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Program checklist · Ph.D.

Critical Game Design, Ph.D.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Troy, NY

A checklist is the list of requirements to complete this program and receive the award, as the college publishes it in its catalog. It is the same for everyone. It does not say what you have completed; that comes from applying your own record.

Program
Award
Ph.D.
Credential class
ceterms:DoctoralDegree
Catalog edition
Rensselaer Catalog 2026-2027
Checklist type
degree-program
Description
Game Studies is an interdisciplinary field which synthesizes literary, social scientific, artistic, and computational approaches to understand how games, computational media, and play shape society, technological development, culture, and the human sense of self. Since its founding in the early 21st century, games research has moved to incorporate design practice as well, leading to exciting challenges in synthesizing critical analyses of culture with the production of new forms of interactive and experiential media. In response to these challenges, Rensselaer established the first Ph.D.-granting program in Critical Game Design in the United States. Its faculty and students are scholars, storytellers, programmers, artists, and media makers at the global forefront of this rapidly emerging field and industry.
Identifiers
IPEDS UNITID
194824
CourseShelf checklist
CK_194824_d07ee5a8
CollegeTransfer.Net
Institution Transfer Profile
Source
CourseShelf publish 61

Requirements to complete

Every course or condition the catalog lists, in the catalog's order.

Coursework

0 items

    Year 1

    0 items

      Fall

      3 items
      1. 4000 or 6000-level Elective Credits Hours: 3 1
        Not resolved to a course
      2. GSAS 6130
        Concepts in Game Studies
        Not resolved to a course
        3
      3. GSAS 6200
        Topics in Game Research
        Not resolved to a course
        3

      Spring

      3 items
      1. 4000 or 6000-level Elective Credits Hours: 3 1
        Not resolved to a course
      2. GSAS 6000
        level Research Methods Elective: 3
        Not resolved to a course
        3
      3. GSAS 6200
        Topics in Game Research
        Not resolved to a course
        3

      Year 2

      0 items

        Fall

        2 items
        1. GSAS 6200
          Topics in Game Research
          Not resolved to a course
          3
        2. GSAS 6400
          Critical Game Design: History/Theory/Futures
          Not resolved to a course
          3

        Spring

        3 items
        1. GSAS 6200
          Topics in Game Research
          Not resolved to a course
          3
        2. GSAS 6000
          level Research Methods Elective: 3
          Not resolved to a course
          3
        3. GSAS 6500
          Advanced Game Design/User-Experience Methods
          Not resolved to a course
          3

        Year 3

        0 items

          Fall & Spring

          1 item
          1. GSAS 9990
            Dissertation
            Not resolved to a course
            1-16

          Year 4

          0 items

            Fall & Spring

            2 items
            1. GSAS 9990
              Dissertation
              Not resolved to a course
              1-16
            2. (9 credits, minimum, fall & spring) A minimum of 36 dissertation credits are required for graduation.
              Not resolved to a course

            Footnotes

            4 items
            1. All course selections to be determined in consultation with program faculty.
              Not resolved to a course
            2. Doctoral Committee must be approved by OGE prior to the start of classes in the semester in which Dissertation will be taken.
              Not resolved to a course
            3. GSAS Research Methods options are listed under the GSAS 63xx code. Other graduate level methods courses in other departments may be counted toward these requirements with permission of the Graduate Program Advisor. 6 total credit hours of research methods are required.
              Not resolved to a course
            4. GSAS 6940
              or Research Credits with advisor must be taken if Doctoral Committee is not yet approved by OGE.
              Not resolved to a course
            Source. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, catalog Rensselaer Catalog 2026-2027 — https://catalog.rpi.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=34&poid=10190&returnto=938. Captured page pages/0127.html.gz. Assembled from the institution's published catalog as captured; every record names its captured page and source URL. Assembled, not asserted.