Games Art BA Honours
London, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
14 Aug 2026*
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 17,600 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* International Deadline | Home Deadline – 3 September
** international | UK: £9,535
Key Summary
Book to attend an Online Open Day in October to find out more - Undergraduate event on March 21 and Master's event on March 4.
The Games Art BA will provide you with the creative skills and technical knowledge needed to design visual assets in-game environments; you’ll design the characters, objects and backgrounds that make games come to life. This course will prepare you to become a confident games artist who can create visuals and user experience design applicable across a wide range of industries and emerging technologies.
You’ll seek new approaches and audiences that have a global reach, consider the representation of characters in games and reflect on equality, diversity and inclusion in games. The course will explore established and emerging industries that use games for entertainment and social enhancement (e.g. educational games).
To reflect the professional game development workplace, where skilled professionals from different disciplines work together, the Games Art BA has embedded collaboration with students on other courses such as Graphic Design BA, Illustration BA, Animation BA, and most importantly our sister course the Computer Games Development BSc. Through this inter-disciplinary collaboration, you’ll gain valuable experience of hands-on working with colleagues in different fields on the games pipeline.
Located at the University’s Harrow Campus, you’ll work in specialised facilities including our new Games Hub and Emerging Media Space, as well as in our design studios linked with illustration, design, film, animation and computer games development. Through projects, lectures and workshops you’ll be introduced to the framework, routes and roles of a games artist.
The course is designed to foster your confidence and independent thinking by identifying and developing your personal and professional game art and game design paths. You’ll be prepared for a career in game characters and assets design, creation and animation; game narrative design; game world layout; or game user experience design and implementation.
Top Reasons to Study With Us
- Work experience before graduation – As part of the course, you'll have the option to work for a year in the industry, gaining valuable work experience and boosting your employability
- Outstanding facilities – You'll benefit from a brand-new Games Hub and Emerging Media Space, which will include our upgraded Motion Capture lab
- Study in London – the heart of the UK Game development industry. With the majority of games developers and publishers in the UK based here, you’ll have many opportunities to hear from industry guest speakers, and access internships, professional experience and graduate employment
- Collaborate with students from the Computer Games Development BSc – You’ll take part in industry projects and competitions such as game jams. You’ll engage with learning that is directly industry-related and will collaborate with game designers working on projects that question and challenge the current cultures and contexts for games
Programme Recognition
The course has membership of The Independent Game Developers Association Limited (“TIGA”) which gives students on this course the opportunity to enter relevant categories of the TIGA Games Industry Awards and TIGA UK Games Education Awards categories, as well as the opportunity to access membership only event(s).
Why Study This Course
Study in London
Our central London location means that you'll be perfectly placed to take advantage of career and collaboration opportunities in the city.
Transferable Skills
This course will equip you with a range of highly marketable skills to prepare you for a successful career in this industry.
Stand Out from the Crowd
Qualified people in the games industry are currently in high demand in the job market.
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students, which cover all or part of your tuition fees.
As well as tuition fee loans, there is a range of funding available to help you fund your studies.
The following subjects are indicative of what you will study in this course.
Year 1
Subjects of study include:
- Digital Arts 1
- Game Enterprise
- Introduction to 2-Dimensional Art
- Introduction to Games Art
- Introduction to UX / UI in Games Art
- Drawing Explorations
- Visual Effects
Credit Level 4
Year 2
Subjects of study include:
- Character Design
- Designing for Games
- Digital Arts 2
- Games Studio
- Sequence and Message
- Game Engine Architecture
- Reality VR, AR, and MR
- UX/ UI Design
Credit Level 5
Placement Year
You’ll also have the opportunity to take an additional year between Levels 5 and 6 (second and third year) to spend on professional experience or international experience. The international experience (study abroad) year offers one or two semesters of studying at one of our overseas partner Universities. This is both an exciting experience and also one that helps you to develop the global outlook of employers. The professional experience (placement) year is planned in partnership with the Westminster Work-Based Learning team.
Year 3
Subjects of study include:
- Contextual Research Project
- Final Project - Games Art
- Industry 3: Professional Practice and Public Engagement
- Audio Storytelling
- Critical Design
- Digital Arts 3
- User Experience (UX) and App Design
Credit Level 6
Industry engagement
Industry speakers and guest lecturers give students insight into working in the industry, provide mentorship as part of their group project work and offer specialised feedback on their portfolios and CVs.
One-to-one advice
Our Careers and Employability Service can provide you with industry mentoring, one-to-one guidance, mock interviews, employer presentations and workshops.
Employers around the world
The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
Industry links and work experience
Based just a 20-minute tube ride from the heart of the city, you'll have easy access to the wealth of media, creative and gaming industries in London.
You can experience cultural life in London, while also gaining work experience and building your professional networks, which is crucial for success in the industry.
We sustain a range of formal and informal partnerships with industry through visiting professionals, work experience, staff exchange and consultation. Industry engagement is an essential part of the course as students will hear from industry speakers as part of their course.
Job roles
Upon completing a degree course, our graduates will be prepared to work as a creative in game development or any other real-time visualisation industry. Having collaborated with students from a variety of disciplines with games during your studies means you’ll be equipped with a versatile knowledge and skillset. Graduates will be able to work as a:
- Generalist games artist
- Environment/prop artist
- Character artist
- Concept artist
- Technical artist
- VFX/lighting artist
- UX/UI artist
- Mobile app developer
Graduate employers
Students studying Games Art BA will enrol from September 2024. Our graduates from similar courses such as the Computer Games Development BSc have found positions as game developers in companies including Microsoft, Sega, KING, Game Realms, Experia, NaturalMotion and Feral Interactive. Graduates from the Animation BA have found positions at Disney, Pixar (character animation for Encanto), Cartoon Network, Weta Digital, DNeg, Lupus Films, The Mill and MPC.
Westminster Employability Award
Employers value graduates who have invested in their personal and professional development – and our Westminster Employability Award gives you the chance to formally document and demonstrate these activities and achievements.
The award is flexible and can be completed in your own time, allowing you to choose from a set of extracurricular activities.
Activities might include gaining experience through a part-time job or placement, signing up for a University-run scheme – such as mentoring or teaching in a school – or completing online exercises.
Course Location
Harrow is our creative and cultural hub, home to most of our arts, media and digital courses. It houses state-of-the-art facilities for every discipline, including project and gallery spaces, film studios, creative labs, collaborative learning spaces, and the Westminster Enterprise Network.
Harrow Campus is based in north-west London, just 20 minutes from the city centre by train.