Whether you’re taking your first steps or refining your skills, there’s a game design program for anyone. Check out the 50 best undergraduate and 25 best graduate programs out there.
Games Designer. Unquestionably a dream job. You get to flex your creative muscles, work at the cutting edge of technology and craft the kind of compelling experiences that thrill players on a daily basis.
But it's also an incredibly broad field, taking in everything from coding to storytelling, systems design to audience management, and a huge number of other specialities.
As an aspiring game designer you'll have an array of disciplines to choose from and master, as you begin your journey towards that first shipped title.
The Princeton Review is your guide to the huge range of game design courses on offer throughout North America and Europe’s finest further education institutions, whether you're a recent high school graduate or looking for a career change.
Here you'll find a rundown of graduate and postgraduate programs, with information on staff and facilities, as well as key statistics on employment rates and salaries, plus details on notable graduates.
We also take a look at some of the problems, dilemmas and issues facing modern game designers, and how some of the biggest and most successful titles out there have tackled them.
We don't have all the answers (that's what the colleges are for), but our goal is to help you make a successful first choice as you embark on your game design journey.
For more information on game design programs visit princetonreview.com/game-design.
2023 Grads Hired: 20
2023 Grads Mean Salary: $76,400
Faculty: Eric Zimmerman (founder, GameLab), Dr. Clara Fernandez-Vara (Fiction Control, author of Game Analysis)
Graduates: Carol Mertz (PixelPop Festival, Insatiable Cycle), Robert Meyer (God of War: Ragnarok)
https://gamecenter.nyu.edu/
2023 Grads Hired: 85
2023 Grads Mean Salary: $75,000
Faculty: TreaAndrea Russworm (Author of Gaming Representation: Race,