USC Video Game Design

Degree Categories:
Undergraduate, Graduate, PhD, Minors, Non-Major, Writing Certificate

Program Categories:
Video Game Design & Management, Animation & Digital Arts, Cinematic Arts, Cinema-Television for Health Professionals, Digital Studies, Screenwriting

Number of Students: 40

Teacher / Student Ratio: 2:1

Fees / Tuition Information:

Annual Tuition (Interactive Media Division): $26,050

Is Financial Aid Available? yes

Entrance Requirements:

Students should meet the regular admissions standards and have a declared USC major. Students will complete an application for the minor with the Viterbi School of Engineering. For specific information on admission and application procedures, contact the Information Technology Program at 213.740.4542.

Program Description:

The video game design minor integrates theoretical concepts and practical skills to prepare students for a career in interactive entertainment, specifically the video game industry. Through integration of two major disciplines (cinema and information technology), students will be exposed to a variety of design concepts related to creating video games including: level design, game-play control, user interface, multiplayer, game mechanics, and storytelling. As opposed to the video game programming minor where students will be writing code and programming game engines, students in the video game design and management minor will apply design concepts to different game genres and use game design software tools to create a working demo of a video game during the course of the minor program.