So I am graduating in May and I applied to several schools (USC, UGA [currently in UGA as undergrad], Georgia Tech, DigiPen, and UCLA) for a CS MS (currently finishing CS BS). I've gotten acceptance from the first four and UCLA has yet to send out anything. I consolidated all the other choices to Georgia Tech since I already live in the state and it seems to be above the other schools on the chart this year. So now it comes down to DigiPen or Georgia Tech (if anyone thinks the other schools are better please do tell).

My observations are (correct me if I am wrong):

1. Georgia Tech seems to lack game programming focused courses. There are only 3-4 I can see and that is including Graphics. DigiPen offers pretty much every game programming related course possible since that's the point of the school.
2. Nobody I asked seems to know what DigiPen is, but everyone knows Georgia Tech. Certain sites (like gamecareerguide) seem to list DigiPen as one of the schools you can go if you want to pursue a career in the game industry.

My question is this: which school is more beneficial for my situation? My parents insist that Georgia Tech is more well known and will land me a job easier. They also tell me that taking more generic classes will help me get another CS-related job if I can't or decide not to work in the game industry.

I am aiming to become a designer with a programming background (it's pretty core on designers anyway). I've taken art classes since I was little so I have plenty of experiences with that (never did anything beyond that in college). I have a bunch of design ideas / written out stuff saved from since high school.


Payment is not going to be a reason for swaying one way or the other. It's cheaper to go to Georgia Tech due to in-state tuition but my parents are fine with either one.

PS: This was also posted on Reddit.

For what it's worth, I think DigiPen is one of the premiere schools for prospective video game designers. If that is your ambition, I would recommend this one.

For the record, I'm not even CS, so what do I know right? This is just based on my conversations with some CS majors I know.

My parents insist that Georgia Tech is more well known and will land me a job easier. They also tell me that taking more generic classes will help me get another CS-related job if I can't or decide not to work in the game industry.

I think your parents gave you good advice.

I do recommend going to a different school for master's than where you went for undergrad, and getting a degree in a different state than where you want to work when you graduate is also something to consider. Often times local schools tend to saturate the local market, and some companies prefer a more diverse set of backgrounds.

Making games is still making software, so I think you'll find you can take generic CS classes that all employers would appreciate (modern software design, etc) in addition to the classes you think would be fun/good for games (graphics, etc). Especially since I'm sure you got a lot of the generic classes as an undergrad.

For the record, I got my undergrad where I got my masters, which was in the same state I now work (non-game related), and I took all the graphics and AI classes my university offered because it was what I was interested in. I didn't have trouble finding a job (pre-recession). My advice here is just the things that in retrospect I feel I should have done to possibly make myself more valuable, and to have had a more fulfilling experience overall.

Good luck.

One often little considered fact about a lot of game programs is that they are usually a lot more expensive than other programs. If you want to learn to make games a little side research and personal projects go a long way, and a lot of the money you save over game specific schools can be spent going to game events like GDC, which will probably more than make up for the added concentration.

There are a lot of graduate programs that are just amazing that have nothing to do with game programs too.