NEW YORK, March 21, 2017 —The Princeton Review™ released its eighth annual ranking lists naming the best undergraduate and graduate schools for students to study – and launch a career in – game design.
LaSalle College Vancouver’s Renfrew Campus (formerly known as The Art institute of Vancouver)
the #1 spot on the undergraduate schools list in Canada and #8 in North America.
The Princeton Review chose the schools based on its 2016 survey of 150 institutions in the U.S., Canada and abroad offering game design degree programs or courses. The 40-question survey gathered data on everything from the schools' game design academic offerings and lab facilities to their graduates’ starting salaries and career achievements. More than 40 data points in four areas (academics, faculty, technology, and career) were analyzed to tally the lists.
“Game design is an exciting field and programs are springing up in colleges all over the world,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor in Chief. “We want to help students find the best program for their needs and interests. The top schools on our lists have outstanding faculties and great facilities which will give students the skills and experience they need to pursue a career in this dynamic and burgeoning field.”
Undergrad and grad students enrolled in the schools that made the lists also gain valuable professional experience while in school. According to The Princeton Review's 2016 survey of administrators at the schools, about 89% of their undergrad and/or graduate game design students that graduated in their 2016 classes developed actionable plans to launch games while in school. Moreover, 57% of undergrads and 65% of grad students at these school programs worked on games that were shipped before they graduated.
The Princeton Review has reported its game design program rankings annually since 2010. It has teamed up with PC Gamer, a monthly magazine published by Future plc, as its reporting partner on this project since 2013. PC Gamer's May issue has a feature on the ranking lists that details the schools' unique programs, prominent professors, and alumni. The issue lands in subscriber mailboxes this week and on newsstands 3/28.
The "Top 25" schools on The Princeton Review list, "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2017," are:
1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
2. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY
3. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
4. DigiPen Institute of Technology (DIT) (Redmond, WA)
5. Becker College (Worcester, MA)
6. Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
7. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
8. The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia)
9. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
10. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
11. Vancouver Film School (Vancouver, British Columbia)
12. Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
13. Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
14. Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
15. University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI)
16. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
17. The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
18. DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
19. Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
20. Ferris State University (Big Rapids, MI)
21. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)