The University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts and Engineering program is a top ranked program in video game education and research and is a national leader in the discipline of games. Students studying games in the EAE program are typically interested in careers in interactive entertainment, and our curriculum is built with this goal in mind. The EAE program brings together a diverse faculty with expertise in every facet of game development. Our faculty partner with instructors drawn from top industry studios to create a one of a kind learning experience in game development. Not only do we offer students a world class education from a leading research institution, but we also offer the opportunity to develop and enhance a professional game portfolio through our studio simulation projects courses.
The program offers both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Video Game Development and we work with the U’s School of Computing to offer an EAE emphasis in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. These degrees allow students to choose a distinct area of focus ranging across Art, Engineering, Production and Technical Art as they navigate the program, which provides them with strong and highly relevant skill sets as they enter the game industry.
The faculty at EAE is made up of an interdisciplinary group of game academics and industry veterans with expertise in a wide range of game development, providing relevant knowledge of the industry and diverse academic courses for students. Students who graduate with either EAE degree complete at least one full year-long game project from pitch to publish. Their experience working in interdisciplinary teams across the entire game development process makes them sought-after hires in the entertainment industry. Students own the intellectual property rights to the games they publish, which allows them to further develop their projects after graduation. You can check out some of the games our students have published on our website!
The University of Utah is also a participating member of the PAC-U, a premiere collegiate esports league with member schools drawn from the PAC-12. The EAE program has four varsity esports teams: Overwatch, League of Legends, Hearthstone and Rocket League. Varsity esports athletes receive an EAE scholarship, advanced competitive training, as well as the opportunity to compete in numerous tournaments at the national level.
The EAE program is ranked as one of the top video game schools in the world, where students and faculty focus on varying research areas in the continual pursuit of advancement and contribution to the greater discipline. Some of the areas of research our faculty specialize in include: designing serious games for health, learning and training; ethics and video games; game AI; game studies and game analysis; games user research; novel systems for augmented and virtual reality; procedural content generation for game design and storytelling
To learn more about what we have to offer please visit our website: http://eae.utah.edu