Computer and Video Game Degree Programs Continue to Grow at Colleges and Universities Across the U.S.

/PRNewswire/ -- 300 American colleges, universities, art and trade schools will offer degrees in video game design, development, programming and art during the 2010-11 academic year, according to new research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The degrees offered at 300 institutions represent an almost 20 percent increase over 2009-10.

The growing number of educational programs comes as no surprise to Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and industry affairs at the ESA, which represents computer and video game publishers. "The steady increase in higher education programs is an important indicator about the expanding role computer and video games play in today's world," said Mr. Taylor. "While computer and video games have been a source of entertainment for decades, our society is increasingly recognizing the broader uses of games and their positive impact. Whether it is in healthcare, education, business or government, schools across the country see the value of games and are training their students to meet the demand."

Prospective students interested in game design and development careers now have far greater options than their predecessors. During the 2008-09 academic year, 220 schools offered such programs and more than 250 programs were available during 2009-10. This year's record-setting list includes new programs such as the Game Design and Digital Studies Program at Dartmouth College, Gaming Certificate Program at Arizona State University's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, and Digital Animation and Interactive Media at Ohio State University's Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design.

Schools offering game design and development programs can be found in 42 states and the District of Columbia. California remains at the forefront of this educational field, home to 50 institutions of higher learning that offer game-related degrees, followed by New York (26), Texas (21), Illinois (17), Florida (15), Massachusetts (13), Pennsylvania (12), Michigan (10), Washington (10) and Georgia (9).

The continued growth of video game programs coincides with the overall growth of the entertainment software industry. According to the ESA's 2010 Essential Facts about Computer and Video Games report, 67 percent of American households now play computer and video games. In addition, public and private sector organizations in the fields of healthcare, education and business are increasingly relying on computer and video games to modernize and improve their operations. According to a study by the ESA, 70 percent of major employers utilize interactive software and games to train employees and more than 75 percent of businesses and non-profits already offering video game-based training plan to expand their usage in the next three to five years.

The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Expo, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.

Colleges, Universities and Trade Schools with Computer and Video Game Courses and Degrees in Georgia are:

American
InterContinental University (Dunwoody Campus) Atlanta GA
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Art Institute of Atlanta Atlanta GA
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Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA
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Georgia State University Atlanta GA
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DeVry University - Decatur/ Decatur/Alpharetta Alpharetta GA
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ITT Tech - Duluth Duluth GA
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Southern Polytechnic State University Marietta GA
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Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah GA
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Georgia Southern University Statesboro GA

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Georgia Southern University College of Information Technology Offers Students High-Demand Certificate

Georgia Southern University College of Information Technology students are not only graduating with a competitive edge, but saving employers thousands of dollars in the process. Georgia Southern is one of the rare universities in the country, and the only in the state of Georgia, that includes a SAP® Certificate as part of its curriculum. This provides a major competitive edge for graduates as they begin their job search.

SAP AG, headquartered in the EU (Waldorf, Germany) and is the third largest software enterprise in the world in terms of revenues. SAP is currently used by more than 35,000 companies and with new products targeting small and medium enterprises. Its customer base is projected to include more than 100,000 companies by 2010. Other institutions that award a SAP Certificate include the University of Southern California, Louisiana State University and the University of Central Florida to name a few. Only a handful of other institutions in the U.S. offer an equivalent number of SAP-approved courses and have a comparable level of SAP integration in their curriculum.

“Being able to include a SAP Certificate as part of Georgia Southern’s curriculum provides students with hands-on experience with SAP products and solutions that are used by thousands of the world’s major companies,” said Tom Case, professor and chair, Information Systems Department in the College of Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. “The state of Georgia serves as the corporate headquarters for numerous corporations that are heavy users of SAP including Coca Cola, Georgia Pacific, Home Depot and Newell Rubbermaid. Our SAP Certificate gives students a true competitive edge in the marketplace and provides SAP user organizations with a valued pool of SAP-experienced talent that is rarely found in recent university graduates.”

Georgia Southern has partnered with SAP’s University Alliance to enable students to use and understand SAP products. Through hands-on experience with SAP solutions, students gain insight into how SAP and other enterprise solutions can empower a business to optimize key processes such as accounting and controlling, human capital management, materials management, and sales and distribution. Students who complete three SAP-approved courses are eligible to receive a SAP Certificate signed by SAP America. Information Systems majors in the Enterprise Resources Planning Emphasis typically receive this certificate as part of their normal course work. The SAP Certificate may also be earned by undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students who minor in Information Systems.

“Employers would typically have to spend significant amounts of money to provide an employee with a comparable SAP skill-base as that obtained by students who earn our SAP Certificate,” said Case. “We are one of the few universities in the country using SAP this extensively and we are receiving a lot of interest from prospective students and working professionals. Our graduates are in high demand and many are receiving multiple job offers with major companies.” In the past two years, BMW, Georgia Pacific, and UnderArmour are just a few of the companies that have come to campus to recruit Georgia Southern students pursuing their SAP Certificate. Georgia Southern students have also completed SAP internships at IBM, JCB, Shell and ZEP.

Georgia Southern is currently working with Coldwater Creek, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, to establish an ongoing relationship to help the company satisfy its demand for new workers with SAP skills. David Edwards, divisional vice president for Business and Technology Alignment at Coldwater Creek says, “We are working directly with Georgia Southern University because they not only recognize our needs, but are preparing their students to be immediate contributors once they graduate. In today's challenging business environment, the ability to recruit students that already have hands-on SAP experience is a major cost savings."

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