The Princeton Review Names the Top Undergrad & Grad Schools to Study Game Design for 2019

NEW YORK, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review^® — known for its education services and school rankings in dozens of categories —  today released its 10th annual ranking lists naming the undergraduate and graduate schools with the best programs in game design. 

For the second year in a row, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles earned the #1 spot on the undergraduate programs list. New York University is #1 on the graduate programs list, up from #2 last year.

The full ranking lists, which name the top 50 undergraduate and top 25 graduate schools, posted today on The Princeton Review site at Top Schools For Game Design 2019. (The 25 top schools on each list are below.)

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on data it collected in its 2018 survey of administrators at 150 institutions that offer game design courses, majors, or degree programs. Surveyed schools were in the U.S., Canada and abroad.

The survey requested information in four areas: academics, faculty, technology, and career prospects. It covered everything from the schools' courses and facilities to their graduates' starting salaries and professional achievements. In all, more than 40 data points were analyzed to tally the rankings. The Princeton Review posts information about its methodology for its game design school rankings here.

"The schools that made our lists this year have stellar programs for aspiring game designers and developers," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. "Their faculties are outstanding and their facilities are awesome. Just as impressive: their alumni include many of the video game industry's most prominent artists, designers, developers, and entrepreneurs."

Game design students at schools on the lists also gain valuable professional experience. According to The Princeton Review's survey for this year's rankings, 62% of undergrad and 70% of grad students enrolled in the schools' game design programs worked on games that shipped before they graduated.

The Princeton Review has reported its "Top Schools for Game Design" ranking lists annually since 2010. In 2013, the company teamed up with PC Gamer, a monthly magazine published by Future plc, as its annual reporting partner on this project.

PC Gamer's May issue has a feature on the 2019 ranking lists.  It reports interesting and fun facts on the schools' unique programs, faculty, and alumni. The issue lands in subscriber mailboxes this week and on newsstands March 26.

The Princeton Review's detailed profiles of the schools are accessible here, They give prospective applicants information on the schools' distinctive programs, admission requirements, financial aid resources, and more.

The top 25 schools on The Princeton Review list, "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2019," are:

1.     University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
2.     New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
3.     Becker College (Worcester, MA)
4.     DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
5.     Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
6.     Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
7.     Michigan State University (East Lansing)
8.     Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
9.     Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
10.  University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
11.  Miami University (Oxford, OH)
12.  Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
13.  University of Central Florida (Orlando)
14.  Cogswell College (San Jose, CA)
15.  LaSalle College Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia)
16.  Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
17.  Ferris State University (Big Rapids, MI)
18.  Laguna College of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, CA)
19.  Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
20.  Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
21.  University of Wisconsin-Stout (Menomonie, WI)
22.  Howest University of Applied Sciences (Kortrijk, Belgium)
23.  North Carolina State University (Raleigh)
24.  Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX)
25.  Falmouth University (Penryn, Cornwall, UK)

The full list of top 50 schools is viewable at Top Schools for Game Design 2019

The 25 schools on The Princeton Review list, "Top 25 Graduate Schools to Study Game Design for 2019," are:

1.     New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
2.     Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
3.     University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
4.     University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
5.     University of Central Florida (Orlando)
6.     DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
7.     Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
8.     Michigan State University (East Lansing)
9.     Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
10.  Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
11.  Becker College (Worcester, MA)
12.  Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
13.  Laguna College of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, CA)
14.  Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
15.  University of California—Santa Cruz
16.  University of Wisconsin—Stout (Menomonie, WI)
17.  University of Malta (Msida, Malta)
18.  Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
19.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge)
20.  DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
21.  The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
22.  Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT)
23.  Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
24.    American University (Washington, DC)
25.  University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL)

About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, 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, online resources, and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit www.PrincetonReview.com. Follow the company on Twitter @ThePrincetonRev.

About Future plc
Future is a global platform business for specialist media with diversified revenue streams. The Media division is high-growth with three complementary revenue streams: eCommerce, events and digital advertising. It operates in a number of sectors including technology, games, music, home interest, hobbies and B2B and its brands include TechRadar, PC Gamer, Tom's Guide, Homebuilding & Renovating Show, GamesRadar+, The Photography Show, Top Ten Reviews, Live Science, Guitar World, MusicRadar, Space.com and Tom's Hardware. The Magazine division focuses on publishing specialist content, with over 80 publications and over 520 bookazines published per year, totaling global circulation of 1.3 million. The Magazine portfolio spans technology, games and entertainment, music, creative and photography, hobbies, home interest and B2B. Its titles include Classic Rock, Guitar Player, FourFourTwo, Homebuilding & Renovating, Digital Camera, Guitarist, How It Works, Total Film, What Hi-Fi? and Music Week.

WEBSITES
www.princetonreview.com
www.pcgamer.com

SOURCE The Princeton Review