Students in SMU Guildhall’s graduate game development program work in a studio-modeled environment.

Graduate programs

Master of Interactive Technology

Pioneering, studio-modeled advanced game development program

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Program format

In-person

Commitment

Full time

Duration

Two years

Overview

The Master of Interactive Technology (M.I.T.) graduate program is our signature professional degree program for advanced video game development, launched in 2003. Our curriculum – made by the game industry, for the game industry – mirrors real-world game studio environments, training students to be plug-and-play ready to be onboarded quickly, with true industry experience and the skills to navigate projects and teams realistic to AAA and indie studios.

Each student graduates with a competitive portfolio of at least three commercial quality games and independent research projects on critical present-day topics relevant to game development and emerging technologies.

Graduate courses combine independent, specialized studies with team-centric, multidisciplinary work in lectures, labs and studios. Study game development and industry trends while gaining skills in leadership, teamwork, professional development and more. In the studio-modeled, collaborative Team Game Production course, you’ll learn to work in the style and pace of the industry with teams of all sizes and in varied leadership roles.

The SMU Guildhall M.I.T. degree program is the only one of its kind to offer specializations in all four cornerstones of game development – art creation, level design, production and software development (programming). 

 

 

Specializations

Art Creation

 Use the latest tools to create vivid imagined worlds and dynamic game characters.

Level Design

Craft the story and player experience via gameplay progression, level architecture, player flow and more.

Production

Shepherd cross-disciplinary teams of developers in realistic studio simulations.

Software Development (Programming)

Write code that breathes life into games through engine design and architecture, gameplay systems and more.

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Student success

Between longstanding industry partners and an extensive network of alumni, students gain vast opportunities to learn from studios and developers. Our studio-modeled Team Game Production curriculum ensures students graduate with three commercial quality games, seen by many studios as two years of industry experience. This, along with SMU Guildhall’s in-house Career Services, gives excellent career preparation, portfolio refinement, networking and professional development.

This program prepares you to excel in the following areas and professions:

  • Video game development
  • Environment, prop, texture and effects art
  • Level design, mission design, interactive storytelling and world building
  • Game production and project management
  • Gameplay, graphics, physics and engine systems programming
  • XR, VR, MR and AR development
  • Simulation and training systems
  • Serious games and educational technology

No. 1

SMU Guildhall ranked best video game design and development school worldwide

GAMEducation (2025)

No. 1

SMU ranked best in Texas for game design programs

Animation Career Review

Top 10

SMU Guildhall ranked among best Graduate Game Design programs since 2010

Princeton Review

Admissions

Deadlines and details

Key dates and admissions information to help plan your application with confidence.

International students

All the essential admission requirements international students need to know.

Application questions

Find answers to Guildhall application questions.

Additional links

Requirements

  1. Application
  2. Application fee
  3. Official transcripts
  4. English language proficiency documentation (if applicable)
  5. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution

View all requirements

Ready to apply?

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Tuition and financial aid

Tuition and costs

Explore the cost breakdown of tuition for graduate programs.

Financial aid

Find information on scholarships and financial support available at SMU.

Curriculum and learning

Featured courses

HGME 6595

Team Game Production IV

Students design, prototype, test and publish commercial-quality games in a studio-mirrored environment.

HGME 6178

Master’s Thesis IV – Graduate Exhibition

After developing a thesis project, students must successfully defend their work under faculty advisor oversight.

HGME 6106

Professional Development

Students are directed by industry-veteran faculty to highlight areas of specialization and produce competitive portfolios.

View course catalog

Outside the classroom

  • Photo of SMU Guildhall students smiling and talking

    Programs and centers

    Students are given opportunities to work with cross-disciplinary team structures at the Hart eCenter, SMU Guildhall GameLab, and Human and Machine Intelligence (HuMIn) Game Lab.

  • Clubs and organizations

    Explore interests, develop leadership skills, connect with like-minded peers and build lasting relationships.

  • SMU students working with plants at Bontham Family Farms

    Community engagement

    Apply your classroom knowledge to real-world issues while making a positive impact.

Research

SMU Guildhall faculty, students, and academic research teams come together to employ game technologies and theory for the greater good. Collaborations have included developing award-winning mobile games for improving adult literacy and teaching algebraic principles through AR scavenger hunts, creating lifesaving simulations to train surgeons in third-world countries, to help government officials assess biological threats, and using Gen AI storytelling to shape a gameplay experience to aid law enforcement in fighting sex trafficking. Even in the world of cancer discoveries, Minecraft games have been leveraged to crowdsource players as citizen scientists to feed a deep neural network that learns and maps solutions for drug-resistant cancers.

Faculty

SMU Guildhall’s faculty is comprised of gaming veterans hired directly from the industry. Representing 40-plus studios – from Atari to LucasArts, Sega to Sony—they impart their wealth of experience through our 100-plus game development courses and world-changing research initiatives using serious games and gaming technologies to solve global issues in medical, business, education, defense and more. Combined, they boast 300-plus professional credits such as Call of Duty, Halo, Assassin’s Creed, Red Dead Redemption and Borderlands.

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Elizabeth Stringer

Elizabeth Stringer, Ph.D.

Director, Academics
smu guildhall faculty corey clark

Corey Clark, Ph.D.

Deputy Director, Research
SMU Guildhall faculty member, Steve Stringer

Steve Stringer

Director, GameLab
Matt Butler

Matt Butler

Professor of Practice
Jeff Cavitt

Jeff Cavitt

Professor of Practice
Katie Wood Clark

Katie Wood Clark

Assoc. Professor of Practice
smu guildhall faculty squirrel eiserloh

Squirrel Eiserloh

Professor of Practice
Boris Fisher

Boris Fisher

Professor of Practice
Aleshia Hayes, Ph.D.

Aleshia Hayes, Ph.D.

Clinical Associate Professor
Mark Leon

Mark Leon

Professor of Practice
Joowon Kim

Joowon MacDowell, MFA

Professor of Practice
smu guildhall faculty myque ouellette

Myque Ouellette

Clinical Professor
SMU Guildhall faculty Martin Sawkins

Martin Sawkins

Professor of Practice
Karl Steiner

Karl Steiner

Clinical Professor
Brandon Stephens

Brandon Stephens

Assoc. Professor of Practice
Gary Brubaker

Gary Brubaker

Director, SMU Guildhall

Facilities

We believe the best work comes out of inspiring educational environments, which is why we’ve put so much energy into our learning spaces. Our students work in the style and pace of a real game studio, with bespoke labs, studios and classrooms modeled with the look, feel and functionality of top-tier AAA and indie gaming studios around the country.

SMU Guildhall faculty use the Visualization Lab during instruction to display massive amounts of data at high resolution.

Visualization Lab

An immersive, multipurpose, flexible room constructed with 24 perfectly aligned touch screen video panels and studio-quality speakers creating a 3D sound field.

SMU Guildhall Game Lab includes a living room simulation for game testing.

SMU Guildhall GameLab

SMU Guildhall’s GameLab includes a simulated living room for testing games and a professional usability lab for game testing and user research.

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Frequently asked questions

The Master of Interactive Technology (M.I.T.) graduate program trains students for careers in advanced game development. Since 2003, we have provided developer-created curriculum that directly models real-world studio environments. Each student graduates with a competitive portfolio consisting of at least three commercial-quality video games and independent research on critical present-day topics relevant to game development and emerging technologies.

SMU Guildhall is a pioneer in game development education. Recognized as one of the first and best graduate schools for game design, SMU Guildhall has been at the forefront of training the next generation of game developers for over 20 years. Our faculty of industry veterans and multi-disciplinary curriculum yields award-winning student games and world-changing research to benefit global business, medicine, education and more. Our 1,100+ alumni have worked at 350+ studios, and our longstanding industry partnerships are ever-evolving in and out of the classroom.

You will study game development and industry trends while gaining skills in leadership, teamwork, professional development and more. Offering more than 100 graduate-level classes, SMU Guildhall is one of the only programs with specializations reflecting all four cornerstones (or disciplines) of game development: art, level design, production and programming. Coursework is individualized your specialization, and each cohort of students collaborates in cross-disciplinary Team Game Production courses, plus two professional development courses.

The Master of Interactive Technology degree takes two years to complete. Over that time, each student takes four courses in Team Game Production, two courses in professional development, nine courses specific to their specialization (art, level design, production or programming) and four courses focusing on research to advance game development as it relates to their specific to their area of specialization.

Graduates of the M.I.T. program land roles specific to their areas of specialization in art, level design, production or software development. These roles are applicable in careers in video game development, game art, level design and world building, gameplay and engine systems programming, VR and AR development, interactive media and UX design, simulation and training systems, serious games and educational technology, and interactive storytelling and narrative design.

Absolutely! In addition to our faculty of game industry veterans, our longstanding industry partnerships and impressive network of 1,100+ alumni give you exposure to countless developers and AAA and indie studios. Our mentorship program connects second-year students with alumni for guidance aligned with their career path and interests. One-on-one sessions address portfolios, application materials and professional goals, ensuring each student is best prepared to enter the industry upon graduation.

Yes! You will graduate with at least three complete games in your portfolio through the collaborative, cross-disciplinary Team Game Production curriculum, recognized by many studios as two years of industry experience. The resulting commercial-quality video games are available on Steam and Epic Games Store and have garnered an impressive 4.35M+ global downloads to date.