Michigan State starts video game studies

updated 9:07 a.m. ET Aug. 4, 2005

EAST LANSING, Mich. - You can't major in video games at Michigan State University, but you can minor in them.

Starting next month, the school will offer the Specialization in Game Design and Development program to teach those interested in designing video games.

"Game development is a very hot industry right now," co-founder Brian Winn told The Detroit News for a story Wednesday. He is an assistant professor of telecommunications, information studies and media. "It's an important program for students who want to go into this as a career."

"Games have been an important medium in our culture and important to study, he added. Games "have been pushing the forefront of technology."

The program is offered to students as an academic minor. It will give students 15 credit hours for a four-course sequence of classes on video game design, as well as the history and social aspects of video games.

"We've been actually offering many of these courses for several years but we decided to package them in a sequence of courses," Winn said.

The two-year program will be offered to 80 students at first but could expand, Winn said.

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