The Game Design Minor is available for undergraduate students with a strong interest in Game Design as an extension on their major studies and future academic and professional careers. The core of this Minor is CS/INFO 3152 and CS/INFO 4152 (Intro & Advanced Computer Game Architecture) or CS 4154 (Analytics-driven Game Design), and four additional courses that can range from Graphics and Art, the Psychology of Gaming, and Human-Computer Interaction.

Offered by: The Department of Computer Science

Administered by: The Department of Computer Science; 5th floor Rhodes Hall

Contact Person: Carl Cornell or Ryan Marchenese, 5th floor Rhodes Hall, ugrad@cs.cornell.edu

Eligibility: Undergraduate students in Agriculture and Life Sciences; Architecture, Art, and Planning; Arts and Sciences*; Engineering*, SC Johnson College of Business; Human Ecology; Industrial and Labor Relations may participate in the Minor.

*Computer Science majors cannot apply CS/ENGRD 2110/2112 or courses taken under the CS-rubric (with the sole exception of CS 4152 or CS 4154) to the Additional Courses requirement of the Game Design Minor. 

Educational Objectives: This minor is for students who anticipate that game design will have a prominent role to play in their academic and professional career.

For more information: Visit the website for the Game Design Initiative at Cornell.

To Apply for a Game Design Minor/Concentration:

  • Once you have completed all of the courses for the minor, or are in your final semester of study and finishing up the minor, you are eligible to have your minor requirements certified by the Department of Computer Science.
  • Download the form Application to Certify Completion of a Minor. This is a fillable PDF form.
  • Submit the completed Game Design Minor form to cec232@cornell.edu and krm232@cornell.edu, via  https://sft.cornell.edu/ (secure file transfer)). Minor forms must be submitted prior to graduation.

Requirements

To complete the minor/concentration, the student must take at least six (6) courses (18 credit minimum) chosen as follows:

Required Courses

  • CS/INFO 3152:  Introduction to Computer Game Architecture/Design
  • CS/INFO 4152: Advanced Topics in Computer Game Architecture/Design

      or[{CS/INFO 4154: Analytics-driven Game Design]

Additional Courses - Choose four courses (outside of your major department) from the following lists:

Art
All ART classes below the 4000 level may be used for this requirement.

Computer Science
Any CS course 2000 or above that is immediately relevant to the production of computer games may count towards this requirement. This includes BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

• CS 2110/2112: Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
• CS 4450: Introduction to Computer Networks
• CS 4620: Introduction to Computer Graphics
• CS 4700: Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
• CS 4740: Natural Language Processing
• CS 4780: Machine Learning for Intelligent Systems
• CS 5414: Distributed Computing Principles
• CS 5625: Interactive Computer Graphics

Information Science
Any INFO course 2000 above that addresses digital cultures, the ethics of technology, or human-computer interaction may count towards the requirement. This includes BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

• INFO 2450: Communication and Technology
• INFO 3140: Computational Psychology
• INFO 3200: New Media and Society
• INFO 3450: Human-Computer Interaction Design
• INFO 3561: Computing Cultures
• INFO 3660: History and Theory of Digital Art
• INFO 4240: Designing Technology for Social Impact
• INFO 4275: Novel Interaction Techniques
• INFO 4301: Ethics in New Media, Technology, and Communication
• INFO 4320: Introduction to Rapid Prototyping and Physical Computing
• INFO 4400: Advanced Human-Computer Interaction Design

Music
Any music class that is NOT classified as a performance class may be used for this requirement. For a list of excluded classes, see:

https://music.cornell.edu/general-overview-music-courses#performance-courses


Performing and Media Arts
Any PMA course that trains students in the techniques applicable to video or digital media production may be used for this requirement. This includes BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO:

• PMA 3531: Screenwriting
• PMA 3533: Screen and Story: Script Analysis
• PMA 3614: Creative Character Design
• PMA 3631: Project: Terrarium Imagined; World Building Through Allegory
• PMA 3680: Sound Design
• PMA 3880: Fundamentals of Directing

Psychology
Any psychology course 2000 or above that is classified as perception, cognition and development (PCD) may be used for this requirement. For a list of acceptable courses, see:

https://psychology.cornell.edu/major

Other Departments
Other departments may offer courses that are directly relevant to game design. Because of the transient and/or scattered nature of these courses, those courses are typically accepted for the minor on a petition basis. Examples of classes that fall in this category are:

• ARTH 3650: History and Theory of Digital Art
• ASIAN 3315: Game Studies and Japan
• DEA 3510: Human Factors and Inclusive Design

Academic Standards: A letter grade of C or better for each course in the minor, except that for courses taken in Spring 2020, either a C- or an S will satisfy this criterion.

Note: Computer Science majors *cannot* apply CS/ENGRD 2110/2112 or courses taken under the CS-rubric (with the sole exception of CS 4152 or CS 4154) to the Additional Courses requirement of the Game Design Minor.  [ ] = course not currently offered