Princeton Review Ranks NJIT a Top 50 School to Study Game Design

NJIT has again earned a spot on The Princeton Review’s top 50 undergraduate schools for game design coming in at No. 44 in the 2019 rankings.

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on data it collected in its 2018 survey of administrators at 150 institutions that offer game design courses, majors, or degree programs. Surveyed schools were in the U.S., Canada and abroad. The survey gathered data on everything from the schools' game design academic offerings and lab facilities to their graduates’ starting salaries and career achievements. More than 40 data points in four areas (academics, faculty, technology and career) were analyzed to tally the lists.

“I’m pleased that Princeton Review has, for the fourth consecutive year, included us in their list of top undergraduate schools to study game design,” said Glenn Goldman, director of NJIT’s School of Art + Design. “It is a recognition of the strong collaborative program we have between digital design in the School of Art + Design and information technology in the Department of Informatics.”

The game development program at NJIT launched in 2003 as part of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, specifically for students interested in programming and developing gaming experiences. In 2008, the College of Architecture and Design launched its digital design program, offering budding developers and programmers a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Design, with a focus on game design, art and aesthetics. Over the past decade, NJIT has evolved into a community of designers and developers, artists and programmers, scientists and industry partners — all working together to shape the future of games and gaming technologies.

“NJIT offers a complete game design experience, whether it’s creating characters or game art or writing the code that makes the games work, it’s possible to study that at NJIT,” added Goldman. “The fact that NJIT has hosted a Global Game Jam site for nine consecutive years, with the largest site participation in NJ this year, shows that we have a critical mass in our community interested in entertainment and game design.”

"The schools that made our lists this year have stellar programs for aspiring game designers and developers," said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief for The Princeton Review.  “Their faculties are outstanding and their facilities are awesome. Just as impressive: their alumni include many of the video game industry’s most prominent artists, designers, developers, and entrepreneurs.”