General Questions

What is the difference between the three specializations?

Level design is all about storytelling. You will develop the levels of the game with-in a team that comprises programmers and artists (our other two specializations). As a level designer, your main goal is to evoke emotion from the player of the game. Tell the story, set the pace and flow of the game, be the creative driving force with-in your team. As an art creation student, you will draw all day long, creating environments and characters for the games in which you are creating. As a software development student, you are in charge of writing the code (primarily C++) that will bring the characters and environments to life.

What is the difference between the Master's degree and the Professional Certification?

In term four, our Master's degree students will begin work on their special project or thesis, while our Professional Certification students will work on their directed focus studies. At the conclusion of the 17 month program, our professional certification students will graduate while our Master's degree students will go on to work and complete their work.

Does The Guildhall at SMU have regular visits, speeches, and or recruiting events with industry professionals?

Industry professionals are always called upon for a variety of events, open houses, etc. Their presence is vast and frequent at The Guildhall at SMU.

Why should I pick The Guildhall at SMU over any other gaming education?

In five short years, The Guildhall at SMU has graduated over 230 students and alumni have worked at more than 80 video game studios around North America, proving it has the right curriculum and faculty to produce game developers.

What about cost?

As far as graduate education goes, The Guildhall at SMU is considered to be fairly inexpensive.  Further, graduate school should be looked at as an investment. You will be able to take what you have learned at The Guildhall at SMU and go out into the industry and be productive immediately upon graduation, which you cannot put a price tag on.

Is financial aid available? How much? And how?

Financial aid is available through a variety of avenues. The federal government through their website www.fafsa.ed.gov assists graduate students through the Stafford loan program, while private institutions such as banks, credit unions and graduate loan programs offer additional assistance for tuition, living expenses and program supplies. Financing your education at The Guildhall at SMU is one of the easiest processes that you will go through, and we are here to help you every step of the way.

What is the value of a degree from The Guildhall at SMU over a regular computer science or art degree?

We urge all of our potential applicants to complete their "regular" or undergraduate degrees BEFORE applying to The Guildhall at SMU. We are a graduate program, and while we do offer a professional certification, we expect all of our students to be ready to learn at the graduate level. The Guildhall at SMU is an avenue for you to focus your undergraduate education and to develop what you have already learned into a precise skill set dedicated to game development.

Does The Guildhall at SMU offer anything that other schools do not?

The Guildhall at SMU prides itself on its team-centric curriculum. By offering a program that exudes a cross-disciplinary environment, our students leave with a knowledge base unparalleled by any other school offering education for game development. Our international network of alumni have taken this ground breaking approach to education into the world of game development and made their stake in the marketplace, and that network is solid and ever expanding. Game education is expanding as an industry in itself, however; this type of curriculum and network of alumni is something that most schools are unable to tout.

Being located in Texas, what can I expect the surrounding community to be like if I have to move here for the next couple years?

Texas is a wonderful place to live (you might even decide to stay once you've completed your time here). Texas has an abundance of warm, sunny days, and is an affordable place to call home (our New York and California students love that). We, being in Plano, are only miles away from the hustle and bustle of Dallas, yet being 20 miles north, can get away from all of that and enjoy a bit slower, quieter pace (which is a great environment for studying). Texas is great and you will see that with all of the friendly people here, friends are easy to come by. By the way, we prefer athletic shoes to cowboy boots any day of the week

Is The Guildhall at SMU located on main campus SMU? How far away are you? And Why?

The Guildhall at SMU is located in Plano, TX which is about 20 miles north of the main SMU campus in Dallas. We decided to take up residence in Plano because of the amount of space that we needed as well as the location of our building. We are a growing institution, and with that growth (both in size and in technology) we needed to have the ability to expand when necessary. With the space that was afforded to us, we have already been able to add multiple project studios, a Vicon 8 camera motion capture studio, and are about to expand to add a new student kitchen and additional office space for our ever expanding faculty. Our placement in Plano, in the technology corridor, puts us in the middle of it all.

What is a typical day at The Guildhall at SMU like?

Classes begin at 9:30am with everyone in a cohort attending Game Studies. Lunch is 12:30pm - 2pm, and specialization classes run 2pm - 6:30pm. "Homework" assignments can usually take an additional 3+ hours, so a normal school day is about 12-15hours. During project times, it's not unheard of for students to do extra 20+ hours per week. But don't worry - every student who graduates from The Guildhall at SMU and gets a job in the game industry, says that The Guildhall at SMU was excellent training for them. You'll get out what you put in, just don't burn out.