UIC in Princeton Review’s Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs
February 28th, 2010
Categories: Applications, Devices, Human Factors, Multimedia, Software, User Groups
About
The February 28, 2010 issue of USA TODAY reported that the Princeton Review and GamePro magazine selected the best institutions in the USA and Canada where students can go to study game design. They chose 50 programs based on a 2009-2010 survey of administrators at institutions offering game design coursework and / or degrees. UIC is one of the distinguished institutions that made the overall Top 50 list - and we can only presume it is because of the UIC Computer Science “Video Game Design and Development” class taught by EVL Director Jason Leigh.
Selection criteria for the Undergraduate Game Design Program list included the quality of the curriculum, faculty credentials, facilities and infrastructure as well as data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.
The Princeton Review serves as America’s standard for college preparation and admissions advice. Since 1981, it has been ranking colleges by programs, features, and financial aid packages as well as publishing guidebooks to college admissions.
For articles on Princeton Review / GamePro Top 50 list, see:
- content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/02/the-princeton-reviews-top-50-undergraduate-game-design-programs--/1#.UnKc0iRQ1vF
- usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2010-03-01-gameschools01_ST_N.htm
- www.princetonreview.com/game-design.aspx
The UIC “Video Game Design and Development” class has been written up previously. It has several unique features. First, Jason Leigh teaches this course both at UIC and remotely at Louisiana State University (LSU) using high-definition video streaming over high-speed networks between Chicago and Baton Rouge. The students are organized into virtual teams, and each team has to design and develop a video game as its class project (projects are then judged by people who work in the industry.) Another unique feature is that students use the most advanced EVL hardware (currently TacTile) as the platform for game development, exploring new graphical user interfaces and human / computer interaction techniques. For more information, see: