Franklin College Announces Innovative New Academic Concentration
The upcoming fall semester at Franklin College will herald the introduction of a new academic concentration in Game Development. It will be offered as part of the software engineering major and provide students a direct avenue into the rapidly growing career field of video game development.
Game developers are a critical piece of a $185 billion industry. It is a multidisciplinary practice, involving programming, design, art, audio, user interface and writing, making it ideal for a liberal arts institution as well as students seeking a wide variety of transferable skills. Gaming has also become one of the fastest growing employers of college graduates.
Franklin College’s game development concentration was built in collaboration with Rize Education with significant input from Unity Technologies, the makers of the #1 most used video game engine in the world. The program focuses on portfolio-building coursework and project-based learning and is centered around real-world lessons learned from industry partners and studio heads. This new program reflects the institution’s goal of ensuring that students are learning the knowledge, skills and tools that are in highest market demand in Indiana and across the globe.
“Developing this program shows the desire to meet student interest in a high-demand field while staying committed to the skills that are best delivered through a liberal arts education and ensuring our relevance in a contemporary marketplace,” said Kristin Flora, Ph.D., dean of the college.
Flora added the tech-forward concentration also directly connects to the college’s digital fluency program. Students will gain experience with the same tools and techniques that professionals use today and have the opportunity to build toward industry certifications as part of their coursework.
The new concentration will be partially funded through the Charting the Future of Indiana’s Colleges and Universities grant the college received from Lilly Endowment Inc. in 2020 to support efforts to increase digital fluency for its students and faculty.
For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.
Founded in 1834, Franklin College is a residential liberal arts and sciences institution located 20 minutes south of Indianapolis. Franklin offers a wide array of undergraduate majors as well as master’s degree programs in Physician Assistant Studies and Athletic Training. The unique curriculum merges classroom instruction with immersive experiences, research opportunities and study away programs. Students participate in 21 NCAA Division III sports, esports, Greek life, musical and theatre productions and more than 40 student organizations. As the first college in Indiana to become coeducational with the admission of women, Franklin welcomes diversity of thought, belief and person into a community that values equity and inclusion. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA. For more information, visit www.FranklinCollege.edu. Find Franklin College on Facebook, follow @FranklinCollege on X, formerly known as Twitter, and watch FranklinCollegeGrizzlies on TikTok.