I graduated last year with a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Minor in Mathematics from a traditional University. The job market where I live (Maine) is not what I would call a hotbed for programming related jobs. We have quite a few companies but they are more enterprise oriented and not at all what I want to do. I have started on my Master's at the same school I was at and have the potential and opportunity to work on some interesting artificial intelligence research, but like all things there are drawbacks. I'm not too fond of my school for one, but regardless of what I am doing I always come back to game related development and projects. I have looked at FullSail as my wife is from that area but haven't really decided anything. I would like to hear from people who have gone through graduate programs at either school. Opinions? Concerns? Please nothing about not going to a game school etc.. I know the differences and would prefer to hear from people who have been through it.

DigiPen's masters program was basically its undergraduate program with more work. I don't think it's quite the same graduate school experience you'd get elsewhere -- much less research-oriented than most. It's been a while so it's probably matured a bit, though.

I know nothing about Full Sail's program.

There's a bunch of classes at DigiPen that teach both masters and undergraduates, but in every split class I've been in it just equates to the master students doing about one extra project. I'm not sure what goes on beyond that.

That sounds very much like the master's program where I am now. It is a small school so there is a lot of cross over between the classes and most undergraduates find themselves taking a lot of graduate classes to complete their program even though it is not required.

Thanks!

I looked at Full Sail once and it seemed like a good school. But it did seem very expensive even for a graduate program (about $60k for the game development program I think). Digipen costs about 1/3 of that I believe. I also looked at FIEA (Florida International Entertainment Academy) in Orlando, FL. They were just getting started, but seemed to be moving in the right direction. There was also University of Advancing Technology in Arizona and The Guildhall at SMU in Plano, TX. The last school I looked at was one in Barcelona, Spain, Universitat de Pompeu Fabra. They have a game development program, directed by someone who has their own game company (Novarama). There are a lot of choices out there. Do some thorough research on each school you're interested in. Find out what the course list is and see if it's at a graduate level of somewhere in between undergrad and grad. Try to talk to students who are attending and alumni as well. Talk to faculty/staff to get acquainted with the people who will teach you and help you out in school. Try to feel what going to each school will be, before deciding on one. The more research you do, the more comfortable you'll feel when choosing, and the happier you'll be once you start school.