[game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?

[Roberts, Scott]

Seems like that's what a Game Design MFA student would do, and it would certainly help if they already had game industry experience and knew what those pressures were.

 "They" = the grad students.

Scott


From: game_edu-bounces at igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Roberts, Scott
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:03 AM
To: IGDA Game Education Listserv
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?

I don't think that anyone is saying that a terminal degree is necessary to teach game design.  What I'm saying is as this educational area matures we NEED them.  As you say Ian, for now we can only use "related" degrees.  We need to encourage academic study at the highest level.

What I'm interested in is: what does an MFA in Game Design program look like?  Is it most like an MFA in Directing, since the creative product is mainly a team-based activity?  I think game studies can be a part of it, but "film studies" doesn't equal "filmmaking."  Does an MFA program simply prepare students for what the profession expects, or should it encourage mavericks and game "artists?"

I thought of my time in grad school as an opportunity to take a break from professional constraints to be able to experiment without those outside pressures (yeah, right) to develop a creative philosophy and body of work.  Seems like that's what a Game Design MFA student would do, and it would certainly help if they already had game industry experience and knew what those pressures were.


This is a dangerous road, since it'll probably lead to me eventually writing a proposal or something. :)

Scott



Scott Roberts
Associate Professor
DePaul University
sroberts at cti.depaul.edu<mailto:sroberts at cti.depaul.edu>



From: game_edu-bounces at igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces at igda.org] On Behalf Of Ian Schreiber
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:21 AM
To: mark at baldwinconsulting.org; IGDA Game Education Listserv
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Where to post academic job offers?

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
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