New Jersey Institute of Technology has been selected as one of the best schools with game design programs in the U.S., according to industry website Animation Career Review. 

NJIT’s game design program ranks No. 1 in New Jersey and top-25 in the East Coast. Animation Career Review’s ranking follows The Princeton Review’s game design accolade for NJIT.

For Digital Designer Megan Krutz, graduation from NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design isn’t just a milestone — it’s a full-circle moment that reflects years of growth, discovery and the kind of artistic transformation she never anticipated. As she looks ahead, Krutz can’t help but reflect on how much NJIT helped her grow into the designer and educator she’s today.

NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) hosted its Design Showcase, the college’s flagship fundraising and networking event, which provides a chance for members of the Hillier College community to connect and discuss the exhibited work done by HCAD’s architecture and design students over the past year. This year’s event took place in the Jewel Box of One Gateway Center in downtown Newark, a flagship space in Gateway’s $50 million investment plan.

New Jersey Institute of Technology ranks No. 36 nationally among the top 50 undergraduate schools for game design, according to The Princeton Review. That’s an improvement of 13 places from NJIT’s last ranking.

Regionally, NJIT also stands out, at No. 10 in the Northeast. The high marks support the latest findings of Animation Career Review, which ranks NJIT at No. 15 on the East Coast and No. 1 in New Jersey.

After a national search, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) found the best person to lead its Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) right on campus. Interim Dean Gabrielle Esperdy, a noted architectural historian, has been appointed dean, effective July 1.

Esperdy will be steering the execution of HCAD’s strategic plan in close partnership with other colleges as they strive toward NJIT’s goal of becoming a nexus of innovation.

Tejasi Thool, a Hasbrouck, New Jersey native, looks forward to her next step in her career after completing her digital design studies at New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design. 

Her next move will be to get a master’s in medical illustration. “It’s like medical diagrams, and sometimes you see them on Instagram or TikTok, an animation of a surgery that doctors do,” said Thool. “I love being an artist, and my parents always wanted me to go into the medical field.”

New Jersey Institute of Technology has a new Extended Reality (XR) Laboratory on campus, where students and faculty can learn to use augmented- and virtual-reality as a learning and teaching tool.

The lab is now open in Guttenberg Information Technologies Center, room 1402, across from the NJIT makerspace. It’s operated by the digital learning office and complements Ying Wu College of Computing’s MIXR Lab, where researchers study XR itself, on the third floor of the same building.

The Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) hosted its Design Showcase, the college’s flagship fundraising and networking event, which provides a chance for members of the Hillier College community to connect personally and professionally. This year’s event took place in the Jewel Box of One Gateway Center in downtown Newark.