Your Journey to the Games Industry Starts at uOttawa

There are few fields like the games industry. Combining cutting-edge technology and artistry, it’s become a modern alchemy, creating wondrous worlds that you can explore freely. It’s also a lucrative field, with successful AAA productions and independent games raking in profits alongside considerable accolades. But how can you get into the games industry? At uOttawa, whether you love writing code, creating beautiful art, composing majestic music, guiding a top-tier team, practicing law, or even crunching numbers, there’s a path waiting for you.

With over 100 disciplines across 9 faculties, uOttawa students have an incredibly vast array of cutting edge lessons. The Faculty of Engineering guides students through workshops to see their ambitions become reality. Just look at alumnus David George, SVP of Accedo TV. His company builds software crucial for streaming your favorite shows and sports on any screen, working with Sony, STARZ, CNN, the NBA etc.

Making a game takes more than software engineering, though. Bold, innovative approaches to learning are for everyone at uOttawa. At the Tinkering Lab, the Faculty of Arts led theater students exploring modern storytelling in games with the new Learning Crossroads classroom, pushing the boundaries of traditional theatrical storytelling. uOttawa’s Digital Humanities programs explore the deeper artistic meaning and application of technology. The Faculty of Law created their own Fauteux Hall to explore social interaction and the avenues of education opened through Minecraft multiplayer. uOttawa’s progressive teaching methods to expand what’s possible in a lesson, ensuring you learn with the best techniques.

Programmers can look forward to helping build the latest software. Art majors can join teams of artists who paint the concept art and texture assets that make up every digital world, and sculpt the 3D landscapes for designers to harness. Love working with people directly? The Telfer School of Management is perfect for aspiring leaders. Great management is crucial to bringing these projects together, and excellent HR is incredibly valuable in every entertainment industry. Sound design and musical composition fuel every cutscene and combo breaker.

With IP licensing and studio mergers happening more and more, business lawyers are helping shape the future of the industry, and where better to learn than the largest law school in Canada? Looking to pioneer the latest tech? From VR and experimental software to bleeding edge hardware, there’s plenty of R&D for researchers to dig into.

You’re given not only the skills to be employed, but you can get a running start by applying to CO-OP, earning on the job experience while studying, with a resume ready, right out of the gate. Students have undergone over 40 CO-OP placements in the games industry, and 50 placements in video entertainment.

Thanks to Ottawa being a world-class Tech Hub, the possibilities are endless. With a 97% employment rate for graduates, including alumni hired by acclaimed game studios as Ubisoft, EA, and Behavior Interactive, as well as tech companies like Tesla and You.i, uOttawa opens the door to kickstarting your career. For alumni Caleb St-Denis and JC Delannoy, CO-OP led each of them to successful jobs at working at EA.

“When I saw the EA posting on uOttawa’s CO-OP job board, I thought it was a long shot but I went for it anyway. This put my career on a totally different path, one that wouldn’t have been possible without the CO-OP program. I’ve been at EA for two years now and sometimes I still can’t believe I help make video games for a living.” – Caleb St-Denis

“Being part of the CO-OP program at uOttawa was amazing; it gave me an idea of what the day to day would be like in my profession. The [CO-OP] program taught me things I never could’ve learned in a classroom.” – JC Delannoy

Wherever you want to go in the industry, uOttawa helps you find your way. If you’re a huge into competitive gaming, maybe you’ve thought about going pro. With uOttawa’s Esports club, you’ve got a shot at competing in circuits like the Collegiate Star League (CSL), as well as the Ontario Post-Secondary Esports (OPSE). With more tournaments testing the mettle of gaming champions every year, the Esports club is a perfect place to get your start.

When it comes to the games industry, there’s a program at uOttawa that will help you earn experience and gain the skills necessary to achieve a successful career in the games industry. So what are you waiting for? Ready up at admissions for uOttawa, and help bring digital worlds to life!