Game design at Miami ranked 3rd best in U.S. among publics

Miami University and its Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies (AIMS) program are ranked 11th best overall and 3rd among public universities in the newly released Princeton Review’s 2019 ranking of "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design."

Miami’s program continues to climb against competitors, rising from 16th in 2018 to 11th this year on this international list. Miami retains its #3 spot from 2018 among public universities.

The Princeton Review based rankings on a 2018 survey of administrators at 150 institutions offering game design programs. The survey requested information in four areas: academics, faculty, technology and career prospects. It covered school courses and facilities, graduates’ starting salaries and professional achievements. In all, more than 40 data points were analyzed.

Miami’s cross-disciplinary digital game studies minor offers a series of courses on digital game design, analysis and application. It includes courses from AIMS; the College of Arts and Science; the College of Creative Arts; the College of Education, Health and Society; and the University Libraries.

"Miami's game program takes STEM education and wraps business, storytelling, psychology and art around it. That offering, even among the others on the list, is unique," said Glenn Platt, director of AIMS and professor of marketing. "With an e-sports team, internships with industry leaders and faculty who are gaming scholars, our students are graduating into roles supporting loyalty card programs, human resources websites, insurance companies, video games and numerous other fields.

"The healthcare gamification industry is expected to be a $20 billion industry by 2020 - $20 billion just on trying to gamify 'hey, you should take your medicine' and 'here's some exercises to get healthy' and rewards for that," Platt recently said in an interview.

A bachelor of science program is undergoing a review process by the state.

Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, said of this year’s ranked programs, “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.”