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For the sixth consecutive year, Abilene Christian University has earned a top spot on The Princeton Review’s list of best game design programs. ACU is ranked No. 29 in the “Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Game Design for 2021” list released on March 23. 

“It’s rewarding for our faculty and students to be consistently recognized as a top program on this international stage,” said Dr. Brian Burton, associate professor of digital entertainment technology. “We often hear from families making college choices, as well as graduate schools and companies, that they look to this list as a reference for evaluating colleges and universities.”

Programs are ranked based on a survey conducted in 2020 of 150 institutions offering game design coursework and/or degrees in the U.S., Canada and some countries abroad. The survey by The Princeton Review collected information about the game design programs in four areas: academics, faculty, technology and career prospects. ACU has the highest-ranked program at a Christian university and is the second highest-ranked program in Texas.

The game design program at ACU is part of the School of Information Technology and Computing’s digital entertainment technology degree, which equips students with the tools needed to create digital content and learn about the creative processes behind concepts and design. More than 60 students are enrolled in the program at ACU this year, and in 2019, 100% of game design graduates were employed or accepted to graduate school within six months of graduation. 

“We highly recommend Abilene Christian University and every one of the schools that made our lists for 2020,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “Their faculties are superlative. Their facilities are state-of-the-art. Their alumni include many of the video game industry’s most prominent artists, designers, developers and entrepreneurs.”

The Princeton Review developed its “Top Game Design Schools” project in 2009 with assistance from a national advisory board that helped design the project survey and ranking list methodology. The Princeton Review also is known for its annual rankings of colleges, business schools and law schools in dozens of categories. PC Gamer, a reporting partner for this project, has a feature article on the rankings in its May issue. The full report can be seen at princetonreview.com/game-design. 

Learn more about ACU’s digital entertainment technology program.

— Wendy Kilmer

Apr. 8, 2021