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Level Up With the Game Changers

SMU Guildhall is a globally acclaimed pioneer in Game Development Education. Studio-modeled and created by industry icons, it was one of the first of its kind and is known for its proven impact—evident in the success of its 1100+ alumni, rave-reviewed games with 4.35M downloads, and 20 years of industry partnerships.

About Us Student Games Alumni Success

We are Pioneers of Game Dev Education

Recognized as one of the first and best graduate schools for game design, SMU Guildhall has been at the forefront of training the next generation of game developers for over 20 years.

Our faculty of industry veterans and multi-disciplinary curriculum yields award-winning student games and world-changing research to benefit global business, medicine, education, and beyond. Our 1100+ in-demand alumni have worked at 350+ studios, and our industry partnerships are ever-evolving in and out of the classroom.

Learn more about SMU Guildhall


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By the industry, For the industry

Learn more about our proven and commended Master's-Level education.

Areas of Study

SMU Guildhall offers more than 100 graduate-level classes, and is one of the only programs with specializations in all four cornerstones of game development. Each student takes majors, minors, directed focus studies, and special topics relative to their degree, plus professional development courses.

Learn More About Our Areas of Study

Art Creation

  • Environmental & prop modeling
  • Virtual sculpting, rigging & weighting
  • Modularity
  • Game engine pipelines
  • Lighting & post-processing
Learn more about Art

Level Design

  • Level design & player flow
  • World building & architecture
  • Player psychology & immersion
  • Game aesthetics & interactive storytelling
  • Encounter & puzzle design
  • Interface & systems design
Learn more about Design

SMU Guildhall production student works with team member in class

  • Game development planning & concept pitching
  • Digital game publishing & marketing
  • Executive leadership & organizational behavior
  • Industry economics & business communication
  • User research
  • Product lifecycles & project management
Learn more about Production

Programming

  • Game engine design & architecture
  • Data-driven gameplay & multiplayer systems
  • AI & procedural content generation
  • User input, controls & user interfaces
  • Advanced 2D/3D graphics & shaders
  • Game physics & audio techniques
Learn more about Programming

The Video Game Industry is Your Sandbox

The demands of the video game industry inform every aspect of the SMU Guildhall experience. Ever-evolving industry partnerships have been a cornerstone of our program since our genesis, used to continually further our impact in the classroom and across the globe.

We integrate industry professionals and alumni from the games industry in our curriculum review and development process, milestone reviews, career events, portfolio reviews, mentorship programs, and speaking events.

Learn About Our Career Services


Creating a Fun Game is Serious Work

Students are trained in the style and pace of the video game industry. Using the iterative development process, each student completes 3+ games on teams of varied sizes and complexity, including a large-scale, professional quality Capstone game. Many of our Capstone games are published on the Steam and Epic Game Store platforms alongside commercial titles!

Directory of Student Games

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Mirrored Phantoms Poster

Mirrored Phantoms

Cohort 33
Imvi web poster

IMVI

Cohort 33
Fastival game poster

Fastival

Cohort 33
Asurya's Embers

Asurya’s Embers

Cohort 32
Kneedle Knight poster

Kneedle Knight

Cohort 32
SeaFeud

SeaFeud

Cohort 32
HardDriverz Poster

HardDriverz

Cohort 34


Home of the Digital Explorers

SMU's state-of-the-art Gerald J. Ford Hall was specially designed to optimize our unique industry-driven curriculum in a game studio environment.

Explore our Campus & Facilities


Achievement Unlocked

Our 1100+ in-demand alumni work at hundreds of studios internationally.

Our alumni are doing big things in gaming and beyond. SMU Guildhall grads have contributed on hundreds of game franchises, while advancing to senior and lead positions at more than 350 prestigious game studios around the world. Others are applying game theory and gamification models to shape the future of other fields including business, technology, and education.

Learn More About Our Alumni

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Game smu guildhall Destiny

"The impact is immeasurable. I wouldn't be in the industry today had it not been for the Guildhall. Everything would be different. It was a huge turning point in my life."

Sam Arguez , Cohort 2
Shader FX Artist, Bungie

Sunset Overdrive

"The Guildhall gave me a great foundation that allowed me to be immediately productive as a junior designer... It's not an exaggeration to say that it completely altered the direction of my life."

Drew Murray , Cohort 2
Design Director at The Initiative (Microsoft)

DOOM

"SMU Guildhall is the place to be to prove whether you can really be the best in our industry... What I needed was to build up my technical skills for a solid portfolio, and SMU Guildhall provided exactly that."

Lincoln Li , Cohort 18
Senior Designer at Electronic Arts

Game smu guildhall World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria

"The Guildhall has been a crucial step for me in getting to where I am today. It got me prepared enough to get into the game industry."

Grace Liu , Cohort 9
Lead Environment Artist at Airship Syndicate

Fortnite

"Guildhall had a hands on approach to making games, which I really liked as opposed to studying theoretical concepts. The Guildhall taught me perseverance. It had a huge impact on my life."

Charles Egenbacher, Cohort 17
Producer/Technical Project Manager at Epic Games

Destiny 2

"The Guildhall changed my life and my career certainly for the better... By working on real gaming projects and doing real coding, I had the confidence to perform in the 'real world."

Daniel Rivin , Cohort 3
Lead Software Engineer at Bungie

Game smu guildhall BattleBorn

"The Guildhall helped me learn how to communicate with other disciplines to express my ideas. Collaborative work really translated well from the Guildhall to the industry."

Grant Kao , Cohort 14
Game Designer at Gearbox Software

Destiny 2

"The Guildhall provided immense amounts of prep and training. It has had a huge impact on my life."

Stephen Chin , Cohort 16
Technical Designer at Crystal Dynamics



Photo of SMU Guildhall students in class

Turn Your Passion Into Your Profession

Do you dream of a career in video games? We can help you get there with a top-ranked, graduate-level education. Our alumni are highly sought for art, design, production, and programming positions at game studios across the globe. Your first steps are to ready your portfolio and begin your application. Your future in games awaits!

Apply Now

News

  • Borderlands 4 Developer Panel

    A panel interview with Borderlands 4 developers from Gearbox Software including seven SMU Guildhall alumni

    November 05, 2025

  • The Falling Star DLC Release

    After a positive commercial release on Steam, this game by SMU Guildhall alumna Anona Yang will release additional DLC content on October 9, 2025.

    October 07, 2025

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