Game Production and Management Degrees: What Coursework is Included in a Typical Game Production and Management Program?

What is Game Production and Management?

Game production and management is the process of analyzing and producing games including computer games, console games, arcade games, mobile games, and handheld video games. In addition to analyzing games, game production managers oversee production teams through all phases of game production from concept to creation to the finished product. Once the product is finished, game production managers often assist in marketing the product by developing materials to help promote it.

What are the Types of Courses for Game Production and Management Programs?

While game production and management programs are typically offered at the master’s level, Champlain College now offers one of the few undergraduate programs in the country. This unique program allows students to begin working in game production management in the first semester. Offered through the Robert P. Stiller School of Business, the program consists of a mix of business, game, management, marketing, and finance coursework. Course examples include:

• Consumer Behavior
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Financial Management
• Game Production I & II
• International Business and Macroeconomics
• Introduction to Game Development
• Introduction to Game Development Management
• Marketing & the Organizational Mindset
• Project Management & Team Leadership
• Quantitative Language of Business

Students will complete an advanced business internship, college capstone, and senior production course where students launch into full production. Forming large production teams, games are taken to the perfect polished state of gold master, ready for publication. Academic emphasis for the class is focused on working successfully in a professional studio environment, preparing for entrance into the job market, and taking personal craft to the next level.

A typical master’s degree program in game production and management consists of a combination of program courses and university cores. University cores may include Research Methods in Technology, Thesis I-III, and Continuing Thesis. Program courses may include:

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• Critical Game Studies
• Game Marketing and Advertising
• Game Production and Documentation
• Game Project
• Project Management
• Seminar in Game Production
• Serious Games and Instructional Design
• The Business of Gaming

What Can I Do With a Degree in Game Production and Management?

Many game production and management graduates work in the gaming industry or education. Possible job titles include art director, programmer, program management support, programming manager, producer, associate producer, network game programming manager, game designer, game developer, and game instructor.