Morning All(12:41am here), I was wondering if there are any people here who have attended the Computer Science programs at various schools in Texas. I am currently in the military but will be moving to Texas when I get out and am planning on going to school to get my degree in Computer Science. I did a little research and came up with a few promising choices and was wondering if anyone could offer some feedback. The choices are as follows: University of North Texas This program looks very good since it has courses specifically dedicated to game programming and other courses that would help develop a successful career. Plus it's in Dallas, well Denton, but close enough, the birthplace of id and the 3D game revolution. I wonder if that's a coincidence. University of Houston This one looks good because it has what looks like a well rounded degree program with enough broadness to be a good candidate for any position, not just game programming, if it came to that, but also allows a little specialization. There are no game programming specific courses, but there are computer graphics courses that teach "selected" graphics programming APIs. Also, it's in Houston which is eventually where I wish to end up. University of Texas The Computer Science degree doesn't look all that spectacular, but I felt I should include this school on the list due to the reputation of UT as a whole for having outstanding degree programs. The site wasn't very informative, well maybe it was, but it was a bit tricky to navigate so I didn't get all the information I would have liked and I am much too tired at the moment to sift through all those links to find what I am looking for. Anyway, I would especially like information on this school as it is the school I found the least information on. That concludes my list of candidates. However, by all means, please inform me of schools I may be missing and perhaps did not think of to look at. Thank you very much for your help and I look forward to receiving your replies. Regards, AJ

Texas State Technical College in Waco, TX has a "Graphics and Simulation" degree plan, it focuses mostly on rendering and you graduate in about 2 years. (If you don't take the summer off) I liked it as it is a smaller school and tuition is a lot cheaper then a university, the only downside is that it will only earn you an associates degree.

Baylor University (Waco, TX) is a fairly decent private university, they have a good computer science program, though it's a bit overpriced. You're also forced to take religion classes which do NOT transfer to any other university.

Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX) is cheaper than most universities, though don't go just by tuition, because they have a couple grand in miscellaneous fees to contend with. So far I haven't been impressed with their computer science program, and if you can avoid it, don't take any class with Dr. Desrosiers. The scenery is ugly, there's nothing to do, and its a dry county. The bright side is that they offer a duel Computer Science and Mathematics degree plan, which will allow you to get a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Mathematics in about 5 years (4 if you're a methamphetamine addict) Their math department is pretty good.

You might also check SMU (Southern Methodist University?) which I think is located in Texas. A little pricey though.

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Original post by Drew_Benton
Have you ever heard anything about the University of Texas at Dallas?

That program looks pretty good. For someone wishing to get in the game development industry, would you recommend the CS or the SE degree?

Quote:
Originally posted by Drew_Benton
What all are you after, or looking for? I'm talking about things such as: small/large populations, busy/quiet surrounding areas, urban/city setting, etc...

I'm looking mid to large size populations. I want to be somewhere where there's plenty to do, but not like suffocating, you know? I toured UNT when looking for schools to go to back in high school and I liked that area alot. I've also been to Dallas a couple times and I like the city as well. So something like that is what I am looking for. I also like the Dallas area because it's basically like Silicon Valley for Texas, or so I would think.

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Original post by LostSource
I'm currently at UNT (University of North Texas). Yea the Game courses (2D and 3D) are awesome/competitive/hard (I haven't taken them but I know 5 people that have, and they said it was a really great class and that it was taught well). The game classes are set up to where you get to work on a team. You interview people in the class about what they have completed, their code, just like you would interview someone for a job. Or you can take the class with friends and have a team before you take the class. Then you also get to team up with art students. So basically the professor shows you how to code a game in DirectX from ground up and your team of coders and artist make a game. At the end of the class, from what I hear, there is a mini E3, where you show case you game. I'm pretty much here specifically for the LARC lab's and the comp sci. classes and math classes. It's pretty competitive here, a lot of sleepless nights, but a lot of great times at the same time. It's a really good atmosphere, and the professors are always there to help. Currently I'm taking my Data Structures and Algorithm analysis class and for our final project we have to design and code a mini search engine to work like the Google search engine. It’s a pretty cool project.

That sounds pretty cool. Sounds kind of like a real world practical rather than just a class that says hey, this is how to code a game. It gives you a chance to see what being on a real development team is like.

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Original post by Anonymous Poster
the founder of C++ teachers at Texas A&M....is there a reason why this
school wasn't on your list???

Because I went to Texas A&M for a year immediately after high school and I didn't like it that much. The atmosphere kind of sucked and well it's College Station...the only thing to do there is eat and play DDR at the MSC, and I absolutelt detest DDR.



Thanks all for the replies and help. I still have four years to make a decision so I still have alot time to pick a school. BTW, how have y'all found it to work and go to school at the same time? I didn't work while I was at TAMU and for the past two years, work and school have been the same thing(Navy Nuclear program, two years of training and I still haven't seen a boat yet, lol). Anyway, thanks again.

-AJ

Thanks guys, the info was very beneficial. I probably would have ended up going to UNT after high school if it hadn't been for my acceptance to Texas A&M. I know I said I don't like A&M, but I now say that with the experience of going to the school behind me. Before that I was all gung ho about A&M so that's why I went there. But anyway, thanks again and good luck with school guys.

Regards,
AJ