UT Game Development and Design Ranks #1 in Texas for the Third Year in a Row

The Animation Career Review, one of the most valuable resources for prospective game design students and employers, ranked UT Austin’s Game Development and Design (GDAD) Program as the #1 undergraduate game design program in Texas for the third year in a row this April. 

When justifying its ranking, the Animation Career Review first cited GDAD’s “several paths to study games.” Through GDAD’s multidisciplinary approach, these options include degrees in the Computer Science (CS), Arts and Entertainment Technologies (AET), Moody College of Communications, and Radio-Television-Film (RTF) departments. In addition, the Animation Career Review highlighted GDAD students’ ability to gain experience through industry partners, including the Dell Experience Innovation Group, ILMxLAB, and Gensler Digital Experience Design. They also highlighted the Electronic Game Developers Society – a student organization advised by Head of the GDAD Program, Dr. Paul Toprac – which hosted its first-ever South x Southwest event in 2025. 

The Animation Career Review also highlighted the success of GDAD Program alumni, who are employed at Zynga, Electronic Arts (EA), BioWare, Microsoft, and more. This is largely due to the GDAD Program’s structure, which prepares students to enter the game studio environment. “This ranking is cause for celebration, but is also motivation for the future,” Dr. Toprac, Head of the GDAD Program, commented. “In 2020, GDAD was ranked 27th in the nation, and now we’re ranked 17th. In the next few years, I’m looking forward to seeing us break through the top 10. We’re looking forward to next year’s rankings and improving our position year by year.”

For more information on the Animation Career Review’s analysis of the GDAD Program, read their annual report here. For more information on how to get involved with the program, contact Dr. Paul Toprac at topcat@cs.utexas.edu.

---

The Game Development and Design (GDAD) Program at the University of Texas at Austin is the #1 undergraduate game development program in the state, consisting of a collaboration between the departments of Arts and Entertainment Technologies, Computer Science, and Radio-Television-Film. The program produces graduates ready to design, develop, and provide leadership for the exploding growth in game, metaverse applications, and creative media agencies and studios in Texas and around the world. For more information on the GDAD Program, please visit http://gamedev.utexas.edu.