Find your perfect game design programs abroad
Find game design programs you love that match your needs and aspirations, where you stand a high chance of acceptance.
Game Design degrees abroad
If you’re hoping to make a career out of your passion for video games, then game design could be the right program for you. You’ll learn how to design the next best selling game and market it to consumers across the world.
Once just a fun hobby, video games have now transformed into a multi-billion pound industry. You’ll study every stage of the game design process, including original concepts, prototype development, testing, and evaluation. As well as honing your technical skills in coding and programming, you’ll consider the theories behind successful games.
Studying abroad is the best way to truly understand the global scale and influence of the games industry. You’ll learn about the interests and behaviors of different cultural markets, and see how consumer trends vary around the world.
Game Design program structure
Bachelor’s degrees in games design require at least three years of full-time study. However, they can take longer depending on where you study and whether you complete a placement.
It’s possible to study games design as a BA or a BSc. BA courses concentrate more on the scripting and storytelling of games, while BSc programs focus on technical aspects like programming and testing. It’s important to choose the degree classification that suits your interests and ambitions.
If you’re keen to continue your education, you can enroll in a postgraduate program. Master’s degrees take between one and two years to finish, while PhDs usually last between four and six years.
You’ll learn through a mixture of lectures, creative workshops, technical labs, seminars, and tutorials.
The exact content of your timetable will depend on your university and the modules you select, but here are some of the fundamental topics you’ll likely cover:
- Character animation techniques
- Scripting for games
- Theory of games design
- Concept and design
- Prototype development
- Games engine creation
- Algorithms and data structures
- 3D modeling
Best countries to study game design
Best universities to study game design
Game Design study abroad programs
What are the top game design undergraduate programs abroad?
Abertay UniversityGame Design and Production - BA (Hons)
- 4 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Subject area
- Game Design, Production
- Location
- Dundee, UK
- Next available start date
- September 2025 +1 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 15,500GBP
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
Academy of Interactive TechnologyGame Design (Melbourne Campus) - BGD
- 3 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Subject area
- Game Design
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
- Next available start date
- May 2025 +3 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 23,000AUD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
Berkeley City CollegeAnimation and Game Design - AA
- 2 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Associate
- Subject area
- Game Design, Animation
- Location
- Berkeley , USA
- Next available start date
- August 2025 +1 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 10,740USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
California Lutheran UniversityMultimedia: Digital Gaming - BA
- 4 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Subject area
- Game Design, Multimedia
- Location
- Thousand Oaks, USA
- Next available start date
- January 2026
- Annual tuition fee
- 51,750USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
California State University, East BayArt: Interaction & Game Design - BFA
- 4 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Bachelor's
- Subject area
- Game Design, General Arts
- Location
- San Francisco, USA
- Next available start date
- January 2026
- Annual tuition fee
- 17,663USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
See all undergraduate degrees in game design abroad
What are the top game design postgraduate programs abroad?
Abertay UniversityApplied Games - MPhil
- 2 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Master's
- Subject area
- Game Design
- Location
- Dundee, UK
- Next available start date
- June 2025 +1 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 14,750GBP
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
American UniversityGame Design - MA
- 2 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Master's
- Subject area
- Game Design
- Location
- Washington DC, USA
- Next available start date
- September 2025 +1 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 36,000USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
DePaul UniversityAnimation: Technical Artist - MA
- 2 years
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Master's
- Subject area
- Game Design, Animation
- Location
- Chicago, USA
- Next available start date
- March 2025 +3 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 22,032USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
Falmouth UniversityGame Art - MA
- 1 year
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Master's
- Subject area
- Game Design
- Location
- Falmouth, UK
- Next available start date
- September 2025
- Annual tuition fee
- 17,950GBP
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
Full Sail UniversityGame Design - MSc
- 1 year
- Full-time
- On campus
- Program type
- Master's
- Subject area
- Game Design
- Location
- Orlando, USA
- Next available start date
- April 2025 +13 more
- Annual tuition fee
- 36,000USD
- Admission requirements
- Am I eligible?
See all postgraduate degrees in game design abroad
Future game design careers
A degree in game design will propel you into one of the globe’s hottest industries. You’ll have the technical expertise and creative flair needed to launch an exciting and lucrative career.
You could apply your skills across several sectors and roles, but here are some of the positions you’d be most suited to:
- Games developer
- Games programmer
- Games tester
- Animator
- Software developer
- Web designer
- Data scientist
- Systems analyst
If you don’t know what to do after graduation, arrange an appointment with your university’s careers office. They can help you figure out your interests, find work experience, and perfect your resume.