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Princeton Review names MIT a top school for video game design

Undergraduate and graduate programs both lauded.
The Princeton Review has ranked MIT second for undergraduate game design programs and third for graduate programs on its list of "Top Schools to Study Video Game Design for 2012," which honors 50 of the best schools in the United States and Canada for outstanding game-design education programs.

Compiled by The Princeton Review, one of America’s best-known education services companies, the 2012 list ranks 10 undergraduate and 10 graduate schools, as well as 22 undergraduate and eight graduate schools as Honorable Mentions.

The Princeton Review published its full list online.

“MIT owes its position as a top school for game design to a distinctive blend of courses across the Institute, excellence in the classroom and a commitment to hands-on research,” said William Uricchio, director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT and lead principal investigator of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab. “Research groups such as GAMBIT and the Education Arcade have generously supported these activities by allowing students and faculty to collaborate on innovative game projects and teaching across disciplines. These activities attest to MIT’s tradition of passionate student engagement going back to such foundational games as Spacewar! and Zork.”

Robert Franek, The Princeton Review Senior VP/Publisher, said “It has long been our mission to help students find — and get into — the schools best for them to purse their interests and develop their talents. For the burgeoning number of students aspiring to become game designers, we highly recommend MIT as one of the best and most innovate institutions to study and succeed in this exciting field. We also salute the faculty and administrators at MIT and the other schools on our 2012 list for their extraordinary programs and commitment to students."

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on a survey it conducted in the 2011-12 academic year of administrators at 150 institutions offering video game design coursework and/or degrees in the United States and Canada. The survey, which included more than 50 questions, covered a wide range of topics from academics, curriculum and faculty credentials to graduates’ employment and career achievements. School selections were based on a comprehensive analysis of data that analyzed the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities, and infrastructure, plus the school's scholarships, financial aid and career services.

The Princeton Review’s "Top 10 Graduate Schools To Study Video Game Design For 2012" are:
  1. University of Southern California
  2. Rochester Institute of Technology
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  4. University of Central Florida
  5. Southern Methodist University (SMU)
  6. Carnegie Mellon University
  7. Savannah College of Art and Design
  8. DigiPen Institute of Technology
  9. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz
  10. Drexel University
Read the full review on The Princeton Review website

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