Study

Undergraduate Studies

While MIT does not have a formal game development or game design degree program, the MIT Game Lab helps MIT students who are interested in games create their own program of study. By their nature, games require an interdisciplinary approach to their study. However, approaches can vary depending on what the student wants to do with games.

Interested in the design and history of games and how people play and learn with games?

Focus in game design and game studies through our parent department, Comparative Media Studies.

Interested in the computational and technical challenges of developing digital games?

Focus in computer science through Course 6: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. A pure Computer Science major is known as '6-3'. Students can also achieve a Masters of Engineering with an additional year of study after their bachelor program is completed.

Interested in psychological games and behavioral change?

Focus in psychology through Course 9: Brain & Cognitive Science with either a major or minor in Brain & Cognitive Science or a minor in Psychology.

Interested in the business practices required for creating your own game company?

Focus in business through the MIT Sloan School of Management.

In all cases, students can attain a well-rounded course of study by concentrating or minoring in Comparative Media Studies by taking the four classes recommended in the list below (CMS.300, CMS.301, CMS.608, and CMS.611). This will supplement the core interests of a student with the game design, game studies, and game analysis courses offered by the department. Because MIT is a research institute, all students interested in games should take at least 1 year of UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity) with the MIT Game Lab or with one of the many CMS research groups developing games.

Graduate Studies

As with undergraduate studies, many programs at MIT offer advanced graduate courses and research opportunities in games:

Comparative Media Studies offers a 2-year Masters of Science degree. While the core curriculum involves study across all media, students often specialize in one medium, including games. This program is a combination of coursework, a Master's thesis, and active research in one of CMS' many research groups, including the MIT Game Lab.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science offers an extensive graduate program in Computer Science. Students can study and participate in active research of aspects in computer science that are vital in the creation of modern digital games, such as artificial intelligence, networking, and computer graphics.

Other graduate programs at MIT allow students to work with the MIT Game Lab to supplement their educational and research goals, including the MIT Media Lab and the Sloan MBA program.

Courses

These are recommended courses from the 2011-12 MIT catalogue for students who are interested in studying and making videogames and maybe pursue a career in the field. The following courses are grouped by area of interest independently of their major. There is some overlap between specialties, and students are encouraged to take courses from different areas if they are relevant to their interests, even if they are not on the list.

Many of the courses offered through Comparative Media Studies count towards general HASS requirements for all undergraduate degrees. Be sure to check the actual Student Catalog listing, linked to for each class, for up-to-date details. We have also included links to OpenCourseWare versions of these classes. These OCW versions of the class may be out of date since lecturers update their class syllabi and materials more regularly than OCW captures them.