Computer Games Programming with Foundation Year

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change.

This highly-regarded computer games programming degree gives you the theoretical grounding and the practical skills you'll need to develop computer games – either for entertainment or for serious applications.

KEY FEATURES OF THE COURSE


- REQUIRED SKILLS: If you’re serious about making it in the computer games industry, you’ll need a sound understanding of computer science as well as practical games development skills – this degree gives you both.


- OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPERIENCES: You will take part in team projects and have the chance to develop a game in your final year which will be exhibited at our annual Games Expo.


- PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: If you choose to take the optional year in industry, your chances of success will be even greater. Past students have worked for companies like Kuju, Frontier Developments and Sumo Digital.


- NO EXAMS!: We’ll assess you with other methods throughout your degree.


HOW YOU WILL LEARN
You’ll learn in our industry labs that hosts a range of software including Unreal Engine, Unity Lab and Steam. Our XR (cross-reality) lab is a dedicated space for mixed-course games development and visualisation projects.

Your lectures will be intentionally interactive, incorporating questions and answers and simulation. Seminars and tutorials will give you the opportunity to develop understanding and its application in both familiar and unfamiliar circumstances. Practical sessions will give you the chance to develop your skills in both equipment use and the evaluation of experimental procedures and data. Team working will also allow you to develop interpersonal and communication skills – an important skill for the workplace. 

YOUR CAREER
This computer games programming degree will equip you for roles such as Gameplay Programmer, Tools Developer and AI Programmer. However, its solid grounding in computing and software engineering opens doors to other software development roles too.

STUDY OPTIONS
This course is also available without a Foundation Year option.

Based solely on more than 24,000 student reviews, the University of Derby was named Uni Compare's University of the Year 2027, and voted 1st in the UK for employability and 2nd in the UK for course quality.

Not only that, but 97% of students would recommend the University of Derby*, which we can offer you industry-relevant teaching, state-of-the-art study spaces, multi-award-winning accommodation, and a welcoming, inclusive community.

*Uni Compare 2027