Discover the world-changing power of game design at one of the top gaming programs in the nation.
By studying games and simulation arts and sciences (GSAS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, you will tackle issues that matter head-on. From applying gaming technology to enhance medical training to designing games that educate, our students are defining the future of game design.
Programs in Gaming
Our undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs are housed in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, which fosters critical collaboration with world-renowned experts.
Dive into an ever-expanding industry and explore the technical, creative, social, and cultural dimensions of game design while taking a hands-on approach.
Explore the transformative capacity of games and apply your insights to shape games of the future and create more diverse gaming communities.
Unleash your potential to create more diverse games as a gaming scholar trained in game production, game studies theory, and scholarly writing and research at one of the only doctoral programs of its kind in the nation.
GSAS in Action
Cure Quest, a collaboration between Rensselaer and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is a mobile game that strives to teach medical students about the process of inventing new drugs and therapies.
The World of Plankton was developed and funded as part of the Jefferson Project, a collaboration between Rensselaer, IBM Research, and the Lake George Association, to educate users about microscopic freshwater organisms.Rankings and Accolades
Center of Excellence
in Digital Game Development
National Game Design Program (2021)
Animation Career Review
Game Design Program
in New York (2021)
Animation Career Review
Student Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Claire Thomas ’19 unearthed a passion for the craft of 3D animation while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in games and simulation arts and sciences, and now considers herself “strictly a 3D artist.” She applied the skills she learned to Cure Quest. Over the course of two summers, she worked on writing a script, designing concept art, and creating characters in 3D.
After graduating, Thomas cofounded Pine Drake Games, an independent game studio making unique, stylized games. Check out the studio’s first game, Apotheker, and its upcoming release, The Phantom Keeper: pinedrakegames.com.
Alumni Spotlight
Benjamin Caulkins ’18 is a graduate of the GSAS program and CEO of DANG! Studios, an independent game development studio based in upstate New York. One of the studio’s first games, IO Interloper, an immersive corporate espionage hacking game, was named a finalist at the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles and at the 2018 Independent Games Festival.
The studio’s upcoming game, BoomerangX, published by Devolver Digital, is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch this spring. Check out the trailer and playable demo: http://dang.computer.
Be a Game Changer
