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Games Design

  • BA (Hons)
  • 3 Years
  • Full-time
  • 21 September 2026
  • Undergraduate
York St John University
More about York St John University

Course options

2026-20272027-2028
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Course summary

This course will unlock your creative potential. Gain the technical skills to create the games you would love to play.

Explore how design, storytelling, art and coding come together to create unique and memorable games. Our industry professionals will teach you how to design and develop computer games from concept art through to asset creation, animation and level design. By the end of the course, you will have the skills you need to design fully playable games.

This course is your chance to immerse yourself in games design and learn the skills needed to stand out in this competitive industry. When you join us, you will work with other design students in different activities. These will help you develop your skills in drawing, modelling and rigging. You will complete practical projects throughout your degree. These will increase in complexity as you progress. As you work on these, you will gain experience of:

Working with real time engines
Animating characters
Writing game stories and narratives
Developing interactive user experiences
Considering the limitations of platforms
Working with Greybox preproduction
Finalising a bug free, distributable build.

Alongside your practical work you will study the theory and history of games design. You will debate some of the controversies that exist in the field. This will help you to identify the areas which interest you the most. You can develop this research in your final year research project.

Our team of designers and technical specialists are here to support you. Your tutors will really get to know you, your practice and your ambitions.

You will also gain experiences that make you stand out. We give you opportunities to:

Work with students from other courses to enrich your learning, such as Animation or Games Development
Complete work placements in industry and learn from visiting professionals
Visit international cities to find new inspiration
Exhibit your work at our annual degree show, the perfect way to build a professional network.

Modules

Modules may include:

Year 1:
Design Process
Game Design Principles
Context of Practice
Game Design Practice 1

Year 2:
Critical and Contextual Studies 1
Game Design Practice 2
Collaborative Practice
Personal and Professional Practice 1

Year 3:
Critical and Contextual Studies 2
Games Design: Major Project
Personal and Professional Practice 2

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • York St John University

Study options

  • BA (Hons) • Full-time • 3 Years

Start dates

  • 21 September 2026

Apply by
14 January

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
620I
Institution code:
Y75
Campus name:
York St John University
Campus Code:
A
Points of Entry:
Year 1, 2, 3

York St John University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
620I
Institution code:
Y75
Campus name:
York St John University
Campus Code:
A

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

For Second Year entry, applicants must have completed the first year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 120 credits.
For Third Year entry, applicants must have completed the first and second year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 240 credits.

Applicants will need to submit a transcript of their completed study, and offers will be subject to a mapping exercise of modules to ensure an appropriate alignment of course content.
Please be aware that transfer applications are subject to availablity of space on the selected academic year of your chosen course.
For more information on the transfer process, please see https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/transferring-to-york-st-john-university/.

If transferring to the final year of a course containing a placement or study abroad year, you must have also completed a placement or study abroad year prior to starting the course.

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff
104 points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.

Additional entry requirements

Interview
If your application is successful, you will be invited to a portfolio day. On the day, you will show your work to our tutors and discuss your work and the ideas behind it.
Portfolio
If your application is successful, you will be invited to a portfolio day. On the day, you will show your work to our tutors and discuss your work and the ideas behind it.

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

For all UK applicants, we look at six factors:
• Where you live
• Your school or college
• Age
• Disability
• First in family to study in HE
• Time in care
These six factors create a point score, which is then taken into account, along with standard criteria. The points don’t influence whether an offer is made but can influence the type of offer made, resulting in reduced or unconditional offers.
Full information is on our website, including scheme adaptations for individual courses.

Learn more on the York St John University website

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).

It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.

Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Per year tuition fees

LocationFeeYear

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Fees for our foundation years may vary, please see the relevant foundation year at https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/foundation-years/ for current foundation year fees.

For courses with an optional Placement Year, during the Placement Year your fees will be reduced to 20% of the annual fee value.

Course fees can rise from year to year, Please see our terms and conditions for further information:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/media/content-assets/admissions/documents/Student-Terms-and-Conditions-26-27.pdf

Related courses

At York St John University

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