The Princeton Review's 2024 Rankings of Top Ugrad & Grad Schools for Game Design Are Now Out

NYU #1 Ugrad School / U-Central Florida #1 Grad School

NEW YORK, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review^®—the education services company known for its school rankings in dozens of categories—today reported its 15th annual ranking of undergraduate and graduate schools with the best programs in game design studies. 

For the second year in a row, New York University ranked #1 on the undergraduate schools list, which names the top 50 schools. NYU's Game Design program is based at the university's Brooklyn campus. 

On the graduate schools list, which names the top 25 schools, the University of Central Florida in Orlando earned the #1 spot—up from #2 on the list in 2023.

The top 10 schools on the undergraduate and graduate school lists are below as well as #1 schools by region in seven regions. The complete lists are posted on The Princeton Review website at Top Game Design Schools for 2024.

The Princeton Review's game design school rankings are based on more than 40 data points derived from the company's 2023 survey of administrators at 150 schools offering game design courses and/or degrees. Most of the institutions are in the U.S., with two in Canada and four abroad.

The 50-question survey covered four areas: academics, faculty, technology, and career topics. Detailed information about the survey methodology and rankings criteria is here.

PC Gamer, a top online and print gaming publication, has been The Princeton Review's reporting partner on this project since 2013. The magazine's May issue, which lands on newsstands today, has a six-page feature on the project. Titled "The Best Game Design Programs Ranked by The Princeton Review 2024," it reports the two categories of ranking lists with interesting stats as well as fun facts about the schools' graduates, faculty, and alumni. The feature also includes two articles on video game creation titled "Theorycrafting & Player Choice" and "Live Service Gaming & The Infinite Narrative."

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

1. New York University (Brooklyn)
2. University of Southern California (Los Angeles)
3. Clark University (Worcester, MA)
4. University of Utah (Salt Lake City)
5. University of Central Florida (Orlando)
6. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
7. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
8. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
9. Michigan State University (East Lansing)
10. Northeastern University (Boston, MA)

The top 10 schools on the list "Top 25 Graduate Schools for Game Design" are:

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

The lists by region and the #1 undergraduate and graduate schools on them are:

International: Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland), Undergrad & Grad
Mid-Atlantic: Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA), Undergrad & Grad
Midwest: Michigan State University (East Lansing), Undergrad & Grad
Northeast: New York University (Brooklyn), Undergrad & Grad
South: University of Central Florida (Orlando), Undergrad & Grad
Southwest: The University of Texas at Dallas, Undergrad
                   Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX), Grad
West: University of Southern California (Los Angeles), Undergrad & Grad

"The schools that made our lists for 2024 have awesome game design programs," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. "Their faculties are superb. Their facilities are state-of-the-art, and their alumni include many of the industry's most successful game designers, developers, and entrepreneurs. We recommend them highly to all students aspiring to a career in this exciting field." 

Franek noted the exceptional game design experience students gain at the schools. Based on data from The Princeton Review's 2023 survey for the rankings:

• Seventy-six percent of the students enrolled in game design programs at the undergraduate schools worked on a shipped game as part of their studies. At the graduate schools, that figure was 74%.
  
  
• Ninety-seven percent of the students enrolled in game design programs at the undergraduate schools developed an actionable plan to launch a functional game after graduation. At graduate schools, that figure was 96%.
  
  
• The average starting salary of students completing their game design studies with a bachelor's degree from the schools was $64,065. The average starting salary of students completing their game design studies with a master's degree from the schools was $73,947.

About The Princeton Review's School Rankings

The Princeton Review tallies school rankings in dozens of categories. In addition to the rankings for game design studies, the company reports rankings for entrepreneurship studies. Both projects are based on its surveys of school administrators. The Princeton Review's Best Colleges rankings in 50 categories and its law schools and MBA programs rankings in 14+ categories are based primarily on its surveys of students attending the schools. Students surveyed rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences at them. The company's rankings for its Best Value Colleges and Guide to Green Colleges projects are based on its surveys of administrators as well as its surveys of students at the schools.

About PC Gamer

Future's leading online and print gaming publication, PC Gamer is the global authority on PC games. Having covered PC gaming for more than 30 years, PC Gamer continues that legacy today with worldwide print editions and around-the-clock news, features, original reporting, buying guides, and reviews on pcgamer.com, as well as in its twice-annual PC Gaming Show broadcast event watched by more than 13 million viewers. Visit PC Gamer's staff page to see the international team behind these stories and events, and keep up on Steam, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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, as well as working professionals, achieve their education and career goals through its many education services and products. These include online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; a line of more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 24th 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 26 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review, headquartered in New York, NY, is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on X (formerly Twitter) (@ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram (@theprincetonreview).

SOURCE: The Princeton Review
WEBSITE: www.princetonreview.com

Note to Editors
Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, and David Soto, Senior Director, Data Operations at The Princeton Review, are available for interviews. 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-2024.

SOURCE The Princeton Review