In 1988, a man by the name of Claude Comair began the legacy of DigiPen by creating the DigiPen Corportation in Vancouver, British Columbia. Six years later, with the help of Nintendo of America, a post-secondary educational institution was formed and accepted its first class of video game programming students. Its only diploma offered was The Art and Science of 2D and 3D Video Game Programming and took two full-time years to complete, similar to a junior college experience.
Although graduates of the institution had no problem quickly finding work, video game consoles were rapidly advancing in the technology sector and DigiPen began to consider offering bachelor degree-level programs in order to educate students about the new technology. After submitting a tentative curriculum to the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board for authorization in 1996, DigiPen was granted permission to create an Associate and Bachelor's degree of Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation. Two years later, DigiPen opened the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington with its newly granted degrees.
Further advancements in the gaming industry alerted DigiPen to a need for education in computer animation, and a two-year degree was added to the list in 1999. Although most colleges offer graduation ceremonies every year for every student, regardless of degree, DigiPen did not hold an official graduation ceremony until 2000, six years after the schools' opening in British Columbia.
