Looking to get into game design? You’re in luck! CG Spectrum, a school dedicated to animation, programming and visual effects announced in a press release on November 20th that they will be offering $500,000 worth of scholarships in subjects relating to subjects in game and film. Potential students for the 2016/2017 academic school year can apply for these scholarships, which may include paid internships with local, award-winning studios.

There are six accredited online diplomas that span across the fields of animation, 3D Modeling, visual effects, concept art, programming, and compositing. The best students will join a paid internship program with CG Spectrum’s industry partners League of Geeks. The program is also in the process of getting vfx companies to join the program in the near future.

The college of design partnered with Iloura VFX last year. The company won an Emmy for their work on Game of Thrones Battle of Bastards sequence, and have already started hiring CG Spectrum students. It speaks volumes on the programs offered by this college when award winning companies seek out their students.

According to Jeff Pepper, co-founder and Head of School, ensuring that the best local studios studios were backing paid internships was the top priority for their initiative. The school takes their students very seriously and wants to make sure they succeed. Jeff had this to say on the matter:

“There is a lot of abuse going on in the internship space at the moment, and we’re proud to partner with studios that actively go against that.”

The school rides on a platform that seeks to tie students to actual industry work. This type of hands on teaching allows students to build a portfolio as they learn, and few colleges offer this kind of program. One that comes to mind, more focused on film making and audio production with a program in gaming as well is Flashpoint/Tribeca. Nick Fredin, co-founder and Oscar-winning animator emphasized this point and emphasized the advantage of the school being online.

“Close studio ties are what make CG Spectrum different. Teaching online allows us to enlist instructors directly from the industry, and many of our mentors teach while still working at studios like Disney, Iloura and Bioware.”

Their current partner, League of Geeks, won Australian Game Studio of the Year for 2016 and are the creators of the game Armello, which has won multiple awards. The studio is offering three 6-month paid placements for Animation, Concept Art, and Programming among the best that CG Spectrum has to offer. Co-founder and director of the studio Blake Mizzi emphasized the importance of their work.

“Independent studios are doing some of the most creative work in games at the moment. We want the next generation of game developers to be excited about making games in Australia, and to make sure we’re growing our best talent with opportunities here.”

An even bigger step in CG Spectrum’s offer is that half of the available scholarships will be reserved for women and those underrepresented in the gaming industry. Given the imbalance of representation in the industry, this sends an important and progressive message to the future of game development. To further the initiative they are actively reaching out to communities and organizations representing these people to partner with the school in finding candidates for application. Jeff Pepper clarified the move in his own words.

“We don’t see this as token diversity. We want to see those places filled, and we’re willing to tweak the programme to suit the needs of the communities who want to apply. Being online also means there’s a huge opportunity for rural candidates who may not always have the means to move to cities.”

Melbourne based game design college CG Spectrum opened it’s doors in 2011 and has since seen a placement rate of 90% for its online visual effects courses. Another interesting feature of the college is that while it is an online program, students enjoy working directly with a mentor and share life sessions where they receive feedback for their work. This enables the students to see how professionals complete their work and gives them skills and tricks they wouldn’t learn otherwise without working in the industry themselves.

Applications are now open if you’re interested in applying, and if you are not form Australia worry not, they accept foreign students as well. Another benefit of being an Online accredited school. The first round of applications closes on December 14th, but will open again in the middle of 2017. They plan on selecting candidates according to merit, and any interested party is welcome to  apply here.

Are you currently in a program for game design? Are you interested in being a part of the industry? Sound off in the comments below!