Games Design and Art (BA)

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

Year 1 is where you get curious and learn the skills needed to generate innovative game ideas through experimentation and exploration. You’ll develop your theoretical understanding and practical application through various hands-on activities. You’ll be assessed at the end of the year.

In year 2, you’ll work on pipelines, processes and innovation. You’ll focus on digital games and look for innovative approaches to what a digital game could be. You'll also look at experimental game ideas and outcomes.

In your final year you'll work on your unique impact games as a competent and independent learner and practitioner. You'll present your final project at the Winchester Degree Show and London Industry showcase.

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

The learning activities for this course include the following:

• lectures
• classes and tutorials
• coursework
• individual and group projects

Course time

How you'll spend your course time:

Course leader

Adam Procter is the course leader.

You can use this degree to work in any area of the games industry, or create and market your own games. Thanks to the reputation of our course and our strong links with industry, companies often approach us and offer internships to our students.

 Recent examples include:

• a games designer and artist internship at the Royal Society of Public Health - for a prototype of a gamified healthcare app
• an internship with the education technology startup MangaHigh - which led to full-time employment after the student’s game idea was commissioned
• an internship - followed by employment as a games designer and developer on AlphaPutt, an iOS game
• a number of games designer roles within University of Southampton research bids and projects, such as the Southampton General Hospital and Aspire Awards

Your degree can lead to a variety of roles, including:

• games designer
• 2D or 3D games artist
• games maker
• user experience/user interaction designer
• mobile and app designer
• project manager

 We focus on your employability throughout your studies by offering:

• ongoing advice from tutors with extensive design experience
• careers events to introduce you to potential employers

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:

• work experience schemes
• CV and interview skills and workshops
• networking events
• careers fairs attended by top employers
• a wealth of volunteering opportunities
• study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.

As part of your course, you can choose to take a year-long paid placement within the games and creative industries.

During your placement, you can apply the knowledge and skills you’ve developed during your degree, and gain vital professional experience.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and standard exams.

Find out how to:

• pay your tuition fees
• calculate your student finances

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.

Explore:

• accommodation costs
• living costs
• budgeting advice
• fees, charges, and expenses regulations 

If you're a UK or EU student and your household income is under £25,000 a year, you may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs. Find out about bursaries and other funding we offer at Southampton.

If you're a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary.

Get in touch for advice about student money matters.

You may be able to get a scholarship or grant to help fund your studies.

We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from under-represented backgrounds.

The Student Hub offers support and advice on money to students. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

When you apply use:

• UCAS course code: 1L6F
• UCAS institution code: S27

Apply for this course

Portfolio guidance

Your portfolio is one of the most important parts of your application. It is your opportunity to show us your work, and our opportunity to find out more about you. You may not have presented your work before, so here is some guidance with preparing your portfolio. 

What do you want to see in my portfolio? 

We are looking for you to demonstrate two things in your statement and portfolio, are you interesting and are you interested in the subject area of art, design, creativity, storytelling, world building, games, and emotionally engaging media. Many different people play games and not all those people are represented by those that make games today, we are looking for people who are different, diverse, and distinctive. You should be passionate about the power of games (all types of games, not just video games). Your portfolio should demonstrate a lively, inventive approach to the development of your course projects and self‐initiated work. It should be carefully selected as this will show us your skill and abilities, and most importantly your vision.

Your portfolio should clearly demonstrate the development of your ideas and how you have sought to achieve these. Show us the range of your work: sketches, mood boards, concept art, 2D/3D asset creation, narratives, storyboards, game ideas. If you have created a game or games please include. 

How many pieces should I include? 

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000