This is a new major for the School as of the 2011-2012 academic year!

Austin has long been known for its music and film industries, but currently the most dynamic digital media business growth in Texas is Austin’s interactive video game industry. The video game companies with a significant presence in Austin include some of the industry’s most prominent studios and developers, such as Sony Online Entertainment, Electronic Arts, BioWare, Disney Interactive Studios, NCSoft, Aspyr Media and many others. With many game industry entry-level jobs having a starting salary of $65,000, there is not only a need but an actual demand for a qualified and educated workforce that understands the special requirements of properly managing that workforce.

Sharing much of the same digital core curricula with the BBA in Interactive Games Management,the BA in Interactive Games Studies exposes students to all three phases of the game industry: business, technology and digital creation. However, this major reflects the game industry’s acknowledgment of its growing need for producers schooled in a more liberal arts background yet fully competent in game design. Not only by the addition of another complete level of Game Design courses, the BA in Interactive Games Studies rounds out the studies with increased emphasis on liberal arts curricula focusing on digital art, intermediate programming and scripting, interactive storytelling and world building in literature.

Interactive Games Studies Major Requirements (pdf) 

Previous degree plans

For course descriptions, see the Undergraduate Bulletin.