Program Overview
We merge solid academics with practical, real-world products
SMU Guildhall's highly ranked graduate-level game development education equips the next generation of game creators with the technical skills and instincts required to drive the evolution of gaming. Our more than 100 graduate game development courses are modeled after the style and pace of the industry and taught by a faculty of industry veterans.
We currently offer two full-time, 2-year game development programs:
- Master of Interactive Technology (MIT) in Digital Game Development
- Professional Certificate in Digital Game Development
What Will You Study?
Choose your game development track
SMU Guildhall utilizes a cohort model, in which each admitted cycle of students will move together through the program in lockstep, with each course being a pre-requisite for the next in the sequence. Students will:
- Choose a specialization area of study:
- Art Creation
- Level Design
- Production (only open to Master's track students)
- Software Development (Programming)
- Choose a program track:
Master of Interactive Technology (MIT) in Digital Game Development
(or) Professional Certificate in Digital Game Development
Both are full-time, two-year programs that consist of a specified, focused course sequence aligned with your specialization—including majors, minors, directed focus studies, special topics courses, and Team Game Production courses. The primary difference is that the MIT degree will also include a Master’s thesis artifact research study.
Learn more about SMU Guildhall's curriculum
The SMU Guildhall Curriculum
Teamwork and specialized learning are at the heart of our curriculum
Our combined lectures, labs, and studios prepare students for the video game industry with studies in game development, industry trends, leadership, teamwork, professional development, and ethics.
The courses we offer combine both independent work and team-centric collaborative work. Students develop their skills and instincts in specialization-specific classes while completing independent work and research to inform Master’s theses and Directed Focus Studies, and then come together to apply their specialized skills to make games together.
Each student takes the following courses:
- 4 cross-disciplinary Team Game Production courses
- 1 professional development course
- Specialization-specific course sequence (9 courses for Production, and 11 courses for Art, Level Design, and Software Development)
- 1 ethics course
- 4 courses that focus on research to advance each of the specialization specific fields in game development (Master's students only)
Learn more about our student work and games
Sample schedule
Gain Real-World Experience Before You Graduate
SMU Guildhall offers many opportunities for experiential learning
Our curriculum is interdisciplinary in thought and action, designed to allow students to “learn it, live it, then lead it” in real-world style, pace, and environment.
In Team Game Production courses, students work in cross-disciplinary teams to develop three or more professional-grade 2D and 3D games in the style and pace of the industry. These games have won many awards, and several have gone on to be further developed and published post-graduation.
In addition, many important research initiatives take place annually between SMU Guildhall faculty, students, and collaborative teams. These opportunities for research in game design have been facilitated with faculty via various grants, licenses and technologies over the years from national institutes and commissions, independent companies, educational institutions, game studios, and more.
Play our student-made games
Learn more about SMU Guildhall research
Where can a SMU Guildhall degree take you?
Turn your passion into a dream profession
Our programs prepare you successful career paths like:
- Creating the next big console, PC, mobile, or VR/AR/MR game
- Developing gamification and tech platforms for education, business, medicine, or military
- UX, motion capture, animation, marketing, interactive media, or digital art and design
- And more!
Beyond our professional development coursework, we provide Career Preparation Services including mentorship programs, resume and portfolio reviews, an annual Career Fair, special topics presentations by developers and studios, and more — all with direct interfacing between students and real professionals in the industry. These services don't end when you graduate either; we offer ongoing support for all of our alumni.
Learn More About SMU Guildhall Career Services
Why SMU Guildhall?
Highly Ranked & Accredited
Our academic programs have been consistently annually ranked amongst the world's best graduate programs for game development.
Southern Methodist University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Baccalaureate, Master's, Professional, and Doctoral degrees. Southern Methodist University is also an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Industry Pioneers
We were one of the first programs in the United States to be developed for game development education. We were created at the specific request of gaming industry leaders to shape the games industry, and our programs and class offerings have been built around that mission by employing world-class educators and modeling present-day industry methods in our courses.
To this day, we still remain the only masters game design program to offer all four of the major specializations in the game industry.
Contact Us
Want to know more about SMU Guildhall's academic programs?
Contact the Director's Office
Contact SMU Guildhall Admissions
Ready to Get Started?
Apply to SMU Guildhall today
Hopeful applicants should visit our Application Checklist to prepare and follow our steps to apply. This will include submitting your application form, a video essay, a specialization-specific portfolio, transcripts, test scores, and references. SMU Guildhall utilizes rolling admission dates in order to allow applicants ample time to work on their portfolio submissions.
View our upcoming application deadlines
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