The Guildhall at SMU career fair attracts big players
The Guildhall at SMU’s upcoming career fair will feature eighteen major studios and publishers this week to interview 50 December graduates and alums as future artists, designers and programmers for their companies. Studio and publishers participating in the event include Acropolis, Activision, America’s Army, BioWare, Blizzard Entertainment, Bonfire Studios, Budcat Creations, Controlled Chaos Media, Disney Interactive, Edge of Reality, LucasArts, Insomniac, KingsIsle, Obsidian Entertainment, TimeGate Studios, Total Immersion, Volition, and ZeniMax Media Inc.
The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University is a graduate video game education program. In the last six years, the program has graduated over 300 students, and alums who work at more than 80 video game studios around the world, with several graduates now serving in leadership positions. SMU offers both a Master’s degree and a graduate Professional Certificate of Interactive Technology in Video Game Development, with specializations in art creation, level design, and software development.
For more information on the school and this week’s career fair, visit guildhall.smu.edu.
The Guildhall at SMU Students score $30k in scholarships
Recently at a luncheon hosted by The Guildhall at SMU, ten students were awarded $30,000 in scholarship funding. Ten students were awarded scholarships on behalf of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS), D3Publisher and the Entertainment Software Association Foundation.
The $10,000 AIAS Academy Scholarship is awarded biannually to an incoming student who students who exemplify “the organization’s spirit and commitment to advancing the global interactive community.” The ESA Foundation Computer and Videogame Scholarship Program recognizes academic excellence of women and minorities pursuing a Master’s degree or graduate certificate at SMU with an annual scholarship of $10,000. D3Publisher honored students who have excelled academically by granting the $10,000 Shane Hensley Scholarship for Game Development Excellence this year.
Read the rest of this entry »
Game development a regular vocation at many American colleges
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) wants you to know that colleges are now heavily supporting curriculum that is directly or indirectly related to the vocation of video game development. According to the ESA, a record number of colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning – 254 in 37 states and the District of Columbia – now offer courses and degrees in computer and video game design, programming, and art. These include certificate programs in 3D Animation & Interactive Media to master’s degrees in Computer Graphics and Game Technology. The ESA sees the uptick of institutions offering these programs as a reflecting of the growing importance of video games on the economy and culture of the United States.
Research conducted by the ESA found that California has 46 institutions of higher learning – the most of any state – offering such courses or degrees. Other states in the top 10 are New York (21); Texas (20); Florida (19); Illinois (16); Pennsylvania (12); Massachusetts (11); Washington (9); Georgia (8); Arizona, Michigan, and Colorado (7).
“Today, video games are not only the fastest growing entertainment medium, they are also increasingly used in education and business for professional training and e-learning,” Rich Taylor, senior vice president. “These new college programs underscore the importance of the video games industry, which is well-poised to create additional employment and professional opportunities in the coming years.”
While it certainly heartening to see more schools offer these kinds of educational opportunities, it would be interesting to see some statistics from schools that have offered a game development curriculum; do graduates find jobs after college - not just intern work, but real honest-to-goodness jobs at companies of all shapes and sizes? These are the questions I want answered as a parent.
You can check out the full list of schools by visiting The ESA.
Guildhall at SMU, AIAS name Academy Scholarship winner
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University have announced the first person to receive an Academy Scholarship (thanks Game Politics). The person to earn that distinction is Christopher McCrimmons, a graduate program student at SMU.
“I have solid leadership and team-building skills. Plus – a zeal for video games. This is what drives me to make a difference in architecting the future of gaming,” said McCrimmons, speaking about his scholarship.
While having a zeal for video games is to be admired, it’s his many other achievements that made him a strong candidate to receive the Scholarship. McCrimmons earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts with a major in English and concentration in Film, Drama and Media Studies.
Read the rest of this entry »
ECA offers back to school discount for college students
The Entertainment Consumers Association, the non-profit membership organization that represents gamers, today announced a new back to school promotional event that gives qualifying college students the opportunity to receive a free ECA membership giving them advocacy tools, educational resources, and affinity benefits that are available to all ECA members. The ECA’s new Back to School promotion is offered for a limited time, beginning now and ending on October 1, 2009.
The affinity benefits include discounts on game-related purchases at popular online retailers such as Amazon.com and Buy.com and College-aged members can also explore the ECA’s career and educational resources as well as connect with like-minded gaming fans in their university by joining or starting up an ECA chapter in their region.
Students can sign up for a free membership online by simply entering their valid .edu email address and the coupon code “college.” To see a full list of benefits and sign up, go to www.theECA.com.
Adult Swim’s Williams Street On Tour
The Adult Swim Williams Street team at Cartoon Network is going on the road for a 15 city college tour beginning October 7th. Besides being pretty damn cool, what does this have to do with video games? Well the event is being sponsored by EA Sports and T-Mobile. For its part, EA Sports will bring the EA Sports NBA Live 09 gaming arena to every stop, allowing students to check the game out and have a shot at winning a related prize.
The Williams Street Country Fair and Expo is a free event will be open to each of the participating school’s students and faculty members from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. at each stop. The event will offer themed activities and fun based on such Adult Swim properties as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken and Squidbillies. Full schedule after the jump:
Read the rest of this entry »
EA Announces 2008 Scholarship Awards
Electronic Arts today named the three recipients of its 2008 Scholarship Awards. The scholars were selected from a pool of 100 interns who are currently spending the summer working in EA studios
around the country. The recipients - all graduating seniors - were identified based upon academic excellence, outstanding internship performance, passion for gaming and financial need. Each student will receive a $10,000 tuition scholarship. It just goes to show you that it is important to get your boss’s coffee order right. Full details after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
