Master of Engineering in Game Design, Development, and Innovation
Program Code: E-EGR-GAME
Degree Designation: Master of Engineering
Department: Institute for Enterprise Engineering
Website: ene.duke.edu/programs/gddi
Program Summary
Students in the Game Design, Development & Innovation (GDDI) MEng program develop strong technical the skills game industry leaders are looking for, such as proficiency in programming—including C# and C++—and how to apply these skills to the leading game engines. Students also learn design principles for gameplay, art, user experience and storytelling.
Our program seeks to use game design and development beyond entertainment. In addition to working on entertainment games, students also apply game development and game design in innovative ways to other applications such as education, medicine, and training simulations.
The program replicates a game studio environment where students work on a robust game project over two years - from ideation to publishing. Students must work as part of a team with other students to jointly develop these game(s) during the course of the Program and must sign the Student Game Agreement at the time the team is formed.
Curriculum Overview
The Game Design, Development & Innovation MEng’s core curriculum is centered around the start-to-end publishing of a game in small groups over two years. As conveyed in the offer of admission, students must sign the Student Game Agreement at the time their teams are formed.
Students focus on their core programming and game development courses in the first year of the program. If a student demonstrates exceptional mastery of the curriculum’s core content during their first fall term, they may be allowed to take an additional elective during their first spring term at the program director’s discretion.
In the second fall term of the program, students are encouraged to take optional electives in addition to their two required electives. In the final spring term, students will go through the final steps to publish their game(s) in GAMEDSGN 589: Game Development Capstone.
Due to the unique nature and pacing of this program and its core game project, the two-year track cannot be significantly accelerated or altered.
Admissions Policies & Practices
The Duke Game Design, Development & Innovation MEng program is designed to be accessible to participants from a variety of engineering and science backgrounds. Applicants should have:
An undergraduate degree in science or engineering (or equivalent technical work experience if your degree is in a non-technical field), and
A minimum of one (1) semester of programming (any language), and
Sufficient DUOLINGO, IELTS, or TOEFL English Language Testing scores (official result required; international students only)
Prior coursework in probability and statistics and linear algebra is highly encouraged, but not required for admission.
4+1 Program for Duke Students
Advanced Duke undergraduates may participate in a 4+1 Program where both a bachelor’s degree and a MEM/MEng degree may be completed in about five years. 4+1 Program participants matriculating to the GDDI MEng program may typically apply up to three graduate courses (at the 500 level or above) that were taken during their undergraduate career but not used to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements toward master's degree requirements.
Duke 4+1 students are welcome to apply to the program, but may need to start taking graduate courses earlier in their undergraduate studies than is typical for 4+1. Applicants should contact the Director of Master’s Studies to learn more about the program as a prospective 4+1 student.
Additional academic policies for Duke undergraduates in the 4+1 Program can be found at prattprofessional.bulletins.duke.edu/policies/academic/early-programs.
GDDI Professionalism Community Standard
The GDDI program’s top priority is to graduate well-rounded, mature working professionals. This includes building strong technical skills, but it also includes how students show up as a professional, both on campus and in the workforce.
Our view of professionalism emphasizes:
Treating others with respect.
Fostering inclusion and belonging in the GDDI community, the Duke community, and the wider community.
Communicating and collaborating openly and authentically with others.
Contributing with good effort and good faith to team endeavors.
Being punctual and attending all class meetings, team meetings, Orientation programming, etc.
Following Pratt’s current academic integrity policies and the Duke Community Standard.
Start and end dates for classes, as well as the dates for Orientation programming, are defined by the Graduate dates within Duke’s Academic Calendar when applicable. Please refer to individual course syllabi for more specific information regarding individual professors’ attendance policies.
Academic Requirements
Pre-Program Bootcamp (optional, but highly recommended)
GAMEDSGN 503 Pre-Program Bootcamp (0 units)
Game Design Core Courses (complete all)
GAMEDSGN 510 Programming for Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 511 Software Engineering & Systems for Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 520 Fundamentals of Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 521 Advanced Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 530 Critical Analysis of Video Games (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 589 Game Development Capstone (3 units)
Business Core Courses (complete all)
MENG 540 Management of High Tech Industries (3 units)
MENG 570 Business Fundamentals for Engineers (3 units)
Internship/Project and Assessment (complete all)
MENG 550 Master of Engineering Internship/Project (0 units)
MENG 551 Master of Engineering Internship/Project Assessment (0 units)
EGR 590 Career Strategy and Design (1 credit, non-tuition-bearing)
Technical Electives (complete 6 credits)
AIPI 510 to AIPI 590L
BME 500 to BME 850
CEE 500 to CEE 890
CYBERSEC 510 to CYBERSEC 590L
DESIGNTK 500 to DESIGNTK 590L
ECE 500 to ECE 781
EGRMGMT 510 to EGRMGMT 590L
FINTECH 510 to FINTECH 590L
GAMEDSGN 500 to GAMEDSGN 590L
ME 500 to ME 775
Other pre-approved courses may also count
Recommended Course Progression
Students are strongly encouraged to take as many GAMEDSGN electives as possible during the fall term of their second year:
First Fall Term:
GAMEDSGN 510 Programming for Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 520 Fundamentals of Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 530 Critical Analysis of Video Games (3 units)
EGR 590 Career Strategy and Design (1 non-tuition-bearing unit)
First Spring Term:
GAMEDSGN 511 Software Engineering & Systems for Game Development (3 units)
GAMEDSGN 521 Advanced Game Development (3 units)
MENG 540 Management of High Tech Industries (3 units)
First Summer Term:
MENG 550 Master of Engineering Internship/Project (0 units)
MENG 551 Master of Engineering Internship/Project Assessment (0 units)
Second Fall Term:
MENG 570 Business Fundamentals for Engineers (3 units)
Technical Elective 1 (3 units)
Technical Elective 2 (3 units)
OPTIONAL: Technical Elective 3 (3 units)
OPTIONAL: Technical Elective 4 (3 units)
Second Spring Term:
GAMEDSGN 589 Game Development Capstone (3 units)
OPTIONAL: EGR 591 Career Strategy and Design II (1 non-tuition-bearing unit)