Princeton Review names Utah, USC top game design schools

The Princeton Review today released its fourth annual list of the best game design programs, with the University of Utah and the University of Southern California laying claim to the top two spots in both the undergraduate and graduate program lists.

The University of Utah was deemed the top undergrad program for game design, followed by USC, DigiPen, RIT, and MIT. For graduate studies, USC took the top spot, with the top five rounded out by Utah, Drexel, RIT, and the University of Central Florida.

Rankings were determined based on a 50-question survey of administrators at 150 institutions offering game design courses. Organizers took into account factors like each school's curriculum, facilities, faculty credentials, career services, financial aid programs, and graduates' professional achievements. A list of school rankings and honorable mentions (in alphabetical order) can be found below.

Princeton Review's Top 15 Undergrad Game Design Schools
1. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
2. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
3. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
6. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
7. Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, OH)
8. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
9. The Art Institute of Vancouver (Vancouver, British Columbia / CAN)
10. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
11. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY)
12. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)
13. Becker College (Worcester, MA)
14. New England Institute of Technology (East Greenwich, RI)
15. North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)

Princeton Review's Top 15 Graduate Game Design Schools
1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
2. University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
3. Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA)
4. Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
5. University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL)
6. DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
8. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
9. Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
10. Southern Methodist University (Plano, TX)
11. The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
12. New York University / NYU-POLY (New York, NY)
13. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
14. Parsons The New School for Design (New York, NY)
15. DePaul University (Chicago, IL)

Honorable Mentions - Undergraduate Schools:
Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
Champlain College (Burlington, VT)
DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
Ferris State University (Grand Rapids, MI)
Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Miami University (Oxford, OH)
New York University / NYU-POLY (New York, NY)
Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
Oklahoma Christian University (Edmond, OK)
Quinnipiac University (Hamden, CT)
University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson, TX)
University of Wisconsin - Stout (Menomonie, WI)
Vancouver Film School (Vancouver, British Columbia / CAN)

Honorable Mentions - Graduate Schools:
Full Sail University (Winter Park, FL)
Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)
Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, CT)
University at Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)