[game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?

[Deanna Whaley]

Just to put in my two cents. We have 3 degrees starting in the Fall  
2008 semester: Game Programming, Game Design and Game Art. We  
currently have one full-time professor specifically teaching Game  
Design and we will be hiring another for the Video Game Art. We  
currently have a full-time professor teaching our 3D Animation and  
Modeling degrees, but she may have to jump over to the Game Art track  
until we hire the Game Art professor.

So...any information on where to get the most visibility on job  
postings would be helpful.

Thank you


Deanna Whaley
Visual Communication Dept
Austin Community College
512.223.4830 * fax 512.223.4444
Northridge Campus, Room 4263B
www.austincc.edu/viscom
dwhaley at austincc.edu


On Mar 20, 2008, at 9:21 AM, Ian Schreiber wrote:


> 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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