Work and Study With Us

Courses

Game Lab staff regularly teach courses on game studies, design, and development within CMS/W. Please see the CMS/W info page on undergraduate education for more details.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP)

The MIT Game Lab offers research opportunities during the school year on active research and development projects for MIT undergraduates. These UROPs are designed to prepare students for the game development workflow and to help them gain familiarity with tools used in professional settings. MIT undergraduates working with the Game Lab may elect to receive direct or sponsored UROP funding or may choose to receive credit instead. Potential UROPs should be familiar with standard MIT UROP Office procedures and deadlines.

Interested MIT undergraduates of any major should join our UROP announcement mailing list and contact Rik Eberhardt (gamelab-request@mit.edu) with the following information:

• Statement of interest – game development or game research?
• What role you are interested in (game research, programming, game design, art, audio, production, quality assurance)
• Skills you bring to the UROP
• Your current class schedule and available hours
• Resume

Research and Design Partnerships

The MIT Game Lab has a long history of working with both internal MIT and external entities (companies, civic organizations, etc) to bring the richness of gaming to unique domains. Project partners often come to us for our expertise in game research, design, and development. If you have a funded project you are looking for a partner on to explore gaming with, contact Rik Eberhardt via email at gamelab-request@mit.edu to talk more.

Sponsored Courses & Competitions

Do you have a new technology but need working proof of concepts to show it off? Are you looking to explore a new domain and want the help of MIT students to discover innovative and novel ways to approach it? Are you hiring and are finding a gap in available skills, especially among people newly-entering your industry? Sponsor a class or competition at MIT to work with talented students.

The MIT Game Lab regularly utilizes special topics for game development and design-oriented classes, as well as competitions. These can be carried out over the course of an entire semester or during MIT’s January IAP period. Sponsoring a class involves supporting the operating costs for the class (administrative costs, teaching assistants, lecturers, materials, etc.). While materials created by students in the class remain property of the students who created them, sponsors get the opportunity to work with creative and ambitious students who typically come from a variety of disciplines. Contact Rik Eberhardt via email at gamelab-request@mit.edu to talk about course opportunities.

Visiting Scholars

If you are an academic scholar with a PhD (sorry, we are not able to accommodate graduate students), we invite you to spend your sabbatical months with us at the MIT Game Lab. The research and development community of the lab is open and friendly and, as part of our department’s Visiting Scholars program, you will be invited to join in regular research seminars, to share research with faculty, staff, and students, and to collaborate on projects in the lab. Please note, CMS/W & the Game Lab cannot provide funding, office space, housing, or computer workstations to Visiting Scholars. Detailed information about eligibility, requirements, and how to apply can be found at CMS’ Visiting Scholars page.

Become a MIT Game Lab donor

We are always looking to build long-term relationships with those interested in the mission and vision of the lab! You can donate to the MIT Game Lab Fund via the Giving to MIT system (designation 3841520). Gifts will support the Game Lab’s mission of critical game research, including teaching, internships, events, operations, research staff, and students by making a tax-deductible gift of any amount or by contributing to the Lab’s endowment.