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Game programmers combine technical skills with creativity in order to create dynamic and functional games with the teams they work in.
As a Game Programming student, you will gain cutting-edge computer science skills and experience while also diving head first into how to program great games and work as part of a game development team. By graduation, your skills and experience will make you an outstanding candidate for a position as a programmer in the game industry-or you can take your skills into other computer science and programming-related career paths.
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. You'll gain the technical skills and professional experience to produce games that will enchant and engage audiences.
The Game Studio at Champlain College is a unique feature that gives you hands-on experience in your field, working with peers from our other game majors to complete game projects from start to finish. This parallel to 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.
JUST THE FACTS
The 2021 Fiske Guide to Colleges selected Champlain as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" by U.S. News & World Report (for the seventh consecutive year!) in its "America's Best Colleges" 2022 rankings.
Burlington, Vermont, our hometown, is ranked the #1 Best College Town by Travel + Leisure magazine.
WHAT SETS US APART
The unique Game Studio Experience at Champlain College gives you start-to-finish game-building experience in a professional environment. You'll collaborate with your peers in each of our game majors to create playable games in a studio that parallels the processes of the industry. By the end of your four years, you'll be ready to work in a professional studio.
You will have the opportunity to present the game you create with your Game Studio team—as well as your own demo reel—to recruiters from all over the United States and Canada. Recruiters often come to the Senior Show to scout new talent, from companies like:
Insomniac | Activision/Vicarious Visions |
Behaviour | Hidden Monster Games |
Otherside Entertainment | Sony Bend |
Trivium Interactive | Ubisoft |
Velan |
Champlain College sends a cohort to the world's largest game developers conference each year in San Francisco. 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, Survios, Insomniac, Rockstar, and Sony.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Our Upside-Down Curriculum ensures that you are taking key courses in your major in your first semester. This means you'll be ready for internships sooner than most students, allowing more time for you to build relevant professional experience.
Through your project-based courses, you will:
Champlain's campus in Montreal, Canada, provides extraordinary opportunities to live and study in a cosmopolitan global center for technology. Champlain has close relationships with some of the biggest companies in gaming, which are based in Montreal.
YOUR FUTURE
Champlain College was one of the first institutions to offer a bachelor's degree in Game Programming, and we continue to offer one of the best in the world. Our reputation for producing high-caliber industry professionals is substantiated by the extraordinary success of our graduates. Champlain Game Programming grads often work with companies like Behaviour Interactive, Sony Bend, Ubisoft, Velan Studios, and Vicarious Visions.
You'll be prepared to...
Write clear and efficient code in the programming languages relevant to professional game development, following appropriate coding standards and industry practices.
Build systems that employ common approaches to game AI, game physics, game networking, game graphics (2-D and 3-D), operating systems, and file formats.
Communicate effectively (through the use of written material and visual presentations) to both technical and non-technical game developers.
Build interactive software as part of a development team (including artists, animators, designers, producers, and/or other programmers).
See all program learning outcomes.
Recent grads are in positions such as:
Software Engineer // Amazon // Seattle, WA
Game Engineer // Schell Games // Pittsburgh, PA
Software Engineer // Idemia // Billerica, MA
UX/UI/Networking Programmer // Reification // Oakland, CA
Associate Gameplay Engineer // Proletariat Inc. // Boston, MA
Let us know you’re interested so we can keep in touch!
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