The Princeton Review's Top Schools to Study Game Design for 2026

- New York University Ranked #1 on Both Undergraduate and Graduate School Lists

NEW YORK, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Princeton Review^®—the education company known for its tutoring, test-prep services, and annual school rankings in dozens of categories—today issued its lists of the undergraduate and graduate Top Game Design Schools for 2026, a resource the company has researched and reported since 2009.

New York University earned the #1 spot on both ranking lists for 2026. It is #1 on the Top Undergraduate Schools for Game Design list (up from #2 in 2025) and #1 on the Top Graduate Schools for Game Design list (for the second consecutive year). NYU—which runs its undergraduate and graduate game design programs at its Brooklyn-based NYU Game Center—has been on one or both of the ranking lists annually since 2013.

The Princeton Review's top schools for game design lists are based on more than 40 data points derived from the company's annual survey of administrators at 150+ institutions offering game design courses and/or degrees. Most of the surveyed institutions are in the U.S. Some are in countries abroad. The 50-question survey covers four areas: academics, faculty, technology, and career topics. Information about the survey and the ranking list methodology is here.

For this project, The Princeton Review also identifies the top game design schools within regions: six in the U.S. (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, South, Southwest, and West), and one International.

The top 10 schools on the undergraduate and graduate lists and the #1 schools on the seven regional lists are below. The complete ranking lists that name top 50 undergraduate and top 25 graduate schools for game design posted today at PrincetonReview.com.

Top 10 schools on the list "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design for 2026"

1. New York University (Brooklyn, NY)
2. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
3. University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
5. Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland)
6. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
7. Clark University (Worcester, MA)
8. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
9. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
10. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)

Top 10 schools on the list "Top 25 Graduate Schools for Game Design for 2026"

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

By region: Top schools on the lists

Mid-Atlantic: Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA), #12 Undergrad, #10 Grad
Midwest: Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI), #10 Undergrad, #11 Grad
Northeast: New York University (Brooklyn, NY), #1 Undergrad, #1 Grad
South: University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL), #3 Undergrad, #2 Grad
Southwest: Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX), #29 Undergrad
                  Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX), #6 Grad
West: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA), #2 Undergrad, #3 Grad
International: Abertay University (Dundee, Scotland), #5 Undergrad, #7 Grad

Since 2013, PC Gamer, a top online and print gaming publication, has been The Princeton Review's reporting partner on this project. The magazine's May issue, which lands on newsstands today, features an eight-page article on the rankings. Titled "The Best Game Design Programs Ranked by The Princeton Review 2026," it provides information about each program including the mean salary of its graduates and names of distinguished faculty and alumni. The feature also includes two articles of interest for aspiring game designers, one titled "Programming believable AI characters" and the other "The art of map design."

"We highly recommend these schools to students considering a career in this exciting field," said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's Editor-in-Chief. "Their programs in game design are awesome. Their faculties are outstanding. Their alumni include many of the industry's most successful game designers, developers, and entrepreneurs, and their facilities are state-of-the-art."  

Fascinating stats about the top schools for game design for 2026 and extraordinary experience their students have received

At the 50 undergraduate schools that made the 2026 lists, in 2025:

• 82% of their students worked on a shipped game as part of their studies
• 89% of their students developed an actionable plan to launch a functional game after graduation
• the average starting salary of their graduates with a bachelor's degree in game studies was almost $67,000.

At the 25 graduate schools that made the 2026 lists, in 2025:

• 88% of their students worked on a shipped game as part of their studies
• 93% of their students developed an actionable plan to launch a functional game after graduation
• the average starting salary of their graduates with a master's degree in game studies was almost $78,000.

About PC Gamer

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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 25^th 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 28 million tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review, U.S.-owned and operated, is headquartered in New York, NY. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on Instagram (@theprincetonreview), LinkedIn (the-princeton-review), YouTube (@ThePrincetonReview), and TikTok (@princeton.review).

SOURCE The Princeton Review