University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CAPublic WSCUCComputational Media Department, Baskin Engineering

UC Santa Cruz offers a B.S. in Computer Science: Computer Game Design administered by the Computational Media Department in Baskin Engineering and a B.A. in Art & Design: Games + Playable Media in the Arts Division. The Games and Playable Media M.S. is not accepting applications, and the Computational Media M.S. and Ph.D. are broader degrees without a named game track.

Game degrees at University of California-Santa Cruz

2 programs verified (2 bachelor's). Dedicated game degrees and officially named game concentrations only; the school may offer related courses or minors that are not degrees.

Computer Science: Computer Game Design

Bachelor'sBSFirst-year entryTransfer entry

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science: Computer Game Design

Game Design · Game Programming

Santa Cruz, CA

On campus

Regular campus attendance

Portfolio policy not published

Duration not verified

Tuition: $17,439 per academic year · In-state — Undergraduate entering students, tuition and fees (estimate), Fall, Winter and Spring · 2026-2027

No upcoming verified deadline

View program

University of California-Santa Cruz

Art & Design: Games + Playable Media

Bachelor'sBAFirst-year entryTransfer entry

Bachelor of Arts in Art & Design: Games + Playable Media

Game-focused Interactive Media · Game Design

Santa Cruz, CA

On campus

Regular campus attendance

Portfolio policy not published

Duration not verified

Tuition: $17,439 per academic year · In-state — Undergraduate entering students, tuition and fees (estimate), Fall, Winter and Spring · 2026-2027

No upcoming verified deadline

View program

Department, studios and facilities

As the school describes them. Facilities are campus resources unless the school states that online students can use them.

Computational Media Department, Baskin EngineeringSource: engineering.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Performance, Play & Design, Arts DivisionSource: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Accreditation

WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Institutional accreditation — accredited · since January 31, 1965
Recognized by: U.S. Department of Education
Source: ope.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026

Institutional accreditation covers the whole institution. Programmatic accreditation (for example NASAD for an art and design unit) is shown on a program page only when the school names it for that program.

Student services

Services the school publishes. Availability can depend on program and enrollment status.

Academic advising

Baskin Engineering Undergraduate AdvisingUndergraduate advising office for Baskin Engineering majors, including Computer Science: Computer Game Design.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
AGPM advisingAdvising team for the Art & Design: Games + Playable Media major.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Offerings we reviewed but do not list

This directory lists dedicated game degrees and officially named game concentrations. These offerings were checked against official pages and fall outside that scope (minors, certificates, degrees without a named game pathway, esports).

Games and Playable Media M.S. (Master of Science in Games and Playable Media)Not accepting applications; the catalog states admissions were suspended.Source: games.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Serious Games M.S. (Master of Science in Serious Games)Discontinued.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Computational Media M.S. (Master of Science in Computational Media)Broader computational media degree with game electives but no named game concentration.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Computational Media Designated EmphasisDesignated emphasis added to another Ph.D.; not a game degree.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026
Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts)Not a game degree and not accepting applications.Source: games.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Institution

Official name: University of California-Santa Cruz
Control: Public
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026
Main location: 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064-1011
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026
Students enrolled exclusively in distance education: 190 of 19,764 students (Fall 2023)
Source: nces.ed.gov · verified October 12, 2026

Doctoral research beyond game degrees

Broader doctorates at this school where game-related research may be possible. They are not game PhD programs and are not listed as such.

Ph.D. in Computational MediaBroader computational media doctorate; game courses appear among options but no game-named track is published.Source: catalog.ucsc.edu · verified October 12, 2026

Game studies and doctoral research

Sources

Last verified October 12, 2026. Program facts and their sources are on each program page.

catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/arts-division/performance-play-and-design — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/baskin-engineering/computational-media/ — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/baskin-engineering/computational-media/co — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/baskin-engineering/computational-media/co — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/baskin-engineering/computational-media/co — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
catalog.ucsc.edu/en/current/general-catalog/academic-units/baskin-engineering/computational-media/se — Official catalog / bulletin, verified October 12, 2026
engineering.ucsc.edu/departments/computational-media/degree-programs/ — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026
games.ucsc.edu/ — Official program page, verified October 12, 2026
IPEDS 2024–25 Institutional Characteristics (HD2024), via College Navigator — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 12, 2026
IPEDS Fall 2023 enrollment by distance-education status (EF2023A_DIST) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 12, 2026
DAPIP — WSCUC institutional accreditation record (data files downloaded 2026-10-12) — U.S. Department of Education dataset (IPEDS / DAPIP), verified October 12, 2026

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