Admission with Advanced Standing for Certificate Graduates

Students who have already earned a Certificate in Digital Game Development from The Guildhall may apply for admission with advanced standing into the Master’s degree program if they meet all the academic requirements for ad-mission to the degree program. Requirements for admission with advanced standing are as follows:

• A four-year baccalaureate or equivalent degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 (B average) in undergraduate work.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 in graduate work at The Guildhall. 

For students not meeting the minimum requirement in their undergraduate work, other factors may be considered, including GRE graduate school entry exam scores, strong employment history, publications and other academic experience. In particular, transcripts indicating successful completion of graduate-level courses in other areas of study may be taken into consideration if the applicant’s undergraduate GPA is below 3.0.

Students with a Guildhall certificate are considered to have satisfied residency requirements and may therefore complete their Master’s degree work away from the campus. However, students should expect to be physically present on campus whenever it is deemed important by the student’s supervisory committee, including during the initial meeting to approve the student’s proposal and the final defense. The specialized cohort nature of The Guildhall program precludes admission with advanced standing from other graduate programs.
 
If you are interested in beginning the application process and deadlines to complete the program, please let us know by contacting Diane Urquhart at diane@smu.edu or (214) 768-4278.