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Computer Science vs. Computer Game Science

Mark Yampolsky · 2014-09-23T02:22:49

Hi Guys, I'm Mark, and I have posted some questions here before (http://www.gamedev.net/topic/654267-questions-about-game-development/#entry5139381), which, thank you for answering those, but the topic is old and I needed to start a new one for this set. See, I've been working on college applications over the past couple months, and several schools that I'm applying to have both Computer Science Programs and Computer Game Science/Computer Science (Games) Programs. I was wondering which of the programs would be preferable. Even though the schools that I picked that offer Game-related Computer Science programs are still heavily focused on Computer Science (In this case the two prominent ones are USC and UCI), I'm worried that this degree might pigeonhole me into the game development industry in case something doesn't work out in my future and I want to expand into another Computer Science related field. In addition, focusing on the Computer Game Science might keep me from reputable Computer Science programs at other schools I'm applying to, such as UCLA or UCB. On the other hand, If I focus primarily on regular Computer Science, while that gives me more freedom in what field I want to pursue after college, it deprives me of game-related knowledge I could have learned in a CGS Program if I end up in the game development industry (which, by the way, is what I hope will happen, but one can never predict the circumstances). In addition, there are plenty game dev veterans in the faculty of schools offering CGS programs, which I would look forward to learning form firsthand if I chose a CGS Program. TL;DR: In all honesty, I'm torn between which of the two I should pick because I simply don't know which one will benefit me in the long run because even though I strongly hope I'll end up in the game industry, there's always that chance that that may not happen, and I want to be sure I have a backup. But, with a backup, I end up depriving myself of some game-related knowledge that could benefit me. -Mark

Games Career Development Business

Started by Mark Y. September 21, 2014 05:47 PM

9 comments, last by frob 9 years, 9 months ago

frob

46,240

September 23, 2014 02:22 AM

With that addition of it being a regular CS degree, that can make a huge difference on a résumé.

For a games-specific degree you would put "Bachelor of Science in Game Programming".

For a CS degree with a games emphasis, "Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, emphasis in games development" or similar. You can omit the specialty when applying for a job outside the games industry. In my case my bachelors degree had two sub-specialties, network programming and analytic analysis. When it comes time to polish up my documents I'll usually list the network emphasis on the degree. Similarly with a masters degree, you can chose to just leave it with master of science, or add your research topic if it applies.