More colleges than ever offering gaming degrees

The Entertainment Software Association reported this week that more colleges and universities than ever are offering degrees and certificate programs in video game design, programming, and art.

According to the organization, 254 institutions currently offer programs focused on video game creation. Notably, the University of Pennsylvania offers a master's degree in computer graphics and game technology. The ESA said 54 programs have been added since 2008, representing a 27 percent increase in the number of video game-related degree programs across the United States.

"Today, video games are not only the fastest-growing entertainment medium, they are also increasingly used in education and business for professional training and e-learning," Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and industry affairs at the ESA, said in a statement. "These new college programs underscore the importance of the video games industry, which is well-poised to create additional employment and professional opportunities in the coming years."

The ESA found that California has the most video game-related degrees, with 46 institutions offering programs. New York, Texas, and Florida follow California, with institutions offering 21, 20, and 19 programs, respectively.

The increase in the number of video game-related degree programs might have something to do with the industry's growth over the past decade. According to the ESA's 2009 Essential Facts about Computer and Video Games booklet, "68 percent of American households now play video games, and 42 percent of American homes have a video game console."

The organization also cited a poll conducted for it by KRC Research, claiming that "70 percent of major employers utilize interactive software, including games, to train employees. And 75 percent of these businesses plan to expand their usage within the next three to five years."

So it seems that it might be a good time for students to entertain a video game degree. And if the ESA's contention that more schools are planning to add gaming programs is true, students might soon have many more options to choose from when they pursue a career in the industry.

If you could start from scratch, would you pursue a career in the game industry, joining one of these programs? Let us know in the comments below.

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[CaissaShelton]

Last fall, I went back to school to pursue an Associates in Applied Science in Computer Graphics, while it's not a degree that is specifically focused on game creation, one of my classes this semester is Video Game Theory and Design. Though I hadn't really thought of going in that direction, after taking this class, I am considering taking more game-related classes.

[pentest]

A decent chunk of them offer a few graphics courses and then market it as a gaming program.

[renGek]

Colleges are so slow to adopt practical computer curriculum. I spent most of my undergrad days wondering why I'm taking so many pointless computer science related courses. Almost 20 years after I graduated I still don't use half the stuff they made me learn at exorbitant prices.

Gaming career should be a good one since that industry has a lot of room for growth. Its not for everyone as gaming programming is probably one of the hardest that I have ever tried. Its one thing for you to write a report for your employers that doesn't execute as fast as they like. But little things add up fast in gaming. You need some serious talent for this field. Hats off to the developers. You rock.

[xmaster_dosx]

where do i sign up. :)

This just seems a little too specialized. In my current position I wear multiple hats and are able to do this successfuly, since I think my engineering classes forced me to think logically through a problem and solve it. Had I focused on just a gaming degree, I don't think I would have been able to meet the challenges of my constantly changing workplace

[odubtaig]

Reminds me of a line in Black Books:

"Do you want the job? The pay's not great but the work is hard."

In the meantime industry bosses always ask "why's it so hard to get good programmers?"

Well, as much as graphics programming fascinates and entertains me, doing it for 60+ exhausting hours a week for peanuts just doesn't attract me nearly as much as doing much more boring yet substantially better paying programming for a job and having plenty of time for my lady, my friends and doing graphics programming as a hobby which doesn't suck all the fun out of it the way 80 hours a week for three weeks of crunch time does.

The games industry has a lot of trouble finding decent programmers because being good enough requires intelligence while a lot of the slave labourers in gaming still think unions are for 'commies' while they're getting screwed every which way. What a bunch of suckers. All the smart people are staying the hell away from that exploitation factory.

[play7]

This is nothing new, its be increasing for many years now since 1999.......No news but writers can`t thinkup a new topic. Hence redo what has been do before.