Events

Students Explore Careers and Learn from the Pros at I/ITSEC 2025, the Largest MS&T Event in the World | December 5, 2025

FIEA students from cohorts 21 and 22 ventured into the world of Modeling, Simulation & Training (MS&T) at this year’s annual Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), the world’s largest MS&T event held at the Orange County Convention Center. The conference included a career fair, expo, serious game contest, and a special panel discussion…

20 Years of FIEA: Honoring the OGs Still Building the Experience | October 15, 2025

This fall, UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) celebrates a major milestone: 20 years of game-changing education, innovation, and impact. Since opening its doors in 2005, FIEA has become one of the top-ranked graduate game development programs in the world—thanks in no small part to the visionaries who helped build it from the ground up,…

Cohort 21 Present Four Capstone Games on Aug. 1 | July 1, 2025

Support our 71 artists, programmers and producers from Cohort 21 as their teams present their four capstone games to earn their Interactive Entertainment M.S. Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) is proud to announce the final Capstone Game Presentations for Cohort 21 on Aug. 1, featuring four brand-new games developed by our talented graduate-level students. This…

High School Students Level Up Knowledge of Gaming Careers at UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy | June 9, 2025

The KB Foundation-sponsored visit allows youths from Philadelphia to go behind the scenes of one of the nation’s top graduate gaming program. By Emily Dougherty | UCF Today Ben Noel, executive director of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, stands at the front of a room giving a presentation to a group of high school students.…

Third Time Entertainment, Inc. and Florida Poly students take home first places at the FIEA Game Jam | January 23, 2025

Champs from Third Time Entertainment, Inc., Florida Polytechnic University, University of Florida, EA Orlando, Iron Galaxy, FIEA alumni, and others won top prizes after a rollercoaster weekend building games. A total of 34 teams competed to design and develop a winning game based on the subject of theme parks in less than 48 hours at…

FIEA Announces 14th Annual Chili Cook-off on February 7 | January 13, 2025

Do you have the best chili in UCF Downtown? Submit a crockpot of at least 6 to 8 quarts of your very best chili to enter FIEA’s 14th Annual Chili Cook-off on February 7! The sampling will begin at 12 p.m. in the Soundstage at UCF Downtown. Enter as an individual or a team! Teams…

Graduating Cohort 20 Students To Showcase Venture Projects on Monday | November 25, 2024

Just weeks away from graduating with their Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment, students and teams in the Cohort 20 Digital Venture Practicum will showcase their inventive projects on Monday, Dec. 2 at Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy at UCF Downtown. The venture course provides opportunities for students to work on their own product and/or company…

Five Ways the Development of UCF Downtown Has Enhanced the FIEA Experience | August 29, 2024

ORLANDO, FL – This week, UCF Downtown celebrates five years of successful growth and development alongside Valencia College in Creative Village. Encompassing FIEA, the impact of campus development has improved the student experience and strengthened the talent pipeline. In 2005, FIEA was one of the only programs downtown, 15 years before UCF Downtown’s official opening…

Cohort 20 Final Capstone Game Presentations on August 2 | July 2, 2024

Support our four capstone teams made up of 78 grad students from Cohort 20 as they present their four games, designed and developed in two semesters, to earn their Interactive Entertainment M.S. Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), the top-ranked graduate game design program by the Princeton Review, is proud to present four capstone games developed…

Puppets, Roman Soldiers, and Ghosts Appear at the Spring 2024 GameLab Final Presentations | April 30, 2024

Seven teams made up of FIEA’s Cohort 20 graduate students demonstrated a variety of interactive prototypes last week at Central Florida Tech Grove in Research Park at their final GameLab presentations. Students explored a mix of technology to show how they might help a variety of partner organizations, including the U.S. Air Force, Veterans Health…