BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year

The market value of the UK games industry was approximately £5.35 billion in 2019, and 86% of people aged 16-69 say they have played computer or mobile games in the last year (1). If you seek a career in a strong sector of the economy, then a career in games is an excellent choice. From PC, console, and mobile games to serious games for education and training, and the emerging virtual reality games market, software developers seek highly qualified games specialists.

The first year of our 4-year BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year degree offers an introduction to the study of games. The emphasis is on creativity, with specialisation on the route that you want to follow. Key topics include simple games production using industry recognised platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will work to help you develop your skills, preparing you for your honours degree. Our teaching aims to develop you to be able to work in the games industry.

The foundation year constitutes a “bridge” between further education and higher education. There is a greater emphasis on practical work, with dedicated support to help you to prepare for the more demanding academic tasks on the degree programme proper.

Once you've successfully completed the foundation year, you'll automatically progress onto the main degree programme where your studies will focus specifically on games art (though you'll have the chance to transfer streams to BSc (Hons) Games Design or BSc (Hons) Games Programming on completion if you prefer (2)). Throughout the degree, we'll take an intensely practical approach designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry. We'll work together to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in traditional and handheld game art.

We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from the industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills, ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.