The Princeton Review's 2022 Ranking Lists of Top Undergrad & Grad Schools for Game Design Are Now Out

                •  #1 Undergrad School: University of Southern California
•  #1 Grad School: University of Central Florida


NEW YORK, March 22, 2022 / — The Princeton Review® — known for its education services and school rankings in dozens of categories — today released its 13th annual rankings of undergraduate and graduate schools offering the best programs in game design studies.

For the sixth year in a row, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles earned the #1 spot on the undergraduate list of 50 schools. On the graduate list which names 25 schools, the University of Central Florida in Orlando was #1 for the third consecutive year. The top 10 schools on the two lists are below.

The Princeton Review has posted the complete ranking lists on its website at Top Game Design Schools for 2022. There, prospective applicants can also access profiles of the schools with information on their academics, campus culture, financial aid, admission requirements and application deadlines.

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on its 2021 survey of administrators at 150 institutions offering game design courses, majors, or degree programs. Most of the selected institutions are in the U.S.; two are in Canada and seven are abroad. The 50-question survey covered four areas: academics, faculty, technology, and career prospects. Administrators were asked to report on everything from the credentials of their faculty to the starting salaries of their graduates. In all, more than 40 survey data points were analyzed to tally the rankings.  Information about the ranking methodology and the survey is here.

"We enthusiastically recommend these schools to students considering a career in this burgeoning field,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. "Every one of the schools has an outstanding game design program. Their faculties are first-rate, their facilities are state-of-the-art, and their alumni include many of the industry’s most successful artists, designers, developers, and entrepreneurs.”

Franek noted the exceptional experience students in the schools’ game design programs gained. At the schools on the 2022 lists:

  • More than 70% of the students in the programs worked on a shipped game as part of their studies. At undergraduate schools, that figure was 69%. At graduate schools, it was 80%.
  •  Nearly all of the students in the programs developed an actionable plan to launch a functional game after graduation. At undergraduate schools, that figure was 93%. At graduate schools, it was 99%.

PC Gamer, a top online and print gaming destination, is The Princeton Review's reporting partner on this project. The magazine's May issue, which lands on newsstands today, has a six-page feature on the project. Titled "The Best Game Design Programs," it publishes the two lists and notes interesting stats as well as fun facts about the schools’ graduates, faculty, and alumni. PC Gamer has been The Princeton Review’s partner on this project since 2013. 

The Princeton Review's website feature, Top Game Design Schools for 2022, also has articles with advice for prospective applicants. Among them are:  "What to Look for in a Game Design School," "Success Stories from Game Design Alumni," and “From Grad School to Game Designer.”

Top 10 schools on the 2022 list "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design" are:

  1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
  2. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
  3. Clark University (Worcester, MA)
  4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
  5. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
  6. Michigan State University (East Lansing)
  7. University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
  8. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA))
  9. Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
  10. Champlain College (Burlington, VT)

Top 10 schools on the 2022 list "Top 25 Graduate Schools for Game Design":

  1. University of Central Florida (Orlando)
  2. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
  3. Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)
  4. University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
  5. University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
  6. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
  7. Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
  8. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
  9. Clark University (Worcester, MA)
  10. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)

The Princeton Review has reported annual ranking lists of top schools for game design since 2010. The company also reports annual rankings of colleges, law schools, and business schools, as well as rankings of top schools for entrepreneurship studies and lists of top online degree programs in education, library science, and nursing.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review® is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through its: online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is now in its 41st year. The company’s Tutor.com brand, now in its 21st year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 21 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on Twitter (@ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram (@theprincetonreview).

SOURCE
The Princeton Review

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CONTACTS

The Princeton Review: Jeanne Krier, Publicist for The Princeton Review, pressoffice@review.com

PC Gamer / Future PLC: Vic Chappell, Trade Marketing Director, victoria.chappell@futurenet.com

NOTE TO EDITORS

Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, and David Soto, Senior Director, Data Operations at The Princeton Review, are available for interviews. Reporter resources—including lists of ranked schools organized two ways (alphabetical by country/state/city/school and alphabetical by school)—are at https://www.princetonreview.com/press/game-design-press-release-2022.

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List of Programs: Alpha by Country / State / City / School

Belgium

  • Kortrijk / Howest University of Applied Sciences (Ugrad #25)    

CANADA

  • Vancouver / La Salle College Vancouver (Ugrad #16)

  • Vancouver / Vancouver Film School (Ugrad #14)

England

  • Penryn / Falmouth University (Ugrad #32)

MALTA

  • Msida, Malta / University of Malta (Grad #22)

  • netherlands

    • Breda / Breda University of Applied Sciences (Ugrad #12, Grad #11)

SCOTLAND

  • Dundee / Abertay University (Ugrad #17, Grad #7)

The UNITED STATES

California
  • Burbank / New York Film Academy (Ugrad #36, Grad #23)
    Laguna Beach / Laguna College of Art + Design (Ugrad #18, Grad #20)
    Los Angeles / University of Southern California (Ugrad #1, Grad #4)
    Pasadena / ArtCenter College of Design (Ugrad #44)
    San Francisco / Academy of Art University (Ugrad #38)
    San Jose / University of Silicon Valley (Ugrad #15)
    Santa Clara / University of California Santa Cruz (Grad #15)
Connecticut
  • Hamden / Quinnipiac University (Ugrad #22)
District of Columbia
  • Washington / American University (Grad #19)
Florida
  • DeLand / Stetson University (Ugrad #41)
    Orlando / University of Central Florida (Ugrad #13, Grad #1)
    Winter Park / Full Sail University (Ugrad #43)
Georgia
  • Marietta / Kennesaw State University (Ugrad #33)
  • Savannah / Savannah College of Art and Design (Ugrad #20, Grad #16)
Illinois
  • Chicago / DePaul University (Ugrad #39, Grad #25)
  • Peoria / Bradley University (Ugrad #19, Grad #24)
Massachusetts

  • Amherst / Hampshire College (Ugrad #31)
    Boston / Northeastern University (Ugrad #27, Grad #17)
    Cambridge / Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ugrad #49)
    Worcester / Clark University (Ugrad #3, Grad #9)
    Worcester / Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Ugrad #11, Grad #14)

Michigan
  • Dearborn / University of Michigan-Dearborn (Ugrad #35)
  • East Lansing / Michigan State University (Ugrad #6, Grad #12)
New Jersey
  • Bloomfield / Bloomfield College (Ugrad #37)
  • Newark NJ / New Jersey Institute of Technology (Ugrad #47)
New York
  • Brooklyn / New York University (Ugrad #2, Grad #2)
  • Ithaca / Cornell University (Ugrad #48)
  • Poughkeepsie / Marist College (Ugrad #34)
  • Rochester / Rochester Institute of Technology (Ugrad #4, Grad #6)
  • Troy / Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Ugrad #23, Grad #18)
North Carolina
  • High Point / High Point University (Ugrad #50)
Ohio
  • Cleveland / Cleveland Institute of Art (Ugrad #40)
    Oxford / Miami University (Ugrad #24)
    Portsmouth / Shawnee State University (Ugrad #9    )
Oklahoma
  • Edmond / Oklahoma Christian University (Ugrad #30)
  • Edmond / Oklahoma City University (Ugrad #46)
Pennsylvania
  • Philadelphia / Drexel University (Ugrad #8, Grad #10)
Rhode Island
  • East Greenwich / New England Institute of Technology (Ugrad #29)
South Dakota
  • Madison / Dakota State University (Ugrad #42)
Texas
  • Abilene / Abilene Christian University (Ugrad #28)
    Dallas / Southern Methodist University (Grad #3)
    Richardson / The University of Texas at Dallas (Ugrad #21, Grad #13)

  • San Antonio / University of the Incarnate Word (Ugrad #45)

Utah
  • Salt Lake City / University of Utah (Ugrad #7, Grad #5)
Vermont
  • Burlington / Champlain College (Ugrad #10)
Washington
  • Redmond / DigiPen Institute of Technology (Ugrad #5, Grad #8)
Wisconsin

  • Menomonie / University of Wisconsin–Stout (Ugrad #26, Grad #21)

    List of Programs: Alpha by School

  • Abertay University / Dundee, Scotland (Ugrad #17, Grad #7)
    Abilene Christian University / Abilene, TX (Ugrad #28)
    Academy of Art University / San Francisco, CA (Ugrad #38)
    American University / Washinton, DC (Grad #19)
    ArtCenter College of Design / Pasadena, CA (Ugrad #44)
    Bloomfield College / Bloomfield, NJ (Ugrad #37, Grad #24)
    Bradley University / Peoria, IL (Ugrad #19)
    Breda University of Applied Sciences / Breda, Netherlands (Ugrad #12, Grad #11)
    Champlain College / Burlington, VT (Ugrad #10)
    Clark University / Worcester, MA (Ugrad #3, Grad #9)
    Cleveland Institute of Art / Cleveland, OH (Ugrad #40)
    Cornell University / Ithaca, NY (Ugrad #48)
    Dakota State University / Madison, SD (Ugrad #42)
    DePaul University / Chicago, IL (Ugrad #39, Grad #25)
    DigiPen Institute of Technology / Redmond, WA (Ugrad #5, Grad #8)
    Drexel University / Philadelphia, PA (Ugrad #8, Grad #10)
    Falmouth University / Penryn, England (Ugrad #32)
    Full Sail University / Winter Park, FL (Ugrad #43)
    Hampshire College / Amherst, MA (Ugrad #31)
    High Point University / High Point, NC (Ugrad #50)
    Howest University of Applied Sciences / Kortrijk, Belgium (Ugrad #25)
    Kennesaw State University / Marietta, GA (Ugrad #33)
    La Salle College Vancouver / Vancouver, Canada (Ugrad #16)
    Laguna College of Art + Design / Laguna Beach, CA (Ugrad #18, Grad #20)
    Marist College / Poughkeepsie, NY (Ugrad #34)
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Cambridge, MA (Ugrad #49)
    Miami University / Oxford, OH (Ugrad #24)
    Michigan State University / East Lansing, MI (Ugrad #6, Grad #12)
    New England Institute of Technology / East Greenwich, RI (Ugrad #29)
    New Jersey Institute of Technology / Newark NJ, NJ (Ugrad #47)
    New York Film Academy / Burbank, CA (Ugrad #36, Grad #23)
    New York University / Brooklyn, NY (Ugrad #2, Grad #2)
    Northeastern University / Boston, MA (Ugrad #27, Grad #17)
    Oklahoma Christian University / Edmond, OK (Ugrad #30)
    Oklahoma City University / Edmond, OK (Ugrad #46)
    Quinnipiac University / Hamden, CT (Ugrad #22)
    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute / Troy, NY (Ugrad #23, Grad #18)
    Rochester Institute of Technology / Rochester, NY (Ugrad #4, Grad #6)
    Savannah College of Art and Design / Savannah, GA (Ugrad #20, Grad #16)
    Shawnee State University / Portsmouth, OH (Ugrad #9)
    Southern Methodist University / Dallas, TX (Grad #3)
    Stetson University / DeLand, FL (Ugrad #41)
    The University of Texas at Dallas / Richardson, TX (Ugrad #21, Grad #13)
    University of California Santa Cruz / Santa Clara, CA (Grad #15)
    University of Central Florida / Orlando, FL (Ugrad #13, Grad #1)
    University of Malta / Msida, Malta, Malta (Grad #22)
    University of Michigan-Dearborn / Dearborn, MI (Ugrad #35)
    University of Silicon Valley / San Jose, CA (Ugrad #15)
    University of Southern California / Los Angeles, CA (Ugrad #1, Grad #4)
    University of the Incarnate Word / San Antonio, TX (Ugrad #45)
    University of Utah / Salt Lake City, UT (Ugrad #7, Grad #5)
    University of Wisconsin - Stout / Menomonie, WI (Ugrad #26, Grad #21)
    Vancouver Film School / Vancouver, Canada (Ugrad #14)
    Worcester Polytechnic Institute / Worcester, MA (Ugrad #11, Grad #14)