[game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?

[Ian Schreiber]

I'll point out that a terminal degree *in* game design, by and large, doesn't exist. You'll have to accept a terminal degree in a "related field". Given the shortage of qualified people, an institution should use an extremely loose definition of "related" -- Computer Science, Probability/Statistics, or Fine Art would all be fine in my book -- as long as the applicant does have some solid experience actually designing games (for reasons already pointed out).
   
  Like Mark, I too question the basic assumption of this being a requirement, although I understand that some schools have little choice if their accrediting body is sufficiently strict. Those schools that are able to attract qualified game designers are largely those who are willing and able to find creative ways to work around the process. For example, some schools have offered a position provisionally, with the expectation that the professor receive a terminal degree within N years; this is much easier on someone who is currently a working professional, than requiring them to leave their day job and be a full-time grad student for 3 years before they can even get work.
   
  I am left to wonder, however: if a school's hands are tied by the accrediting body, who is out there trying to convince accreditors that typical restrictions need to be relaxed in the case of game design?
   
  - Ian

Mark Baldwin <mark at baldwinconsulting.org> wrote:
                I didn’t ignore the problem of a terminal degree, but I do question it.   Certainly, a terminal degree is a measure of qualification in education.   But it shouldn’t act as a straight jacket to lock out knowledge.   There have always been ways around that constraint, by the simple fact that academic knowledge would be completely incestuous if it was not.
   
  Perhaps the solution is as simple as academia saying that for new fields of knowledge, publication (or some other standard of knowledge success) equates to a terminal degree.  Or perhaps the whole standard of a terminal degree is obsolete in the quickly changing world of human knowledge.  Should a terminal degree trump actual evidence of successful and deep knowledge and experience?
   
  On your comment on intense interest, that’s how I got started.   My first published game was a miniatures game I designed back in ’67 while still in High School.   I was designing games long before there were personal computers because it was a personal interest.   I then took that interest and knowledge, along with other technical knowledge (I’m an engineer by education, and use to design Shuttle flights), and turned it into a successful game career.  But I would suggest that neither my intense interest nor my degrees qualify me to teach games, they just prepped me.  Instead, what I think qualifies me to teach game design is all the games I’ve designed, exemplified by my successful career and credits.
   
  Mark
   
  ******************************************
   Mark Lewis Baldwin
   Associate Professor
   Game Design and Development
   University of Advancing Technology
   303-526-9169
   mbaldwin at uat.edu
   http://baldwinconsulting.org
   mar80401 (YIM, AIM, Skype)
  ******************************************
   
   
   
      From: game_edu-bounces at igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Roberts, Scott
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 11:52 PM
To: IGDA Game Education Listserv
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?


   
  Mark, you left out an important element from what is ordinarily required to attain a tenure-track position in an area: a terminal degree.  This is one of the problems we’re facing as this educational area grows, a shortage of PhD or MFA programs that focus on game production/design.  While at DePaul we do have working game designers teaching game design, eventually we’ll need tenure-track faculty in the area. 
   
  It appears natural that a terminal degree in game design would be an MFA rather than a PhD.  Is anyone offering an MFA program in game design?  Would this degree serve much of a purpose other than qualifying someone for tenure consideration?
   
   
  Regarding your question, I think the second best solution is an experienced teacher with an intense interest in the subject of games and game design, which I think is what Susan was saying.  
   
  Scott
   
  Scott Roberts (MFA)
  Associate Professor
  DePaul University 
  sroberts at cti.depaul.edu
   

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