major studios like Microsoft Game Studios and Rockstar Games, so excelling here will mean you have a bright future in the industry.
You’ll even have one-on-one testing sessions with your peers and instructors to see how well your game worlds work and determine how you can grow as a designer. The Game Design Club even gives you chances to speak with big names in the industry, so you’ll have everything you need to reach your full potential.
Even if game design isn’t the path you envision for your gaming career, you’ll be able to explore plenty of elective activities in college. You may be surprised to learn how much a few marketing courses can help with a gaming career, for example. You’ll have opportunities to learn about content marketing, so you can better promote your live streams or gaming channel. Studying gaming in college isn’t just possible—the principles you learn can be applied to a variety of careers.
