Rochester has one big name and little else, so choosing among game design schools in Rochester mostly means deciding about Rochester Institute of Technology, which sits 7 miles out, appears on two of our lists, and graduates 158 students a year in the program a simulation program. That's an unusually big cohort, with a price tag to match. The nearest public alternative is a community college, and the other four-year options are 58 to 75 miles out.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
3Game Programs Within 25 Milesgame design, programming, simulation and animation, all levelsIPEDS locations
4Game Programs Within 50 Milesat 2 collegesIPEDS locations
1Ranked Game Design Bachelor's Nearbyranked, within 50 miles; plus 1 animationOur ranking
Rochester Institute of Technology leads the metro at 53.7.2 ranked programs sit inside the Rochester metro. Completion is a strength at 71%, above the 59% median, but its $39,753 net price is $13,603 more than the median ranked program's.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $122,770 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 4,650 people work as software developers in the metro, close to the national share. In Rochester, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $91,540, which is 12% under the national median of $104,000.Pay ›
48 software and game publishers in the metro.Concentration 0.59, where 1.00 matches the U.S. Those publishers employ 1,873 people. The metro also has 162 custom programming studios and 26 film, video and animation production companies.Employers ›
In-state tuition starts at $5,376.1 public college nearby offers a game-related program.Costs ›
A one-bedroom rents for $965 a month.The U.S. median one-bedroom is $1,301. Rent helps here, at a $1,172 monthly median in the Rochester metro, $315 under the national figure. The lowest on-campus room and board nearby is $14,845 a year at Finger Lakes Community College.Living Costs ›
Ranked in Rochester
The Best Game Design Schools in Rochester, NY for 2027
Rochester Institute of Technology places 58 of 89 in our game design list with a score of 53.7, a simulation program rather than game design proper. A second listing puts its animation program at 60 of 82, graduating 30 a year. Tuition is $58,260, the average net price across the whole college is $39,753, and 71% of students complete.
That price is the main trade-off. Net price is an average after aid, so your own offer can land higher or lower. The 71% completion figure is school-wide too, but it's the number to weigh against that cost.
Game design, game programming, simulation and animation programs are all scored the same way, on completion, net price and program size. On each card, completion is the school's 8-year award rate and net price its average for aided first-year students, both from IPEDS; grads a year is the program's own average, 2022 to 2024. Miles are straight-line from central Rochester.
Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit · Simulation program · 7 miles
53.7
#58 of 89 nationally
7 miles from Rochester
Technical track: simulation
Private
The campus is in suburban Rochester, 7 miles from the city, which puts the program within easy reach of local students who would rather live at home than in a dorm. Cost is the main question: published tuition is $58,260 a year and the school-wide cost of attendance is $78,216 before aid. Aided first-years across the university pay a net price of $39,753.
Study here includes two paid cooperative education blocks in the games industry, plus a Creative Industry Day that connects art, design and select computing majors with employers. About 158 students complete the program each year, and 71% of the university's entering students finish a degree within eight years. Earnings ten years out average $76,571 school-wide. The program also offers an accelerated bachelor's and master's path for students who plan to continue their studies locally.
Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit · Animation program · 7 miles
51.1
#60 of 82 in animation
7 miles from Rochester
Animation
Private
RIT's B.F.A. in Film and Animation is based on a suburban campus 7 miles from Rochester. Students choose between an animation option, covering 2D, 3D and stop motion from conception to final production, and a production option. The degree combines lectures and laboratories, treating technology as a way to reach a creative goal, and the School of Film and Animation offers a limited selection of summer courses so students can get ahead. A semester in Los Angeles through RIT in LA lets students intern at studios and entertainment companies.
Tuition is $58,260 for every student, and aided first-years pay a net price of $39,753. About 30 students graduate from the program each year. RIT is a large school, with 17,098 students, a 67% admit rate, a school-wide completion rate of 71% and an SAT midpoint of 1380. The sticker cost of attendance is $78,216 school-wide.
The rest of the Rochester, NY metro and the nearby areas are covered on the New York page.
StateNew York8 ranked game bachelor's · 29 programs in allView the New York guide ›
More ways in
Other Game Programs in Rochester
2 more programs inside the Rochester metro offer a way into game work without a ranked bachelor's. These associate, graduate and certificate programs aren't in the bachelor's ranking, so they carry no score. Grads a year is the program's IPEDS average, 2022 to 2024, and admission is the college's fall 2024 rate (College Scorecard).
Rochester pays noticeably less than the New York State medians. Software developers earn $122,770, $43,410 under the state figure and $13,210 under the national one, with 4,650 people in the field. Read the state comparison as a statement about how high New York's medians run overall.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$63,530
$49,740–$81,180$50k–$81k$49,740 to $81,180
650
$77,340
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$83,420
$69,650–$106,750$70k–$107k$69,650 to $106,750
290
$103,980
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$102,070
$76,030–$135,010$76k–$135k$76,030 to $135,010
190
$137,320
$114,850
BLS doesn't publish special effects artists and animators pay for the Rochester metro. Nationally, the median is $102,030. See animator salary › Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the Rochester, NY metropolitan area. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile.
The pattern repeats elsewhere. Web and digital interface designers earn $91,540 against $120,990 statewide, and computer programmers earn $83,420 against $103,980. Graphic designers, at $63,530, are a shade above the national median by $570. Art directors earn $102,070. BLS published no metro median for animators, whose state median is $96,770.
The offset is living costs. The metro price level is 97 and the housing price level 87.5, both under the national average of 100, so a Rochester salary stretches further than the headline numbers suggest.
About 4,650 people work as software developers in the Rochester metro, close to the national share. In Rochester, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $91,540, which is 12% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in the Rochester metro: BEA puts prices 3.0% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.
Rochester's software industry is modest. Census gives game studios no line of their own, so most are counted under software publishers, which come to 59% of the national concentration here counting 48 businesses and 1,873 employees. Custom programming shops match the nation at 1.0 times the national concentration, which is the national average.
Industry
What it covers
Businesses
Employees
Concentration
Software and game publishers
Software publishers (game publishers and studios are filed here)
48
1,873
0.59
Custom programming studios
Custom computer programming services (contract and co-development studios)
162
3,282
1.04
Film, video and animation production
Motion picture and video production (animation and VFX studios)
26
49
0.10
Graphic design firms
Graphic design services
30
79
0.51
Establishments and March payroll employees in the Rochester, NY metro, County Business Patterns 2023. Concentration is the industry's share of metro employees divided by its share nationally: 1.00 matches the U.S., 2.00 is twice as concentrated.
The occupations lean toward interface and design work. Web and digital interface designers have a location quotient of 1.12, graphic designers 1.04, art directors 1.11, and computer programmers 1.00, all at or above the national level. Developers, at 0.87, fall a little short of the national level.
Animation is the gap. Animation and video production barely registers at 10% of the national concentration, with only 26 businesses, and graphic design firms are at 51% of the national concentration. With concentrations that low, a job in a studio probably means remote work or a move after graduation.
How Common Game-Adjacent Jobs Are in Rochester
Occupation
Jobs per 1,000
Location quotient
Software developers
9.42
0.87
Web and digital interface designers
0.81
1.12
Graphic designers
1.32
1.04
Computer programmers
0.59
1.00
Art directors
0.38
1.11
BLS OEWS May 2025. Jobs per 1,000 of all metro jobs; a location quotient above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in the metro than nationally.
Talent pipeline
How Many Game Graduates Rochester Produces
Rochester's colleges produce a lot of game graduates for a small job market. Both colleges are inside the metro and send out 219 graduates a year, 188 of them with bachelor's degrees. With 5,050 core jobs in the metro, that works out to 4.3%. Rochester Institute of Technology supplies nearly all of it, with 158 bachelor's graduates a year in modeling, virtual environments and simulation and 30 more in animation and interactive technology.
The largest of them by graduates a year are the programs in the ranking and the other programs above, led by Rochester Institute of Technology with about 158 a year.
The ratio looks alarming but it overstates the competition. Core jobs here are mostly not game jobs, and graduates move, so many will work elsewhere. It does tell you that you'll graduate alongside a large cohort and that local openings alone won't absorb them.
Cost near Rochester
Paying for School in Rochester
The only public college within 50 miles is Finger Lakes Community College, in the same state as the city. It lists $5,376 for New York residents and $7,560 for others, a gap of $2,184, and a school-wide net price of $13,035. Set that against the $39,753 at Rochester Institute of Technology, which is much higher.
The public colleges within 50 miles that offer a game-related program, all in New York. Tuition is the published undergraduate rate for 2023-24 (IPEDS IC), before aid; net price is the school-wide average for aided first-year students, 2022-23 (IPEDS SFA).
No undergraduate regional tuition exchange covers New York, so the practical lever is net price. Ask each campus for a current net price calculator result before you decide, because the published tuition of $58,260 at the Institute is well above its $39,753 average net price.
State Aid in New York
New York's main need program for undergraduates is the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), run by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation. In its own words: "Eligible students can receive up to $5,665 to help cover tuition expenses." The New York page covers state aid and public college costs in more detail.
Tuition Exchanges
No regional undergraduate tuition exchange covers New York, so public schools in other states charge their full nonresident rate.
Living costs
Living in Rochester as a Student
Rochester keeps costs down. Median rent is $1,172, which undercuts the U.S. median of $1,487 by $315. A one-bedroom costs about $965 monthly, or $11,580 across twelve months, where the national figure is $1,301. Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,290 comes to about $645 per person.
Monthly rent
Rochester metro
U.S.
All rentals, median
$1,172
$1,487
One bedroom, median
$965
$1,301
Two bedrooms, median
$1,290
$1,490
Median gross rent (rent plus utilities the tenant pays), American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, tables B25064 and B25031.
Housing carries a price level of 87.5 and the whole metro 97, both under the national average of 100. Both nearby colleges offer campus housing: Finger Lakes Community College at $14,845 and Rochester Institute of Technology at $15,516 for room and board. The two are close, so the cheaper bill isn't a reason to choose either school.
Rent helps here, at a $1,172 monthly median in the Rochester metro, $315 under the national figure.
Each college's own yearly estimates for a full-time undergraduate, 2023-24 (IPEDS IC). Off-campus is for a student not living with family.
Rochester's mix is a technical one. The ranked game program is a simulation program, none is a game design program, and one animation program sits beside it. If you want to program, simulate or build engines, that fits the label. If you want to design games or draw characters, read the curriculum closely and consider Alfred or Villa Maria, which are game design programs.
Public versus private is a stark contrast here. Rochester Institute of Technology lists $58,260 while the associate at Finger Lakes Community College lists $5,376, and the gap in cost is wide. Both public four-year paths, Alfred and Oswego, require leaving the metro.
Rochester Institute of Technology sits 7 miles from the center point, so students living in the city can commute. Finger Lakes Community College is 28 miles away, a straight-line figure. The housing index is 87.5, below the national average of 100.
Admission is rarely the hard part here: 1 of the 2 colleges on this page admits anyone with a high school diploma; Rochester Institute of Technology admitted 67% of applicants for fall 2024. None requires SAT or ACT scores.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Rochester School Has the Best Game Design Program?
Rochester Institute of Technology is the top-ranked game design school in Rochester, scoring 53.7 and ranked 58 of 89 nationally. Completion is a strength at 71%, above the 59% median, but its $39,753 net price is $13,603 more than the median ranked program's. With about 158 graduates a year, it is one of the larger programs in the ranking, so expect big cohorts and several sections of core courses. Rochester Institute of Technology is next at 51.1, one of 2 ranked programs in the metro. See the ranked programs.
What Do Game Jobs Pay in Rochester?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $122,770 in the Rochester metro, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). In the Rochester metro, web and digital interface designers, where game designers are counted, earn $91,540, which is 12% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in the Rochester metro: BEA puts prices 3.0% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further. See what game jobs pay in Rochester.
Does the Cost of Rochester Institute of Technology Pay Off?
Rochester Institute of Technology has an average net price of $39,753 a year for aided first-year students (IPEDS), the price after grants rather than the published one. Published tuition is $58,260 for every student, in state or not. It is 7 miles from central Rochester, ranked 58 of 89 nationally, with a school-wide completion rate of 71%. With about 30 graduates a year, it is one of the larger programs in the ranking, so expect big cohorts and several sections of core courses. See the ranked programs.
Is Rochester Affordable for Game Design Students?
In-state tuition at public colleges near Rochester starts at $5,376 a year, at Finger Lakes Community College. Nonresidents pay $7,560 at Finger Lakes Community College. 1 public college within 50 miles offers a game-related program, and private colleges charge every student the same tuition. After grants, Finger Lakes Community College has the lowest average net price nearby, $13,035, under the $13,240 public average in the median state. See paying for school in Rochester.
How Many Game Design Programs Are Near Rochester?
2 ranked programs sit inside the Rochester metro, and 2 associate, graduate or certificate programs add other ways in. Rochester Institute of Technology scores highest, at 53.7. The top program is 7 miles from central Rochester, close enough to commute if housing nearby is out of reach. 3 game-related programs sit within 25 miles of central Rochester and 4 within 50, counting every level. The rest of the metro and the nearby areas are on the New York page. See the ranked programs.
Keep exploring
Related Pages
CityBuffalo, NY66 mi from Rochester · 3 programs within 50 miles · 1 ranked game bachelor'sView the Buffalo guide ›
2NCES, IPEDS Outcome Measures 2023 The completion factor: the share of all entering students, full-time, part-time and transfer, who earned an award within eight years. School-wide.
