Master of Arts - Games Design
- 1,5 years
- Duration
- 30,890 GBP
- Price
- September
- Start
- June
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Campus
- Format
- London / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
The MA Games Design programme at London College of Communication critically examines the concept of play, encouraging you to produce playable experiences that test ideas from broader culture through rigorous research and academic writing. You will work in a studio environment on independent and group projects, combining experimental game design with theory and utilising LCC's diverse facilities.
The course provides freedom to explore different genres and mediums, teaching programming and development tools to create small playable experiences. It prepares you to build a professional game portfolio and advance to PhD research or self‑directed experimental practice.
Program structure
Autumn, term 1
- Design and Prototyping (40 credits)
Spring, term 2
- Understanding Play (20 credits)
- Collaborative Unit (20 credits)
Summer, term 3
- Critical Play and Development (40 credits)
- Thesis and Final Project (60 credits)
Autumn, term 4
- Thesis and Final Project (continued)
Price
Tuition fee:
- 30,890 GBP per education*
*Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.
You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course.
Requirements for applicants
An applicant will normally be considered for admission if they have achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree in either games design, animation, illustration, visual communication or graphic design or closely related subject, and present a portfolio of image-led work and project proposal.
The course aims to appeal to art and design graduates who are interested in expanding their experience by investigating emerging areas of games design practice. However, we will consider applicants who have graduated from other related disciplines, or who have relevant industry experience.
Students applying to this course will be expected to demonstrate a specific interest in this area of study and should have a commitment to engaging with games design.
Coding experience
Entry onto the course requires that you have some experience of coding. This maybe HTML/CSS/JavaScript or others such as actionscript, Java, C++ etc. Your level of experience can be quite low, as we will upskill applicants where needed, but you need to be comfortable with learning code and understand key concepts such as 'for loops' and 'conditional if' statements.
This level of experience would have been gained by studying an undergraduate multimedia course in art and design, pre-university qualifications in computer science, multimedia and/or web authoring or advanced self-taught practice of coding through free services such as codecademy.com.
Educational level may be demonstrated by:
- Honours degree (named above);
- Possession of equivalent qualifications;
- Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
- Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- Related academic or work experience
- The quality of the personal statement
- A strong academic or other professional reference
- OR a combination of these factors
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
Language requirements
- IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four skills.
About the university
The University of the Arts London (UAL) produces and encourages the creativity essential for a better future. Its colleges have been at the forefront of innovative education since 1842, creating work with a lasting impact on people and the planet, driven by curiosity, imagination, and purpose.
London is fundamental to UAL's identity, providing a vital context where the university connects and exchanges ideas with individuals from all walks of life. Globally, its creative network influences education, culture, business, and society.
Through innovative research and creative instruction, UAL's faculty and staff bring fresh perspectives to education. The university enables students to build the careers they desire by working with them at every level - from pre-degree to postgraduate, and from short courses to online learning.
UAL's colleges
Ranked second in the world for art and design, UAL comprises six distinct colleges:
- Camberwell College of Arts
- Central Saint Martins
- Chelsea College of Arts
- London College of Communication
- London College of Fashion
- Wimbledon College of Arts
Together, they form a community of creatives, innovators, trailblazers, and storytellers, united in their mission to reimagine the future.
Courses in the visual arts, animation, screen, communication, fashion, media, and performance are available at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
