DigiPen Institute of Technology is a for-profit college located in Redmond, Washington which has a focus on computer science, computer engineering, and art with emphasis in creating video games. DigiPen Institute of Technology was founded in 1988 by Claude Comair in Vancouver, B.C., Canada as DigiPen Corporation, a computer simulation and animation company. In 1990, Digipen began offering a 3D animation program and began collaborating with Nintendo of America to create a post-secondary program for video game programming. With Nintendo's support, DigiPen Applied Computer Graphics School accepted its first class of video game programming students in 1994. In May of 1996 the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board granted DigiPen the ability to award Associate and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Real-Time Interactive Simulation (R.T.I.S) and Associate of Applied Arts Degrees in 3D Computer Animation. This made DigiPen the first university in the world dedicated to computer and video game development. The school relocated to Redmond, Washington, U.S. in January of 1998. The school offered its first Associate of Applied Arts in 3D Computer Animation degrees in 1999.