William Peace University and Wake Tech Partner for Simulation & Gaming Degree Initiative
William Peace University and Wake Technical Community College are paving the way for artists, designers, gamers and programmers in the Triangle and beyond. Under a new agreement, graduates of the two-year Simulation and Game Development program at Wake Tech will have guaranteed admission to William Peace University. In addition, students will be able to transfer between 55 and 70 credit hours toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Simulation and Game Design at WPU.
WPU President Brian C. Ralph, Ph.D., and Wake Tech President Dr. Stephen Scott signed the agreement, which goes into effect immediately, at the East Coast Gaming Conference on Tuesday, April 19.
“This region is just thriving in the simulation and game design industry, so our students are going to have some great opportunities when they graduate as well.”
The WPU Simulation and Game Design Program is currently in its third year. The program features a state-of-the art lab complete with dedicated workstations fully loaded with the Auto Desk and Adobe Suite, game engines and virtual reality capabilities. There is also a collaborative workspace, 3-D printing and a motion capture studio. Graduates of the new program have gone on to work at Prologue Games and Volt Workforce Solutions. In fact, one of the program’s primary instructors, Justin Johnson, worked as the lead artist for the MMO (massively multiplayer online) game, Fallen Earth, by Icarus Studios, then served as a digital sculptor for a table-top game company called WizKids. He also performed design work for Ubisoft Red Storm in Cary, known for its successful video game series: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon.
Wake Tech has one of the most successful Simulation and Game Development programs in the region. It includes a/v technology, modeling, animation, design and programming. This transfer program is the latest in a series of partnerships between Wake Tech and public and private four-year institutions. It enhances the North Carolina Community College System’s comprehensive articulation agreement, which William Peace University also partners in.
“Wake Tech graduates have enjoyed unbelievable success in simulation and gaming, and we’re really excited to be a potential ending spot for students who are looking to continue their pathway forward,” Dr. Ralph said. “These students now have an advanced degree option—one, right here in Raleigh and around the corner from them. We are especially excited that these outstanding students will be able to engage with our outstanding faculty and experience a curriculum that will continue to stretch and challenge them. This region is just thriving in the simulation and game design industry, so our students are going to have some great opportunities when they graduate as well.”
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to work with William Peace University and about this exciting partnership,” Dr. Scott said. “It opens doors to even greater employment and career opportunities for students in this popular and still-growing field.”
At the gaming conference, WPU SGD students and professors showcased a virtual tour of campus, completely built by WPU senior students. The full VR tour, which will be an added feature on the University’s new website come fall, was also recently showcased to fellow students and the WPU community during the institution’s 2016 Student Showcase event. The tour is fully optimized for mobile and iOS, as well as desktop, and features detailed renderings of much of the WPU campus.