Grand Canyon University · College of Arts and Media

Game Design

Bachelor of Arts in Game Design

Bachelor'sBAGame DesignDedicated degreeOnline

Overview

BA in Game Design offered on campus (15-week courses) and online (7-week courses), combining game design, visual art, game engines and world building with marketing and project management coursework.

Official program title: Game Design
Exact award: Bachelor of Arts in Game Design
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Degree level: Bachelor's
Discipline: Game Design
Degree type: Dedicated degree
School and department: Grand Canyon University — College of Arts and Media
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Location: Phoenix, AZFor an online program this is where the school is based — not a residency requirement, and not proof that students in every state may enroll.

Why this program is listed

Dedicated BA in Game Design.

Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

We list dedicated game degrees and officially named game concentrations at institutionally accredited US schools. Eligibility rules

Format, length and attendance

Delivery, campus attendance, schedule and study intensity are separate facts, each shown only as the school states it. Online coursework does not by itself mean there is no residency, exhibition, internship or proctored exam.

Delivery: Online (on-site requirements not stated)The institution offers the degree online but its pages do not say whether any on-site activity is required.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Campus attendance: Campus attendance not verifiedThe pages we checked do not say whether on-site activity is required.
Campus visits: Campus visits: not verified
Class schedule: Synchronous / asynchronous not verified
Study intensity: Not published
Duration: Not verified
Credits: 120 credits (major 68 credits)
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Entry routes

First-year entry. Open to first-time college students (freshman admission).Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Transfer entry. Admits students transferring credits from another college.Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Curriculum

What the school publishes about the program's game design, programming, art and production content. Tools and engines are listed only when the school names them — a program not listed as teaching Unity or Unreal may still use them, but we have not verified it.

120 credits with a 68-credit major including Introduction to Gaming, Game Design, Visual Art for Games, Introduction to Game Engines, World Building, Game Promotion and Marketing, consumer behavior, project management and the shared Game Creation 1-4 sequence.

Curriculum overview

Introduction to Game Engines.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Game Promotion and Marketing; Introduction to Marketing; Buyer and Consumer Behavior.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Game design topics

Introduction to Gaming, Game Design, World Building.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Art and animation content

Visual Art for Games.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Production and team projects

Game Creation 1-4: a four-course series in which design and programming students work together on game production and a portfolio of projects.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Academic calendar

Campus courses run 15 weeks; online courses run 7 weeks.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Other published details

Offered in campus and online class settings.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Hardware and software requirements

Hardware: Students provide their own laptop capable of running Adobe Creative Cloud (listed for GMC courses).
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Admissions and portfolio

Required, optional and not-required items are shown exactly as the school states them. Anything not listed is not verified — not “not required”.

Portfolio

Portfolio policy not published

The school's pages we checked do not state a portfolio policy for this program. That does not mean no portfolio is required — ask the admissions office.

Minimum GPA: RequiredMinimum 2.8 — 2.8+ unweighted GPA, or 2.5+ unweighted GPA with ACT 19 / SAT 1000.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Tests

SAT / ACT: Required for some applicantsACT 19 or SAT 1000 required only for applicants with a 2.5-2.79 unweighted GPA.
Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

We do not publish acceptance rates or estimate admission chances. How to prepare a game design portfolio

Start dates and deadlines

Dates are shown with the intake the school printed. A past date is marked passed and is never carried into a new cycle.

Application deadlines: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

Tuition and costs

Each amount keeps its student category, academic year and basis. Per-credit, per-term and whole-program figures are not comparable with each other, and tuition is not the full cost of attendance.

Category	Amount	Basis and year
All students — Campus	$8,250	per semester · academic year not printedSource: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026
All students — Online	$490	per credit · academic year not printedEstimated tuition$58,800 = 120 credits × $490 per credit. Excludes mandatory fees, books, travel for any required visits or placements, transfer credit reductions and rate changes. Not the full cost of attendance.Source: gcu.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Understanding tuition and equipment costs

Scholarships, assistantships and funding

Awards published by the school for this program or for students at this level. “Guaranteed” only when the school says every eligible student receives it. Loans must be repaid and are not scholarships. Scholarships guide

Program-specific funding: not verified. We publish this only when the institution states it on an official page.

Accreditation and authorization

Institutional accreditation covers the school. Programmatic accreditation is shown only when it is named for this program — it is never transferred from another department or degree.

Institutional accreditation

Higher Learning Commission (HLC) — accreditedSource: ope.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026

Programmatic accreditation

None verified for this program. Game design degrees do not require one specific specialized accreditation.

State authorization for online students

Not verified — check the school's state authorization page before applying from outside Arizona.

International applicants

Not verified for this program.

Sources and verification

Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below. Last checked October 12, 2026.

DAPIP — HLC institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-12) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 12, 2026
gcu.edu/degree-programs/bachelor-arts-game-design — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026

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No upcoming verified deadline

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