ABOVE PHOTO: Visitors at the semiannual Stout Game Expo, SGX, use virtual reality goggles to try a student-made game.
One of the nation’s premier college ranking organizations has given high marks to University of Wisconsin-Stout’s academic programs in game design.
The 2024 rankings by Princeton Review list the Bachelor of Fine Arts in game design and development-art and Master of Fine Arts in design-game design focus as the best in Wisconsin and Minnesota, top five in the Midwest and, for public colleges, top 10 in the nation.
“We’re again honored to continue to be considered a top-tier institution in these categories, both on the undergraduate and graduate level,” said Dave Beck, School of Art and Design director. “This is truly a testament to the diversity of creative disciplines, faculty expertise and hands-on facilities that we strive to offer at UW-Stout.”
For more than a decade, UW-Stout’s game design programs have led state rankings and have been among the national leaders. They are part of UW-Stout’s polytechnic, lab-based, hands-on approach to learning. The School of Art and Design is the largest in the Upper Midwest with approximately 1,300 students.
The 15th annual Princeton Review rankings cover more than 150 schools. Criteria considered included academics, faculty, technology and career prospects.
“The schools that made our lists for 2024 have awesome game design programs,” said Rob Franek, Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “Their faculties are superb. Their facilities are state-of-the-art, and their alumni include many of the industry’s most successful game designers, developers and entrepreneurs. We recommend them highly to all students aspiring to a career in this exciting field.”
