More than 20 Years of Changing the Game 
Built By the Industry, For the Industry
SMU Guildhall was established in 2003 at the specific request of gaming industry leaders to shape the dynamic, evolving video games industry by equipping the next generation of game creators with the technical skills and instincts required to successfully drive the evolution of gaming. Our programs and class offerings have been built around that mission by employing world-class educators, modeling present-day industry methods in our team-based courses, leveraging two full decades of industry partnerships in and out of the classroom. Our mission is to further and expand the industry via both exceptional technical and creative training as well as changemaking collaborative research endeavors.
Facts & Rankings: Globally Recognized for Sustained, Impactful Success
SMU Guildhall has garnered a strong reputation within the game development and academic communities for its quality programs, student work, research, and outcomes—in a field that is vastly ever-growing. The Princeton Review has consistently ranked SMU Guildhall in its Top 10 listings of graduate schools for Game Design out of over 150 programs in the United States, and SMU Guildhall has been part of a growing number of world-changing research initiatives and partnerships. The program’s achievements can be seen in its high-caliber game successes, program and student game awards and contest wins, consistent high rankings among the top graduate game design programs across the world, and graduate job placements amongst 1000+ in-demand alumni who have worked at 350+ studios worldwide. In addition to its Team Game Production curriculum, the Guildhall has been commended for the high quality of its faculty of industry veterans and professionals as well as its career services achievements.
Historical Milestones & Notables
20-Year Retrospective: Take a Peek at Our Past 20 Years
Which Game Development Program is Right for You?
SMU Guildhall offers two, two-year programs: a Master of Interactive Technology and Professional Certificate. We are also the only school for video game development that offers specializations in all four cornerstones of video game development: Art, Design, Production, and Programming.
In both programs, every student's portfolio of work will include individual coursework and research, plus 3+ commercial-quality collaborative team games. As of 2024, more than 1000 students have completed the program, over 625 master’s degrees have been awarded, and students have completed 2124 directed focus studies, 647 theses and 646 team games.
Discover our Game Development Programs
Meet our Faculty: World-Class Educators with Decades of Industry Experience
With SMU Guildhall’s low student-to-faculty ratio, students are taught by our faculty of successful game developers, who have worked with over 40 leading game studios including: Activision/Blizzard, Atari, Day 1, EA, Gearbox, id Software, LucasArts, Microsoft, Oculus, Origin Systems, Playful, Red Storm, Retro, Robot, Rovio, Sega, Sony, Terminal Reality, Ubisoft, Valve, and many more.
Full-time faculty have worked on more than 290 professional games across three decades, and both adjunct faculty and guest lecturers are actively working at leading studios across the world.
Meet the SMU Guildhall Faculty
An Immersive Learning Laboratory: Get a Taste for Working in the Video Game Industry
The SMU Guildhall experience simulates working at a real game studio, in the same style, pace, and environment. The caliber of our industry-modeled education provides highly competitive experience, knowledge, and skills and allows our graduates to be studio-ready and able to jump into professional teams on Day 1 post-graduation. Recruiting studios and game development leaders approve and attest that our advanced curriculum outpaces and outperforms that of other programs, and the success of our student games and of our alumni is direct proof of our preparation.
Guildhall students work in cross-disciplinary teams to create 2D and 3D games in the style and pace of the industry, developing for multiple platforms using today's best game engines. Since 2017, SMU Guildhall has published 28 games on the Steam gaming platform, which are showcased alongside commercially produced titles and have garnered over 3.5 million downloads and positive reviews by gamers worldwide. In addition to publishing success, the work of our students has been recognized by game studios and publishers across the globe including Epic Games, which has routinely featured our students' work in their semi-annual Best-Of "sizzle" reel.
Play our Student-Made Games
We are Changemakers: Research for Global Good
Incredible things are happening here to change not just the future of the video game industry, but the world. Our curriculum, technological packages and systems, research endeavors, and partnerships reflect our continual adaptation as well as our commitment to societal betterment. Our faculty and students lead impressive research initiatives using game technology, systems, and methodologies to drive success and innovation in healthcare, education, defense, business, and beyond. Our researchers have successfully found solutions to great needs across the world including using crowdsourcing for lifesaving cancer treatments, implementing lifesaving VR surgical training systems for developing nations, creating an award-winning app to improve literacy, using gaming technology for dating violence and sex trafficking prevention, and much more.
Our faculty and staff also give back to the changing educational landscape around us through a range of partnerships and initiatives that allow us to benefit students, educational programs, and academic institutions beyond our walls.
Get Inspired by our Research Endeavors
Learn About our Educational Partnerships & Initiatives
SMU Guildhall is an Investment that Pays Off
SMU Guildhall Director Gary Brubaker recalls that in 2003, the idea of getting a degree in video games and making a career in the field raised eyebrows; it was even joked about on late-night TV talk shows. Fast forward to today, and we see expansive evidence of the impact, value, and importance of what we do. As research forecasts that the global video games market will grow to $521 billion in revenue with 3.1 billion users by 2027 (Statista), a degree from SMU Guildhall is an investment that can truly pay off in the form of career advancement.
With our legacy of excellence and over two decades of evolving industry support, advocacy, and partnerships, we provide refined training in the best current gaming models with top-of-the-line technology and systems, aided by regular collaboration with industry greats both in and out of the classroom in the form of guest lectures and advising and a multitude of Career Services for students and alumni with ample industry access including mentorships, portfolio reviews, site visits, hiring fairs, and more. This means our students are ready on Day 1 post-graduation to successfully join a team and start making games. Many students enter the workforce in higher positions as a result, and are promoted to lead positions in a few short years.
Discover SMU Guildhall Career Services
Check Out Our Industry Partnerships
Welcome Home to the Hilltop!
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a nationally ranked private university with a stately campus nicknamed the Hilltop. SMU is located in Dallas, Texas, which is recognized as one of the top places in the U.S. to live, work, learn and play. Dallas is a leading center for business, innovation, culture and service, one of the birth places of the video game industry, and home to a growing ecosystem of game studios, app developers, and digital technology companies. The prime location enables us to employ successful local developers as adjunct faculty and to work with a multitude of companies and thoughtleaders in classroom endeavors, research endeavors, and industry pairings.
Take a Peek at Our Facilities
Ready to Get Started?
Apply to SMU Guildhall today
SMU Guildhall welcomes a new class of aspiring game developers every August. Each year, rolling admissions begin in December and run through the following May. 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.
Learn More about our Admissions Process
View our upcoming application deadlines
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