Princeton Review Rates SHU's Game Design Program as One of the Best

FAIRFIELD, Conn.—The Princeton Review has ranked Sacred Heart University among the top universities in the country for game design. 

Sacred Heart’s undergraduate program ranked 43 on the college rating company’s published lists for 2018, and its graduate program ranked 20. Sacred Heart responded to the company’s 40-question survey with information about academic offerings, faculty credentials and graduates’ starting salaries and employment experience. Other criteria Princeton Review weighed when making its selections included SHU’s academics, facilities, career services and technology. 

“In the game development program, we want to improve every year and we look for ways to expand our program,” said Robert McCloud, associate professor of computer science. “Moving in an interdisciplinary direction, I am collaborating with Professor Shanshan Wang of the School of Communication & Media Arts to introduce virtual reality games to the curriculum. Thanks to the strong support of School of Computing Director Domenick Pinto, I feel blessed to take our game-development program in new and exciting directions.” 

Students who study game design and development at SHU start their academic career learning about programming languages, problem-solving techniques and computer ethics. Along the way, they learn how to develop a great game. Students also discover game play theory, fundamentals in computer graphics, components of animation and how to thrive as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Many students are actually able to work on a published game before they graduate, McCloud said. 

The Princeton Review’s full report can be viewed at www.princetonreview.com/game-design. 

The Princeton Review is a college admissions services company that offers test preparation services, tutoring and admission resources, as well as educational rankings, books and online courses. It based its rankings on a series of surveys that focused on 150 educational institutions that offer game design courses or degrees in the United States, Canada and other countries. 

PHOTO CAPTION: Sacred Heart University game design students Smit Patel and Indrika Pilla work in the motion capture lab at the Martire Business & Communications Center with Professors Robert McCloud and Ardiana Sula. Photo by Tracy Deer-Mirek