MA Game Art

About this course

It'll prepare you to start your career as a games artist. You'll create environments, assets, lighting or game FX for mobile or console/PC development, as well as working on collaborative projects.

The UK’s Games industry is world leading and strategically important to the future of the Creative Industries in the UK. Games are everywhere and have grown from being mainly based on PCs and consoles to be common on phones, tablets and the web. They cut across all groups of players and by some measures the industry is bigger than the film industry.

MA Game Art - Programme Overview

Our exciting MA Game Art has been created as a response to industry demand for new creative talent and is focused on developing and nurturing your skills and creativity in preparation for a career as a game artist.

This year-long programme will allow you to develop your skills whilst working on collaborative projects just as you will in the industry. With our excellent industry links and guidance from our partners, you will benefit from learning the principles behind the creation of environments, interfaces and visual effects to a professional standard as well as the practical vocational experience needed to secure a job. During your studies you’ll get to use industry standard software including Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Mudbox and Unreal Engine, ensuring you have the skillset to hit the ground running.

A key feature of this programme is the study of the games industry itself, providing you with the knowledge and understanding of current and emerging business models. This will allow to progress either an artist in an established studio or in a team as independent developers creating your own game.

You'll graduate with a degree from the University of Kent. Known as the UK’s European University, the University of Kent is ranked 23rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017, it is also ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity out of 122 multi-faculty universities in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and has the fifth equal highest score for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2015, out of 115 multi-faculty institutions. It has also been voted one of the top five universities for teaching in the UK, according to the Times Higher Education (THE).

Graduates of our 12 week Game Art course have gone onto work at companies including:
Rockstar
Travellers Tales
Ubisoft
Lionhead Studios
Codemasters
Rebellion
Bossa Studios
Playground Games
Splash Damage
Frontier
Goodboydigital

Graduates of this programme will likely progress to roles including:
Game environment artists
Game effects artists
Indie game developers
Level designers
Games artist

Why Escape Studios, Pearson College London?

● Learn from award-winning industry professionals and experienced industry-focused tutors; our tutors have not only been behind some of the best new talent in their field, but have an impressive array of achievements from their time practicing what they preach
● All graduates produce an industry-standard showreel as an output of their course
● State-of-the-art, studio-style facilities in a great London location
● Ongoing alumni support following graduation - our 2000+ alumni are spread far and wide enjoying careers at the best studios in the business
● Free online primer course - bring your foundation skills up to speed before you start
● Access Escape's Virtual Learning Environment for free extra resources to support your training - throughout your course and for 12 months after you graduate
● Get help and advice on your CV, showreel and job applications
● Our small class sizes ensure that we deliver a personalised, student-led approach to learning
● Sign up for free Autodesk software when you join our Autodesk Education Community
● Enjoy flexible learning with 18 weeks of classroom study followed by 12 weeks of remotely directed learning and a 12 week remotely directed final project

Industry partners

Industry Engagement

We believe that when companies and higher education work in tandem they become a powerful engine for innovation and economic growth.

Our MA Game Art has been created as a response to industry demand for new creative talent and is focused on developing and nurturing your skills and creativity in preparation for a career as a game artist. This year-long programme will allow you to develop your skills whilst working on collaborative projects just as you will in the industry.

With our excellent industry links and guidance from our partners, you will benefit from learning the principles behind the creation of environments, interfaces and visual effects to a professional standard as well as the practical vocational experience needed to secure a job.

We work with industry to push the frontiers of knowledge and every aspect of your study will be shaped by the employers we work with. As a business ourselves, we have close relationships with an impressive array of organisations and you’ll be able to learn directly from them. So you’ll not only discover academic knowledge, but how to put that knowledge into practice, in the real world.

Fees and funding

Price: £17,500

Includes:

Free online primer course before you start studying - so your foundation skills are up to speed
Access to Escape's VLE system where you will be able to access additional resources to supplement your training throughout the duration of the course and 12 months of free access after completing the course.
Escapee Aftercare and career support
Help and advice on your CV, showreel and job applications
Free Autodesk Software upon registration to the Autodesk Education Community - full details included with course welcome information.
18 weeks of classroom study followed by 12 weeks of remotely directed learning and a 15 week remotely directed final project

Our postgraduate fees are payable at the beginning of each academic year, or at each stage of your programme.

Please note, we review our fees every year.

Onsite Money Advice

Our Student Finance Manager is on hand to answer all your questions and help you with money matters, to make sure your time as a student here goes as smoothly as possible.

Funding for UK students

We currently hold designation for entry onto our postgraduate programmes starting in September 2017/18. Eligible students are entitled to apply for Government student loans funding of up to £10,000 towards the cost of study. Applicants must be resident in England or an EU country outside of the UK. Please visit http://www.hefce.ac.uk/reg/desig/student/ for more information.

For more information on student loans funding for postgraduate courses please see: https://www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan/overview

Payment Plans

We also offer simple, affordable payment plans to help you spread the cost of your tuition fees. To find out more please get in touch with our Admissions Team.

Entry Requirements

An undergraduate honours degree in Art and Design, Architecture, Computing or Engineering-related subjects.

Applicants without a degree who have significant industry experience in Game Art or related creative subjects will be considered.

Suitable applicants will be asked to submit a creative portfolio and attend an interview.

English Language requirements

IELTS 6.0 or equivalent

How to Apply

To apply for a postgraduate masters programme at Escape Studios, Pearson College London, you’ll need to complete an application form and send the completed version to our Admissions Team.

While there’s no formal application deadline for the majority of our programmes it’s best to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Shortly after you apply, you’ll receive an email with details about your creative portfolio and interview.