Meet the Mount’s new Game Programming major
Video games are an integral part of pop culture. From mobile and PC apps such as Candy Crush and Genshin Impact, to popular franchises such as Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and Pokémon, video games have become accessible to a wider variety of audiences by constantly evolving and adapting with the introduction of new technologies.
In response, the Division of Mathematics and Information Technology recently added Game Programming to the college’s list of majors. With game programmers in high demand, the Mount is committed to teaching the next generation how to use emerging digital media and programming technologies within the game development industry, and within diverse settings and populations that also use these state-of-the-art technologies.
Game Programming majors won’t just dig deeper into the games they enjoy. They’ll take an interdisciplinary approach by gaining artistic, communication, mathematical, and computational skills that will help them understand what makes games fun.
These skills can be used for more than just making their own games. The computer programming principles they will demonstrate are the same ones that drive the websites, mobile apps, and desktop applications we use every day.
Micah Modell, assistant professor of Information Technology, explained, “People have played games…because they engage so many aspects of who and what we are: they give us problems to solve; they allow us to exercise and display our skill; they can lend form and structure to our relationships with our communities; and more.”
New science concentrations
The Mount has also recently added several new concentrations and made some changes within the Division of Natural Sciences. Beginning in Fall 2022, students enrolled in the Natural Sciences will now receive a degree in Bachelor of Science (BS) as opposed to a degree in Bachelor of Arts (BA), to better reflect the scientific nature of these programs.
Additionally, students will have the opportunity to choose a concentration within the Biology major. The Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) concentration will allow students to focus on the molecular side of the biology field; the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) concentration will provide a focus on the ecological and evolutionary side of biology; and the General Biology concentration will allow students to choose the courses that best fit their interests in the field of biology.
MBA program offers new online option
In January 2023, the School of Business will introduce a fully online option for the standalone MBA and 5-year undergraduate to MBA programs with majors in Business, Biology, Chemistry, English, and Mathematics. Participants in the 5-year program will be able to complete their undergraduate course work in-person before they have the option to complete the MBA portion online.