Postgraduate Studentships - Search for funding opportunities.
Postgraduate Studentships - Search for funding opportunities.
Study Details: 1 year 3 months full-time (45 weeks across a four-term model)
On MA Games Design, you’ll critically examine the concept of play in relation to your practice. You'll produce playable gaming experiences and use games design as a means to test critical ideas from broader culture.
Your practice will be underpinned by rigorous research, case-studies of existing games and critical reflection of your own practice through academic writing.
Core to the course design is creating an industry-ready portfolio of games that reflects your personal creative practice.
To diversify and expand the range of the course content, speakers from industry will be invited to provide guest lectures and discussions on a range of subjects in which they have personal and professional experience.
You’ll also have opportunities to take part in exhibitions and events. Past students have exhibited their work at Tate Modern and the V&A Museum, and have gone on to exhibit their games across the world.
MA Games Design is in Full Time mode which runs for 45 weeks over 15 months. You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study.
Offers will be made based on the following selection criteria, which applicants are expected to demonstrate:
Graduates of the course will be equipped to work in an increasingly technologically informed and interdisciplinary design world, with in-depth skills in the following areas: game design and production both 3D and 2D visual communication for games, narrative and sequential image making and time-based design as well as having a portfolio of personal work to enable you to seek work across the games sector.
A significant proportion of graduates of MA Games Design may also want to practice as commercial games designers.
Our alumni association offers graduates support and a number of benefits.
Find out how careers and employability helps our students and graduates start their careers.
In response to the Climate Emergency, UAL has embedded responsible practices within the curriculum. We shaped our courses around principles of social and racial justice, and environmental sustainability that ensure learning outcomes reflect the urgent need to equip you with the understanding, skills, and values for ethical practice and empower you to work towards an equitable future.
Each course is divided into units, which are credit-rated. The minimum unit size is 20 credits. The MA course structure involves five units, totalling 180 credits.You will respond to briefs that are set to test your learning in the units described below:
You’ll prototype a range of playable games in different mediums and genres, focusing on testing concepts and ideas. You’ll also analyse and compare game mechanics and systems from existing games to gain an understanding of specific games design elements.
You’ll utilise both primary and secondary research to gain a critical understanding of game design theory on a subject of your choice, and you’ll consider both the existing academic writing on game design theory and utilising theory from other subject areas.
Working with other students from across the College or external partners, you’ll explore the influence of different subject knowledge areas and technical skills on your game design practice, resulting in a playable outcome.
You’ll explore how the mechanics of play can be used in your own practice to express meaning and convey a message by developing a playable game experience. You’ll examine games as a form of literature, which can be deconstructed and critically analysed.
Synthesising the knowledge, skills and experience from the previous units of the course, you’ll produce a self-directed project and associated thesis.
If you are unable to continue or decide to exit the course, there are two possible exit awards. A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.
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