An independent guide to game design degrees in the United States
Colleges and universities with at least one verified game design, game development, game programming, game art, game-focused interactive media or game studies degree. Each holds a current institutional accreditation recorded in the U.S. Department of Education's accreditation database (DAPIP).
58 schools · page 2 of 3
Game design and game development degrees first, then related fields (programming, art, interactive media, game studies); alphabetical by school within each group. Not a ranking. What we list
High Point, NCPrivate nonprofitAccredited: SACSCOC
High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, offers an on-campus Bachelor of Arts in Game Design through the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication. The 128-credit degree includes a 48-credit major that ends in a collaborative senior capstone.
Bloomington, INPublicAccredited: HLC
Indiana University Bloomington offers a BS in Game Design through The Media School in the College of Arts and Sciences, and a Game Development specialization within the BS in Computer Science in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. No game-specific master's or doctoral degree was found on official pages.
Kennesaw, GAPublicAccredited: SACSCOC
Kennesaw State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Computer Game Design and Development through the Department of Software Engineering and Game Development in the College of Computing and Software Engineering. The 120-credit degree is based at the Marietta campus and requires an upper-level concentration.
Laguna Beach, CAPrivate nonprofitAccredited: WSCUC
Laguna College of Art + Design is an art and design college in Laguna Beach, California. It offers a four-year BFA in Game Development with Game Art and Game Design tracks; its graduate programs are MFAs in drawing and painting.
Southfield, MIPrivate nonprofitAccredited: HLC
Lawrence Technological University in Southfield offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Design through its College of Architecture and Design and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Game Software Development through its Department of Math and Computer Science. Students in the two programs work together in integrated game studio courses.
Lynchburg, VAPrivate nonprofitAccredited: SACSCOC
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, offers a BS in Information Technology with a Gaming Design cognate through its School of Business, as separate residential and online programs. Both are 120 credit hours and pair an IT core with graphic design, 3D graphics, interactive game development and programming courses.
Saint Charles, MOPrivate nonprofitAccredited: HLC
Lindenwood University's Department of Art, Production, and Design in the College of Arts and Humanities offers a BA and an MA in Game Design. Each is offered in a blended on-campus format in St. Charles and as a separate online program; the BA has an optional Game Art emphasis.
Poughkeepsie, NYPrivate nonprofitAccredited: MSCHE
Marist University in Poughkeepsie, New York, offers a B.S. in Games and Emerging Media, an interdisciplinary program of the School of Communication and the Arts and the School of Computer Science and Mathematics with two tracks. Its Computer Science page also lists a B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in Game Design and Programming.
Saint Louis, MOPrivate nonprofitAccredited: HLC
Maryville University in St. Louis offers game design as a concentration within its on-campus Interactive Design degree in the School of Design & Visual Art. Its online bachelor's catalog lists no game degree; the online BFA in Digital Media includes game design only as one topic among several.
Oxford, OHPublicAccredited: HLC
Miami University in Oxford, Ohio offers a Bachelor of Science in Games + Simulation through the Department of Emerging Technology in Business + Design (ETBD, formerly AIMS) in the College of Creative Arts. The 76-credit major covers game studies, game design, game development, writing, 3D modeling and a game production sequence; admission to the major is competitive and requires an application video.
East Lansing, MIPublicAccredited: HLC
Michigan State University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Games and Interactive Media through the Department of Media and Information in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences in East Lansing. The program covers art, design and programming fundamentals of game development alongside game history, social impacts and business, with project-based team coursework.
East Greenwich, RIPrivate nonprofitAccredited: NECHE
New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, offers two game bachelor's degrees on campus: a BS in Video Game Design and a BS in Game Development and Simulation Programming that builds on the associate degree. Programs run in quarter terms with day or evening technical classes.
New York, NYPrivate nonprofitAccredited: MSCHE
New York University offers a BFA and an MFA in Game Design through the NYU Game Center, the Department of Game Design at the Tisch School of the Arts, and an MS in Games for Learning through the Steinhardt School. All three are campus programs in New York City.
Boston, MAPrivate nonprofitAccredited: NECHE
Northeastern University's College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) offers BFAs in Game Design and in Game Art and Animation and a combined BS in Game Design and Music, Khoury College offers a combined BS in Computer Science and Game Development, and CAMD and Khoury jointly offer an MS in Game Science and Design in Boston and in Oakland.
Hamden, CTPrivate nonprofitAccredited: NECHE
Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, offers an on-campus Bachelor of Arts in Game Design and Development through the Department of Visual and Performing Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences. The 120-credit major combines a shared core, a multi-semester team Game Lab sequence, a chosen concentration and a senior capstone.
Troy, NYPrivate nonprofitAccredited: MSCHE
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Games and Experiential Media (GEM) department in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences offers the B.S. in Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences (GSAS) and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Critical Game Design in Troy, New York.
Sarasota, FLPrivate nonprofitAccredited: SACSCOC
Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, offers a campus BFA in Game Art that combines 3D art, visual development, game design and a two-year game thesis project. Admission to Game Art is rolling and requires a visual portfolio.
Rochester, NYPrivate nonprofitAccredited: MSCHE
Rochester Institute of Technology offers a BS and an MS in Game Design and Development through the School of Interactive Games and Media in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, and a Game Arts option within its 3D Digital Design BFA. All three are campus programs in Rochester, New York.
Lakewood, COPrivate for-profitAccredited: HLC
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design is a for-profit art and design college in Lakewood (Denver area), Colorado, that offers a Game Art BFA on campus and as a separate online program. Tuition is published as a single per-credit rate for on-campus and online students, with year-round enrollment.
Austin, TXPrivate nonprofitAccredited: SACSCOC
St. Edward's University in Austin offers a Bachelor of Arts in Video Game Development in the Department of Visual Studies, School of Arts and Humanities, with 56 hours of major courses covering computational foundations, digital media, visual studies and game development.