WHAT IS SIA?

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SIA is a multi-year pre-college program for New York City high school students who demonstrate high achievement in one or more aspects of game development. We provide instruction in game programming and design on Saturdays and weekdays after school during the school year and weekdays during our summer camp.

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WHAT DOES THE SIA CURRICULUM INCLUDE?

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Our curriculum focuses on pre-professional game development skills with the goal of enabling you to create original, polished projects in two years. In year 1, you’ll learn the fundamentals of UNITY ENGINE usage and C# programming. Our design curriculum teaches the usage of real-time game mechanics to deliver stories interactively. In year 2, you’ll use these technical and design skills to build games for competitions and your portfolio. While learning programming, you will also have the opportunity to develop your skills in other game development disciplines, including art, animation, music, and narrative writing.

 

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WHAT RESOURCES DOES SIA PROVIDE STUDENTS?

 

We have a high-caliber faculty made up of professionals who have sold hundreds of thousands of copies of their creative works. Our library of games and consoles is available for any student to use and browse. Test prep and individual, private school-style college advising are provided to all our 11th and 12th-grade students to ensure that seniors earn admission and scholarships to elite colleges.

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HOW MUCH DOES SIA COST?

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SIA is free, underwritten by grants from organizations such as Take-Two Interactive, National Endowment for the Arts, SONOS the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the AT&T Foundation. Our tuition-free model allows our admissions process to focus exclusively on recruiting the best students, regardless of family income.

 

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HOW DO I JOIN?

 

To join SIA Mastery (our After-School & Saturday Program) or our Summer Camp, you must attend an online info session and complete a simple application. ​

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DO I NEED TO BE GOOD AT MATH?

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Not at all. Some of our strongest alumni were ‘C’ students in high school math. Programming is similar to learning to draw or to play an instrument - it's about getting good at a new way of thinking. We pride ourselves on our ability to teach you how to program if you have a strong desire to learn.

 

 

 

DO I HAVE TO STICK AROUND?​

 

Yes. In order to be accepted to the program, students and parents must sign an attendance commitment and are expected to continue throughout the year or the whole summer.

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WILL I ONLY LEARN PROGRAMMING?​

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They don't call us the School of Interactive ARTS for nothing! In addition to our Game Design classes, we also teach Art-Form classes including Visual Arts, Music & Sound Production, and Narrative Writing for games. Besides these, we also host events such as video game tournaments and table top RPG campaigns.

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WHERE IS SIA LOCATED?

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Our campus is located at 39 W 19th St, New York, NY. We are accessible by most major train lines. Currently, due to COVID-19, all of our classes are meeting virtually so students from outside NYC are welcome to join us! Our online classes are held live on Discord.

 

 

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WHAT ABOUT TRANSPORTATION SUPPORT?

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We got you covered! We'll hook you up with lunches, snacks, and Metrocards when you attending programming at our campus!

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WHAT'S WITH THE GHOST?​

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Our office is haunted... just kidding.

Guess you'll just have to join SIA to find out...