BA (Hons) Games Design Bachelor's degree at the Arts, London
BA (Hons) Games Design at Arts London. Games design at London College of Communication draws on the institution's expertise in visual communication and cultural production, grounded in a curriculum that moves from foundational craft and critical theory through to…
About this course
BA (Hons) Games Design is a Bachelor's degree (BA (Hons)) at the Arts, London, based in London College of Communication. It runs 3 years, studied full-time.
For Computer games and animation graduates from this provider, 65% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 70% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £25,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Art & Design, see the sections below.
Course evidence score
The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Stronger evidence Published sample: 1,220. Cohort 2021-22. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 65% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2021-23. Continuation 81% (2021-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.
Year 1 4 modules
- Introduction to Games DesignCore20 credits
Module details
This unit introduces you to the discipline of game design using two distinct approaches. Firstly, it will help you develop the research and writing skills required to critically analyse and discuss games as played experiences. Secondly, the unit will support you develop your own game ideas and communicate these ideas during critiques and presentation pitches.
- Programming and Technical Design for GamesCore40 credits
Module details
This unit will introduce you to the fundamentals of game development, with a focus on how to think about, plan and write code to create a wide range of different game mechanics. Using a hands-on, problem-solving approach, you will learn flexible programming skills that will enable you develop games from Game Design Documentation.
- Designing the User Experience (UX) of GamesCore20 credits
Module details
This unit will introduce you to the fundamentals of User Experience (UX), this will help you understand how players will make sense of, and interact with, the games you design. You will learn how to design taking into account the cognitive processes of your player using theories of interactive and visual design.
- Game Concept to Playable PrototypeCore40 credits
Module details
This unit will take you through the game design and development process from start to finish. You will start with an original game idea and produce a Game Design Document which will help guide the development of your game as you use various prototyping techniques to assemble game assets and program the game's functionality.
Year 2 4 modules
- Agile Game DevelopmentCore40 credits
Module details
This unit will introduce you to agile development in team projects, focusing on developing a non-digital prototype into a digital prototype informed by professional documentation and good practices. You will validate your game mechanics using rapid prototyping and iterative testing, while learning how to frame your mechanics to create richer, more meaningful experiences.
- Understanding Player ExperienceCore20 credits
Module details
This unit introduces you to player psychology, exploring how and why different games affect players in different ways and how players' behaviour may change as a result. As part of this unit, you will also consider games as a range of systems, including reward systems, narrative systems, information systems and educational systems.
- Game Spaces and ReplayabilityCore40 credits
Module details
This unit will help you develop your 3D skills in context of games design – focusing on playability and level design, you will also learn how to design and develop games with replayability as a core game loop. You will learn how to craft engaging game spaces that shape player experience, while exploring design strategies that increase player engagement and encourage player retention.
- Introduction to Professional PracticeCore20 credits
Module details
This unit introduces you to the roles and responsibilities of group work, enabling you to put personal and professional development principles into practice. You will have the opportunity to work in multidisciplinary teams with students from other courses to use subject-specific skills to achieve a common goal.
Year 3 3 modules
- Major Project PracticalCore60 credits
Module details
In this unit you are required to conceptualise, design and develop a game, independently, or as part of a team, and if you wish too, collaborate with students from other courses. You will have complete control over the creative and design direction the game takes, and receive expert guidance from the course team and associate lecturers to help plan development of your game setting out clear milestones and deliverables.
- Informed PracticeCore20 credits
Module details
This unit will require you to submit an academically rigorous piece of work manifesting critical enquiry, reflection, analysis and original research. You will demonstrate detailed research, apply a range of different research methods and methodological approaches, and contextualise your work from a historical and theoretical perspective, informed by your approach to your own creative practice.
- Professional Practice and the Games IndustryCore40 credits
Module details
This unit will provide you with an understanding of how the games and related creative industries are structured and operate. You will develop your work into a professional portfolio that reflects your future goals and aspirations in terms of the role you would like to take in the industry or postgraduate study you wish to undertake.
Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
This degree emphasises hands-on creative practice grounded in design thinking and cultural context. You'll usually begin with foundations in visual language, colour theory and composition across multiple media, alongside workshops in materials and processes, from print and textiles to digital fabrication. Contextual studies in art and design history inform your developing practice throughout. As you progress, you'll undertake sustained studio projects, exploring digital and emerging media tools such as creative software, motion, 3D or interaction design. Year 2 typically introduces live briefs with real clients and industry deadlines. In your final year, you'll specialise in a chosen pathway such as graphic design, illustration, fine art, fashion and textiles, or UX and digital, developing a personal direction before culminating in a self-directed major project exhibited in a degree show.
Who it's for
You are drawn to games as a medium, their aesthetics, systems, narratives, and cultural role, and want to develop both conceptual and practical skills in their creation. You'll thrive if you think critically about design choices, can communicate ideas visually and verbally, and enjoy iterative problem-solving. This course asks you to work across concept, production, and reflection; you'll learn industry tools and methods whilst building a portfolio that demonstrates your distinctive voice as a designer. Most recent entrants held A-levels or equivalent qualifications; typical UCAS tariff was 160–175 points.
Careers & job market
Across Art & Design courses nationally, 87% of graduates were in work or further study 15 months after graduating; 55% of those working were in highly skilled roles. National Graduate Outcomes data show games graduates starting at £22,000–£27,000, rising to £20,825–£29,400 after five years. Roles span game studios (programmer, artist, designer, producer), independent development, narrative and systems design, user experience (UX) roles in tech, and creative industries more broadly. Further postgraduate study is also common.
University & format
This is a 3-year full-time Bachelor's degree (BA Hons) awarded by the University of the Arts, London, studied at London College of Communication. Taught in English, the course leads to a nationally recognised UK degree. The university holds Bronze status for teaching quality in the Office for Students' Teaching Excellence Framework 2023.
Student satisfaction
How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.
Share of students responding positively.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
- 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted
Your application needs a reference before you can send it.
- 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
- 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline
18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.
Show 5 later dates
- 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens
Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.
- 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers
Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.
- 2027 entryClearing opens
Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.
- 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
Entry & how to get in
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
UCAS tariff of entrants
Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| A-levels or equivalent | 80% |
| another higher-education qualification | 18% |
| a Baccalaureate | 2% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.
Will you get in? Plot your grades
Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.
Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.
Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.
How to apply
Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course (code I600). One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write your personal statement
A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.
- 3Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time
UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 5Results day & confirmation
On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
Provider fee page (England 2026/27 cap where not stated).
Check fees at Arts London →For students who normally live in England
2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.
Starting on or after 1 January 2027?
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.
Paying for it
- Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
- Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
- Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.
Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
That does not mean no funding exists. Check the university directory for current amounts, eligibility and application dates.
We only display a named award when its provider source identifies the award and who it is for.
Still deciding what to study?
StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.
Careers & earnings
What Art & Design graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.
Graduate earnings: this course
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 months after | £25,000 | £22,000 – £29,000 | 1220 |
| 3 years after | £26,500 | £20,000 – £35,000 | 20 |
| 5 years after | £29,500 | £24,500 – £34,500 | 25 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Stronger evidence. Published sample: 1,220. Cohort 2021-22.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
- 1Graduate roleFirst role after the degree · 0–2 yrs
- 2Specialist / PractitionerWorking in art & design · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / LeadLeading work and people · 5–10 yrs
- 4Head of / ExpertSenior leadership or deep expertise · 10+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs Art & Design nationally
National figures for Art & Design graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.
Work out your pay
Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.
What happened to 100 students?
Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.
were in work or further study
15 months after graduation
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Stronger evidence. Published sample: 1,220. Cohort 2021-22. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.
Value compared with similar courses
How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Art & Design courses at the same study level.
Compared with 1,698 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
UK occupations graduates enter
Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.
- Information Technology ProfessionalsSOC 2020 213 · 30% of published destinations · ASHE median £55,357
- Elementary occupationsSOC 2020 9 · 25% of published destinations · ASHE median £19,087
- Web and Multimedia Design ProfessionalsSOC 2020 214 · 25% of published destinations · ASHE median £32,574
- Science, engineering and technology associate professionalsSOC 2020 31 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £34,828
- Artistic, literary and media occupationsSOC 2020 341 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £33,824
Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 40; response rate: 50%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.
Is BA (Hons) Games Design worth it?
It depends. BA (Hons) Games Design adds about +£25,630 over the first ten years vs. going straight to a job, but on these earnings the payoff is slower than average.
Cumulative earnings vs. going straight to work at 18, counting tuition and 3 years of wages given up while studying. The line clears zero around year 20.9. This is a simplified gross-earnings comparison, not a forecast of cash loan repayments.
Model: this course’s own median graduate earnings (Graduate Outcomes / LEO) above the £24,000 non-graduate baseline (ONS), net of £9,790/yr over 3 years (published course home fee). Eligible England-domiciled students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan; repayments are 9% only on income above the threshold, with anything left written off after 40 years. That makes the cash flow different from conventional commercial debt. Opportunity cost assumes £18,000 gross earnings forgone in each study year; figures are nominal and exclude tax, living costs, investment returns and loan interest. A simplified estimate. Earnings and actual fees vary by graduate, provider, fee status and UK nation.
Job market & outlook
How Art & Design graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
How AI is changing the work
AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.
What AI takes off your plate
- Routine information gathering
- First-draft writing and summaries
- Standard analysis and admin
- Repetitive processing tasks
More human than ever
- Judgement and original thinking
- Working with and leading people
- Owning and sense-checking AI output
- Ethics and accountability
The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.
Roles & employers
Where Art & Design graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- Design studios & agencies
- In-house brand teams
- Games & media companies
- Freelance & self-employed
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit Art & Design graduates.
Fine Art TechnicianFirst Choice StaffPharmacy Technician – Brand New State-of-the-Art HospitalCompass AssociatesArtificial Intelligence Engineering ManagerMBN SolutionsArtificial Intelligence EngineerExperis UKDelivery Driver (Part Time 24 hours) - AndoverOcado LogisticsCompliance Business PartnerNashrock Insurance RecruitmentIs this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
Student finance
Published home tuition is £9,790/year for this course. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.
Where graduates go
65% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £25,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.
Your entry chances
Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 7.5 out of 10: NSS 78.1% · in work or study 65% · continued 81%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
University of the Arts, London
Design, and creative and performing arts across the UK
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Local crime-data context
A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.
Around London College of Communication
7,241 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.
Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.
Is Art & Design right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to Arts London from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is set per course by Arts London; international fees are typically £12,000–£30,000/year for classroom subjects and higher for lab/clinical ones. You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.
English language
Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.
Student visa
You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.
Scholarships & funding
Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check Arts London’s funding pages.
Living costs
Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.
Working while you study
A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.
Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Arts London and gov.uk before you apply.
Related courses
More at Arts London
Common questions
How competitive is entry?
What are the entry requirements?
What do graduates go on to do?
What will it cost me?
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