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May 18th, 2005Gaming degrees on the rise, according to CNET …
Students at a growing number of colleges and universities have the opportunity to study video-game development, even as supporters of studies differ on whether the value of such programs lies in practical or theoretical application. At some campuses, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, students in gaming programs use video games as a foundation for understanding sociology, anthropology, economics, or pedagogy. Kurt Squire, who teaches at Wisconsin, said, "Our school is not in position a of turning out people for industry." Programs at schools such as the University of Denver, on the other hand, focus their efforts on preparing students to work as video-game developers. Officials at that university credit the program with reversing the
declining number of applicants to the computer science department. Scott Leutenegger, head of the university's undergraduate gaming program, said that like academic film programs in the 1930s and 1940s, gaming programs were initially met with skepticism but have begun to earn wider respect. Still, he said, gaming programs are not for everyone. "This is an industry with high burnout rates, long hours, and incredibly tight deadlines," said Leutenegger.
