Games are ubiquitous. They're played on all kinds of platforms, by all kinds of people. In addition to just being fun, games can be created for purposes like education, training, marketing, and productivity. 

As a Game Programming student, you will gain cutting-edge skills and experience that will make you an outstanding candidate for a position as a programmer in the game industry—or you can take your skills into any number of other fields.

Why Study Game Programming at Champlain College?

Champlain's Bachelor of Science degree in Game Programming—one of the first bachelor's degrees of its kind in the nation—puts the intellectual challenge of software creation in the context of game development to produce a highly versatile, in-demand skill set.

The Game Studio at Champlain College is a unique feature that gives you hands-on experience in your field. You'll work with your peers from our other game majors to complete game projects from start to finish. This parallel of real-world professional studio work is what makes Champlain game programmers stand out from the crowd; you'll have firsthand experience working with other departments to bring a project to completion.

Game Programming Major Academic Experience

The Upside-Down Curriculum ensures that you are taking key courses in your major—like Introduction to Game Development and Introduction to Programming—in your first semester. 

Through your project-based courses, you will:

• acquire a foundation of mathematics, physics, computer science, and software engineering necessary for game development;
• master contemporary technology for 2-D and 3-D graphics; and
• design and build artificial intelligence, physics engines, and networking systems. 

With a Champlain campus in Montreal, Canada, you'll have opportunities to live, study, and even intern in one of the most high-tech and livable cities in the world. Montreal holds particular interest for Game Programming majors because of our relationships with some of the biggest companies in gaming, which are based in that vibrant city.

Game Developers Conference (GDC)

Each year in March, Champlain College has a presence at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California. Game Studio faculty, students, alumni, and the Game Studio Career Coach attend the conference for professional development and networking. 

The Career Coach facilitates exclusive networking meetings for Champlain students with top recruiters from companies such as Ubisoft, ArenaNet, Crystal Dynamics, Activision, Sledgehammer, Insomniac, Rockstar, and Sony. These networking meetings lead to important connections for students. Champlain College also hosts a reception at GDC where a large contingent of Game Studio alumni working in San Francisco and recruiters attend to mingle and network with the students.

Game Development Senior Show

Game-industry employers from all over the world love coming to our annual senior show to recruit some of the best game programmers in the country. You and your team will present the game you've created in the studio to these recruiters, who often set up interviews and job offers while they're here.

Representatives from the following employers often attend:

• Activision/Vicarious Visions
• Behaviour Interactive
• Hidden Monster Games
• Otherside Entertainment
• Bend Studio
• Trivium Interactive
• Ubisoft
• Velan Studios