The Princeton Review Ranks Top 25 Undergrad & Grad Schools To Study Game Design For 2015

NEW YORK, March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com) today released its sixth annual ranking list naming the best schools for undergrad and grad students to study game design. The University of Southern California retained its #1 spot on the undergraduate list for the fifth time in six years. The University of Utah grabbed the #1 graduate school title -- up from #4 in 2014.

Students looking to study game design will not go wrong with any of the 50 school programs that made The Princeton Review's ranking lists for 2015. The top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate schools were selected based on the company's 2014-15 survey of 150 institutions in the U.S., Canada, and abroad offering game design coursework and/or degree programs.

The full lists follow and are also accessible at www.princetonreview.com/game-design where users can find complete profiles of the schools with guidance for applicants on admission and financial aid.

Undergrads Make Big Salary Gains with Gaming Degree. Earn Real-Life Experience.

The survey asked the school's administrators to report on everything from their academic offerings and faculty's credentials to their graduates' starting salaries and employment experience. Among the surveyed schools, The Princeton Review found that undergrads are earning an average starting salary of $58,000, a 20% increase from last year and 28% more than the average salary for all 2014 undergrads. Students studying game design at these schools also find professional achievement while still in school. Forty-eight percent of undergrads and 66% of grad students work on a game that is shipped before they graduate.

"For students aspiring to work in the burgeoning field of game design, these are truly the 'cream of the crop' institutions from which to launch a career," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's Senior VP – Publisher.  "Some are nationally-known universities; others have well-deserved reputations within their regions. All are renowned for their exceptional faculties and awesome, state-of-the-art facilities. Collectively, these schools have graduated legions of the industry's most successful video game designers, developers, artists, and entrepreneurs."

The Princeton Review teamed up with PC Gamer, a monthly magazine published by Future plc, as its reporting partner on this project. PC Gamer's May issue has a feature on the ranking lists detailing many of the schools' unique programs, class offerings, prominent professors, and alumni. The issue lands in subscriber mailboxes this week and on newsstands March 31^st.

More than 60 data points were weighted to tally this year's school ranking lists.  Criteria focused on four areas: curriculum, facilities, technology, and career services.

The Princeton Review's "Top 25 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2015" are:

1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
2. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
3. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
4. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
5. The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia)
6. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
7. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
8. Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
9. Becker College (Worcester, MA)
10. Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
11. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
12. Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
13. Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
14. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
15. Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
16. Ferris State University (Grand Rapids, MI)
17. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
18. The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
19. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
20. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
21. Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
22. Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
23. Lawrence Technological University (Southfield, MI)
24. Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
25. DePaul University (Chicago, IL)

The Princeton Review's "Top 25 Graduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2015" are:

1. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
2. University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
3. Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
4. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
5. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
6. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
7. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
8. University of California at Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
9. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
10. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
11. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
12. The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
13. DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
14. Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
15. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
16. The Ohio State University – Columbus  (Columbus, OH)
17. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
18. Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
19. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
20. Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
21. American University (Washington, DC)
22. Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)
23. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
24. Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT)
25. University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL)

The Princeton Review has reported annual ranking lists of best schools to study game design since 2010 and partnered with PC Gamer on this project since 2013. The company is also known for its annual rankings of colleges, business schools, and law schools in dozens of categories that it reports on its site and in its books including The Best 379 Colleges and Colleges That Pay You Back.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading test preparation, tutoring, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in Natick, MA, and is an operating business of IAC.  For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com and www.facebook/com/ThePrincetonReview.  Follow the company's Twitter feed @ThePrincetonRev

About Future plc

Future plc is an international media group and leading digital business, listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR). Future has operations in the UK, US and Australia, creating publications, apps, websites, and events. We hold market-leading positions in Technology, Games, Music, and the Creative sector. We attract more than 49 million monthly global unique users to our websites, which include: techradar.com, gamesradar.com and musicradar.com. Future sold more than 14 million magazines last year. Our most well-known brands include T3, Total Film and Xbox: The Official Magazine. Videos created by Future had over 143 million views last year. Future, and its portfolio, reaches over 15 million people on social media. We have over 200 licensing and syndication agreements in 89 countries worldwide, and export over 55 titles. Follow Future plc on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/futureplc and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/future-publishing  

WEBSITES:
www.princetonreview.com/game-design 
www.pcgamer.com 

SOURCE The Princeton Review

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