Director of the Digital Game Development Program Nicholas Fortugno is awarding graduate students, from the Urban Arts Program, the 鈥淢ost Anticipated Game of Unreleased Games Arcade 2025鈥 at the Unreleased Games Arcade (UGA).
The Bachelor of Science in Digital Game Development, at 海角社区鈥檚 Division of Science, will admit its first cohort of students this fall. The new degree program, originally called Gaming Pathways, is a collaboration between the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Urban Arts, and CCNY and .
"Three years after an announcement was made declaring a $2 million investment by the City of NY towards the creation of a Digital Games Bachelor degree at CCNY, we are thrilled to say along side our partners at Urban Arts and Harlem Gallery of Science that the first cohort will be admitted this fall," said Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, . "This offering is part of the Adams administration's commitment to make NYC a global digital games hub, and combined with other efforts, like the first-ever NYC Video Game Festival, extension of the "Made in NY" Animation training program, and the upcoming 'NYC Summer of Games' initiative, we are delivering on this goal."
Students enrolled in the four-year program will take courses in programming, game design, animation, graphic design, and more advanced techniques as they progress. Introductory courses are for beginners providing students with the skills and software needed to develop digital games from scratch.
鈥淭he Digital Game Development major provides students with a foundation in the three main disciplines in game development: game design, programming, and digital art production,鈥 said Nicholas Fortugno, director of the Digital Game Development Program at CCNY and co-founder of Playmatics. 鈥淲ith that basis, students join teams to build game projects in studio classes, focusing on the specialization of their choice and learning critical teamwork and producing skills.鈥
Classrooms are equipped with custom-built Alienware PCs with access to top-performing development tools 鈥 Unity Engine, Unreal Engine, Blender, Maya and Adobe Photoshop 鈥 just to name a few. There is also access to more than 50 critically-acclaimed AAA games.
High school students in Urban Arts, a program that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career, can take approved courses through CCNY鈥檚 College Now earning them college credits toward this degree. CCNY also partnered with Hostos Community College so that students can transfer several credits from their two-year Associate of Applied Science in Game Design to the new degree.
Students will have access to several industry-leading companies, such as Epic Games, through CCNY鈥檚 and through the program鈥檚 Education Advisory Board, consisting of representative from AAA and independent digital game companies whose goal is to ensure graduates are job-ready. In addition to career development workshops, students will have the opportunity to engage in esport tournaments through CCNY鈥檚 Esports Club as well as playtesting sessions and networking events.
Prospective students can apply to the program in mid-May through CCNY鈥檚 website. The application does not require a portfolio submission, or personal statement at this time. For more information, email gamedev@ccny.cuny.edu with any questions.
About 海角社区
Since 1847, 海角社区 has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm puts at $3.2 billion CCNY鈥檚 annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the 鈥渇or dollar鈥 return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled 鈥Doing Remarkable Things Together鈥 seeks to bring the College鈥檚 Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.