SMU Guildhall
SMU Guildhall is a graduate video game development program located at the Southern Methodist University (SMU). It was one of the first graduate video game development programs in the United States. It is currently ranked #4 among the Top 25 Graduate Schools for Game Design by the Princeton Review. History. The program was founded in 2003. It has more than 600 alumni, who have secured jobs and internships at over 200 studios including: Gearbox, Activision, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, Obsidian, id Software, Riot Games, Dreamworks Animation, Disney Interactive, Gameloft, Bungie, Valve, ZeniMax Media, Raven Software, High Voltage, Ritual , KingsIsle Entertainment, Blizzard, Sony, Google, Insomniac, High Moon, Playful, Shiver, LucasArts, Infinity Ward, Crystal Dynamics, Telltale Games, BioWare, Crytek, Firaxis, Certain Affinity, Volition, BattleCry, Retro Studios, Gunfire Games, Escalation Studios, and Foundation 9. Faculty are industry veterans, who have worked at over 40 game studios including: Activision, Atari, Day 1 Studios, Electronic Arts, Gearbox Software, id Software, LucasArts, Microsoft Studios, Red Storm, Retro Studios, Robot Entertainment, Sega of America, Sony Online Entertainment, and Ubisoft. Originally located at the University's Plano, Texas facilities, Guildhall relocated to SMU's main campus in central Dallas at the Gerald J. Ford Hall  for Research and Innovation in 2020. Program and Classes. SMU Guildhall offers a Master of Interactive Technology degree and a Graduate Professional Certificate, with specializations in Art Creation, Level Design, Production, and Programming. The program is 24 months long. Students are admitted every Fall and Spring. The student body and alumni represents 48 states and 13 countries, and come from a variety of undergraduate majors and backgrounds. Students work in teams, and projects mimic real-world studio environments and development cycles. Each student creates at least 3 original games from start to finish using Unity and Unreal 4, plus a  Thesis project and/or Directed Focus Study. The Guildhall student body has completed over 1,180 directed focus studies, 292 master theses & 450 team games. SMU Guildhall offers 150 graduate classes annually dedicated to game design. Each cohort of Guildhall students complete 11 core courses together, which are designed to teach the theory and practice of game design: 3 game design courses, 3 game studies courses, and 5 team game production courses in which students build and iterate game designs based on user testing. Masters students complete 5 additional courses to create projects focused on advancing game design research. All Guildhall  students enroll in 2 professional development and 1 ethics course related to a professional career in game development. Remaining coursework is individualized per specialization in art, design, production, and programming, with each student taking majors, minors, directed focus studies, and special topics relative to their degree. Professional development courses include portfolio reviews, resume development, mock interviews, and networking opportunities at special events on-campus and at national conferences like GDC. Industry Sponsored Projects. Game companies and organizations like Blizzard, ZeniMax Media, Robot, Gearbox and the PCGA enlist Guildhall students to beta test development builds of their games for user research . Intel, Dell, Microsoft, Oculus Rift, and America’s Army have funded research projects for Guildhall students through grants, scholarships, and technology.