Worcester's Becker ranked fifth in the nation in game design

Becker has been recognized for its game design education, edging out schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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By Sam Bonacci

The Princeton Review has ranked Worcester’s Becker College fifth in the nation when it comes to game design education.

Becker rounded out the top five undergraduate colleges in the nation in which to study game design. The small college was ranked behind large schools such as first-placed University of Utah and technically focused schools such as the Rochester Institute of Technology, which placed third. Becker was the highest-ranked Massachusetts school, with Hampshire College coming in at seventh, Northeastern University at 12 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 25.

At Becker, students have access to the state center for the digital and video game industries, which is right on campus. Later this year, the College will open the Colleen C. Barrett Center for Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will support 100 video game development students a year and house several gaming startups in an incubator space.

The schools were chosen based on data that measured the schools' game design academic offerings and lab facilities with their graduates' starting salaries and career achievements, according to a release from the Princeton Review. More than 40 data points in four areas (academics, faculty, technology, and career) were analyzed to tally the lists.

"The faculties at these schools are outstanding. Their facilities are awesome. And their alumni include legions of the industry's most prominent game designers, developers, artists, and entrepreneurs,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's Senior VP-Publisher.

Many of the students at these schools begin their careers before even graduating, the survey found. According to the report, 49 percent of undergrads and 59 percent of graduate students in these programs worked on games that were shipped before they graduated.

The Princeton Review has reported its game design program rankings annually since 2010.