Academic Programs Catalog

College of Communication Arts and Sciences

Department of Media and Information

Graduate Study
Serious Game Design and Research - Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design and Research is designed for game industry professionals already versed in game design who want to expand their knowledge to the domain of serious games, professional educators and educational technology specialists who want to understand how and why games can be used for learning, and graduate students who would like to add expertise in serious games to their courses of study. The certificate program exposes students to the state of the art in different strands of serious games such as games for learning, corporate training, newsgames, games for health, exergames, military games, and games for social change; distribution; industry structure; and theories and methods of game design

Admission

To be considered for admission into the Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design and Research, applicants must have completed a bachelor’s degree.

Requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design and Research

Students must complete the following (9 credits):
1. All of the following course (9 credits):
MI 830 Foundations of Serious Games 3
MI 831 Theories of Games and Interaction Design 3
MI 841 Understanding Users 3

Students who are currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at MSU may substitute an alternative course for MI 841. This course must be related to the need for, or evaluation of, serious games. It must be selected to contribute to each student’s development of expertise and research in the chosen discipline. This alternative course must be approved by the advisor for the Graduate Certificate in Serious Game Design and Research.