U of I Directors Approves New Video Game Masters Program

“You don't just need programmers, you need artists and so on, and you need to understand how to collaborate with each other,” says Lisa Beebenew, director of the informatics program in the School of Information Sciences.

The master's degree program cannot begin until it receives approval from the Illinois Higher Education Commission, but Thursday's approval from the UI Board of Regents brings it one step closer to becoming a reality.

Other universities offer similar game design programs, but the UI concept is slightly different, Beevenue said.

The second half of the two-year program focuses entirely on experiential learning and collaboration with other students.

The School of Information Science, which is already working with industry partners to give students the opportunity to work on real video games, is also working to establish multiple studios within the university.

There, students can work on ideas from industry partners and turn faculty research ideas into reality.

“Games may need to be designed and developed to collect data and understand how people react in simulated environments,” Beevenue says.

If approved, the Informatics program will oversee this master's program, which will be a truly interdisciplinary program.

Computer science plays an important role, but so do art and design, English storytelling, drama and music.

Bivenue said historical or historical fiction video games are quite popular, so there's a good chance they'll be called up in the history department as well.

All of this is why students are encouraged to participate and collaborate in many group projects. It would be impossible for everyone who wants to work on video games to learn every aspect.

Instead, students will be able to choose one of five areas of concentration: art, storytelling, production, design, and programming.

Students in the Production concentration are required to develop some general knowledge in all areas, while students in other tracks can choose to broaden their focus or stay focused .

If the state board approves the master's program, the plan is to begin in January 2025, but future cohorts would begin in the fall semester, Beevenue said.

Although designed to be completed in two years, the online program is also intended to be available to both full-time students and professionals, so the schedule is very flexible.