DigiPen Institute Of Technology - Digipen Institute Of Technology

DigiPen Institute of Technology is a for-profit university located in Redmond, Washington. DigiPen has campuses in Redmond, Washington, in Singapore, and near Bilbao, Spain. DigiPen offers bachelor's and master's degree programs.

DigiPen also offers summer programs for students in grades K-12, as well as online courses and year-long high school programs.

History

DigiPen Institute of Technology was founded in 1988 by Claude Comair in Vancouver, B.C., Canada as DigiPen Corporation, a computer simulation and animation company.

In 1990, DigiPen began offering a 3D animation program and began collaborating with Nintendo of America to create a post-secondary program for video game programming. With Nintendo's support, DigiPen Applied Computer Graphics School accepted its first class of video game programming students in 1994.

In May 1996 the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board granted DigiPen the ability to award Associate and Bachelor of Science (BSc) Degrees in Real-Time Interactive Simulation (RTIS) and Associate of Applied Arts (AAA) Degrees in 3D Computer Animation. This made DigiPen the first university in the world dedicated to computer and video game development.

In January 1998, DigiPen relocated the school to Redmond, Washington, U.S. One year later, the school offered its first AAA in 3D Computer Animation classes.

In 2000, DigiPen awarded degrees the first graduating RTIS class. The intensive RTIS program, renowned for the highly skilled game programmers that it produces, has since remained DigiPen's flagship program.

In 2004, the school added three new programs: the BSc in Computer Engineering, the Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science (Accredited in 2006), and the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Digital Art and Animation.

In 2008, the BSc in Computer Science and Game Design, and Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Game Design programs were added. DigiPen also opened a branch campus in Singapore.

In 2011, the school opened a campus in Zierbena, in the Greater Bilbao area, and the Singapore campus was granted accreditation by the ACCSC.

In 2012, DigiPen added three new degree programs: the BA in Music and Sound Design, the BSc in Engineering and Sound Design, and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Digital Arts.

In 2014, DigiPen added a new degree program: the BSc in Computer Science.

Education

DigiPen has six primary educational paths:

1. RTIS â€" Real Time Interactive Simulation (core game engine architecture and programming)
2. CS - Standard computer science education with emphasis on game programming.
3. GD â€" Game Design (gameplay architecture, programming and scripting)
4. E â€" Engineering (computer hardware, and software architecture)
5. MSD â€" Music and Sound Design
6. FA â€" Fine Arts (digital art and animation).

DigiPen currently offers eight undergraduate degree programs. Three of these in the arts: BFA (Fine Arts), BAGD (Game Design), BAMSD (Music and Sound Design). Three are in computer science: BSCSGD (Computer Science and Game Design), BSCS (Computer Science), BSCSRTIS (Computer Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation). The final two are in Engineering: BSCE (Computer Engineering), and BSESD (Engineering and Sound Design).

DigiPen also offers two Master's Degree programsâ€"MSCS (Computer Science), and MFA (Fine Arts); Comair plans to add a Ph.D. program as well.

Ranking

• DigiPen Institute of Technology is the #1 school in Washington and #25 of all 4,053 U.S. colleges and universities in terms of median salary after attending, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
• The Princeton Review ranked DigiPen No. 3 on its annual list of “Top 25 Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design,” as well as No. 5 on its list of “Top 25 Graduate Schools to Study Game Design” for 2015. Since the Princeton Review began its ranking of Game Design schools in 2010, DigiPen has consistently been ranked as one of the top four undergraduate schools.
• Digipen is ranked among the 50 best computer science and engineering schools in America by The Business Insider.
• DigiPen has also been voted the 6th best video game university in the United States by the Animation Career Review.
• In Forbes magazine DigiPen has received the prime position for Computer Video Gaming.

References