Synthetic Worlds Initiative at Indiana University

 Posted by (Visited 5460 times)  Game talk
Jul 262006
 

Looks like Ted has gotten his Synthetic Worlds Initiative off the ground.

  3 Responses to “Synthetic Worlds Initiative at Indiana University”

  1. Faith says:
    July 26, 2006 at 4:14 pm

    […] Comments […]

  2. Max Battcher says:
    July 27, 2006 at 8:12 pm

    Very cool to see things moving so quickly on such a new degree program and set of initiatives there at IU. I keep debating whether or not to apply to the programs there. (I’m currently projecting to get an MEng roughly by 2008, so I still have some time to think about it.)

    Do you think a degree so highly focused in this space would be something that would be that useful in the long run? It might be useful if I intended to go for more of the research side, but would a PhD in this space be any sort of differentiator in the job market? For an example: How would it affect a hiring decision from you, Raph?

  3. StGabe says:
    July 27, 2006 at 11:17 pm

    I know I’m not Raph but I am someone with an advanced degree who ended up in gaming (I worked on but did not finish a PhD at IU actually, although I left just before or right as Castranova moved in). Honestly I didn’t find that a degree helped that much with getting a job. I’m also a different case as my studies weren’t related to gaming at all and I work in the more technical end of things. Apart from the degree, what I see as the real benefit of getting a PhD in a program like this would be the opportunities to meet a lot of people and get your name out there with your work. If someone has read something you’ve written or seen some work you’ve done then they’re a lot more likely to give you a chance. That’s just basically how all of academia works of course.

    Of course it varies a lot based on the person doing the hiring. In general I would say that just having a specific degree on your resume really isn’t going to do a lot for you. Compared to someone with a comparable amount of real world experience, most people won’t be that impressed. PhD’s and master’s degrees open doors in certain areas of research, or for being a professor, but don’t do a lot in the gaming world. However, if in the progress of your studies you make lots of connections with people you’d like to work with, then that is going to be very valuable. A lot of people I knew in grad school immediately left after graduation for jobs with people they’d met during their studies (and I got my job through a personal contact).

    But Raph or someone else might have a different answer for you. 🙂

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