8
Ranked Colleges
121
Degrees Awarded
$42,400
Avg Cost*
Veterans have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Game & Interactive Media Design is the 293rd most popular major in the country with 2,692 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in game and interactive media design. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great game and interactive media design programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the game and interactive media design program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
The colleges and universities below are the best for master’s degree vets studying game and interactive media design.
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 masters’s game and interactive media design degrees to qualified students.
USC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, USC supports 46,287 students, and 1,311 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 862 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $20,487. To help with additional expenses, 388 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full USC Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that handed out 20 masters’s game and interactive media design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Carnegie Mellon, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 117 of the 13,519 students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University were GI Bill® students, of which 72 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,422. In addition to receiving other benefits, 36 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Carnegie Mellon University]](/colleges/carnegie-mellon-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, American University landed the #3 spot on the list. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s game and interactive media design degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
The American University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, American University supports 14,001 students, and 613 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 388 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,027. On top of their other funding sources, 206 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full The American University Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #4 spot on the list. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 7 masters’s game and interactive media design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.Of the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul University, 528 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 367 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,957. To help with additional expenses, 101 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at DePaul University]](/colleges/depaul-university/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s. Troy, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s game and interactive media design degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our master’s degree vets studying game and interactive media design list, RPI has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.According to our most recent data, RPI supports 7,501 students, and 104 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 72 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,164. In addition to receiving other benefits, 59 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]](/colleges/rensselaer-polytechnic-institute/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #6, Savannah College of Art and Design did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s list. Savannah, Georgia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s game and interactive media design degrees to 40 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our master’s degree vets studying game and interactive media design list, SCAD has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 193 of the 14,265 students enrolled at SCAD were GI Bill® students, of which 135 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $20,695. During this same period, 91 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full SCAD Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #7, New York Film Academy did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s list. Located in Burbank, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 6 diplomas to qualified masters’s game and interactive media design students in 2020-2021.
New York Film Academy also took the #8 spot in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.According to our most recent data, New York Film Academy supports 1,271 students, and 21 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 14 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $19,267. During this same period, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
[Read full report on veteran student life at New York Film Academy]](/colleges/new-york-film-academy/student-life/veterans/)
Laguna College of Art and Design landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Game and Interactive Media Design for a Master’s ranking. Laguna Beach, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s game and interactive media design degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
LCAD also took the #6 spot in our “Best Game & Interactive Media Design Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.According to our most recent data, LCAD supports 782 students, and 37 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 33 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $17,260. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Laguna College of Art and Design Veteran Student Life Report
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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