The Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta, has earned a #22 ranking on The Princeton Review's just-released list saluting the top 25 graduate schools for game design for 2018. The new position in the list is a step up from last year's 23rd place ranking.
The Princeton Review chose the graduate schools based on its 2017 survey of 150 institutions in the U.S., Canada, and abroad offering game design degree programmes or courses. The 40-question survey gathered data on everything from the schools' game design academic offerings and lab facilities to their graduates' starting salaries and career achievements. More than 40 data points in four areas (academics, faculty, technology, and career) were analysed to tally the lists.
"The Institute of Digital Games is proud to once again be ranked in the top 25 graduate schools by the Princeton Review and is committed to deliver continued excellence in teaching and research. We're constantly striving to be on the cutting edge of this exciting field, and academically our small Institute is one of the leading universities in research on the technological aspects, as well as the conceptual and analytical aspects, of Game Design," Prof. Georgios N. Yannakakis, Director, Institute of Digital Games, University of Malta, said.
"It has long been our mission to help students find, and get into, the best programs for their needs and interests," said Robert Franek, Editor-in-Chief for The Princeton Review. "For students aspiring to work in the exciting field of game design, we strongly recommend the Institute of Digital Games and each of the other top schools that made our 2018 lists. These schools offer extraordinary opportunities to launch a career in this industry. They have outstanding faculties and great facilities which will give students the skills and experience they need to pursue a career in this dynamic and burgeoning field."
The Princeton Review's full report on this project at www.princetonreview.com/game-design also features a companion list of "Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design." It includes profiles of the schools with application information and links to the school sites.
For the sixth consecutive year, The Princeton Review teamed up with PC Gamer, a monthly magazine published by Future plc (www.futureplc.com) as its reporting partner for this project. PC Gamer has a feature on the list in its May issue available on newsstands March 27. The feature has information on some of the schools' unique programs, class offerings, prominent professors, and alumni.
The Princeton Review developed its "Top Game Design Schools" project in 2009 with assistance from a national advisory board that helped design the survey instrument and methodology. Board members included administrators and faculty from respected game design programs, and professionals from some of the top gaming companies.
The Princeton Review is also known for its annual rankings of colleges, business schools, and law schools in dozens of categories it reports on its site and in its books including The Best 382 Colleges and Colleges That Pay You Back. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University.