DigiPen prepares gamers for jobs

Personalized Learning

My wife and I visited DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond today. It’s a private college located between Microsoft and Nintendo in Redmond WA. They offer associate, bachelor, and masters degrees in game development. The curriculum is no game–it’s packed with math and science. An MS degree requires 154 credit hours, occasionally requiring students to take 22 credit hours including three math courses simultaneously. They had a 91% placement rate last year with jobs starting above $50k.
DigiPen has several k-12 programs including a Tech Academy, a half day 2 year program with some dual enrollment opportunities. We discussed a variety of strategies for expanding this rigorous and (for some) engaging curriculum.
DigiPen operates colleges in Singapore and Spain and has a Korean JV.

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.