Games Art Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Why choose this course?

* You’ll combine art, design, sound, animation and storytelling to design worlds that people can explore and play. 

* Learn from expert tutors with a range of specialisms, such as game audio, music visualisation and 3D-modelling. Our tutors are passionate about games art and immersing you in industry-led teaching. 

* Based on our beautiful campus in Guildford, you’ll have the heart of the UK video games industry on your doorstep, including EA, Supermassive and Larian. 

* You'll have access to world-class facilities, including a brand-new Games Lab with RTX5090 graphics, and an active games development community.  

* You’ll have the opportunity to take one of our award-winning Professional Training placements that will prepare you for roles in a broad range of games design jobs and games-facing industries. 

We’re preparing you for the future by integrating AI into every course, building digital skills, confidence and creativity that employers value in tomorrow’s workplace.

What you will study

This programme is for you if you’re passionate about the artistic, visual, and creative dimensions of game development. While less focused on coding and systems design than our Games Design BSc (Hons), the Games Art BA (Hons) equips you with the creative and technical skills to work with industry-standard pipelines, producing portfolio-ready assets and immersive interactive worlds. 

The Games Art BA offers opportunities to specialise in areas such as: 

* 3D-modelling and animation 

* Character design 

* Level and environment design 

* Game prototyping and visual scripting 

* Sound design for games 

* Cinematics and performance capture 

* Narrative design and world-building 

* Writing for games 

* Visual effects and shaders. 

Practice, critical reflection, and your individuality are at the heart of the course. You’ll create, refine, and critically analyse work while collaborating with students from other programmes, building the creative and teamwork skills required in multidisciplinary games studios. 

Industry links and partnerships 

Guildford is one of the main games industry clusters in the UK and has had a vibrant history of games development going back to the 1980s. The University of Surrey hosted the Games and Innovation Nexus (GAIN) project, which sparked many industry collaborations with local games companies.  

The University also hosts the Games Innovation Zone, a space which offers commercial games testing facilities and a regular programme of industry guest talks, workshops and game jams, giving you opportunities to hone your game development skills and network with industry. Our students have taken part in testing for games like Master of Albion by 22cans, and can use the facilities to test their own video game prototypes. 

The games course regularly organises trips to events like EGX/MCM Comic Con London, Develop: Brighton and AdventureX. With opportunities for students to showcase the games they’ve designed, plus network with industry professionals at Guildford Games Festival on our University of Surrey stand, there is really no better place to study games.