Introduction
The School of Digital Art's (SODA) Games Art course aims to empower you with the knowledge and skills to create immersive art for games and the interactive experiences of the future. It will explore games art in a range of professional contexts, through interdisciplinary investigations in imaginative concept art, dynamic character design, and immersive world-building. It will synthesise industry-standard tools, techniques and processes with emerging technologies, disruptive research and design thinking.
As a Games Art student, you will be part of the School of Digital Arts and will be based within a brand new purpose-built building, equipped with the latest emerging technologies to enable you to develop industry-standard skills for creating and researching content across the latest digital platforms.
SODA is well-positioned within Manchester for building a network and developing your research and practice in the media, games and digital tech industries. It is also home to staff from a wide range of disciplines who are research active and experts in their chosen areas. They enjoy well-established links to the wider creative media, arts and digital tech industries in Manchester, nationally and internationally.
The exciting interdisciplinary nature of the course may involve collaborative opportunities with students on other SODA courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, from faculties across the university, such as Arts and Humanities and the Department of Computing and Maths in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Supported by guest lectures from international artists, industry practitioners and academics, you will position your work within wider professional and global contexts to develop innovative, creative practice and research projects.
Features and Benefits
Extend your games art practice by developing specialist expertise in character and creature art, environment and prop design, effects and simulation.
Apply next-gen techniques and workflows taught by industry-experienced professionals with valuable knowledge and insight.
Engage with cutting edge research and knowledge exchange in our innovative CoLab programme.
Showcase your talent by expanding your portfolio through exciting projects and international opportunities.
Course Information
On this course you will work closely with a specialist team of games artists, creative practitioners and researchers, you will engage with cutting edge research and technical practice within the University research community through innovative and distinct learning activities within SODA and beyond.
Core units
Interdisciplinary practice 1 (games art)
Interdisciplinary practice 2 (games art)
Independent project
Optional units
Storytelling 1
Storytelling 2
Critical study
Digital art activism
Perspectives
Professional practice
Reimagining technologies
Skills in XR storytelling
Spaces in XR storytelling
Experience in XR storytelling
Sustainability and digital arts
Art & design: culture & context
Sociotechnical design
Society 2
Society 1
Body 1
Body 2
Machine 1
Machine 2
Study and assessment breakdown
10 credits equate to 100 hours of study, which is a combination of lectures, seminars and practical sessions, and independent study. A Masters qualification typically comprises 180 credits, a PGDip 120 credits, a PGCert 60 credits and an MFA 300 credits. The exact composition of your study time and assessments for the course will vary according to your option choices and style of learning, but it could be:
Study
Full-time: 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 80% independent study
Part-time: 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 0% placement; 80% independent study
Assessment
Full-time: 100% coursework; 0% practical; 0% examination
Part-time: 100% coursework; 0% practical; 0% examination
Entry requirements
You will normally have at least a 2:1 undergraduate UK honours degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. creative/digital arts, management, education, science etc). A 2.2 will also be considered. Equivalent EU/international qualifications are also accepted. Applicants who do not meet these criteria will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Other professional qualifications will be considered on merit and/or with relevant professional experience.
Overseas applicants will require IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 with no less than 5.5 in any category, or an equivalent accepted English language qualification.
Fees and Funding
UK and Channel Island Students
Full-time fee: £9,250 per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £1542 per 30 credits studied per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
EU and non-EU Students
Full-time fee: £17,500 per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £2917 per 30 credits studied per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Additional Information
A Masters qualification typically comprises 180 credits, a PGDip 120 credits, a PGCert 60 credits, and an MFA 300 credits. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of study provided the course is completed in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Specialist costs
All students have access to computing equipment and subject-specific equipment and resources. Software relevant to their study is available on campus and is regularly updated. In addition to desktop machines, students are also able to access the university laptop loan service. Students working off-campus may wish to purchase their own equipment, computer and licensed software.
All students are strongly advised to purchase a portable hard drive to continually back-up their work (£50-100) or invest in a cloud storage service. In cases where students need to print their work, additional costs may be incurred which will be determined by the nature of the work.
There are opportunities throughout the course to attend local, national and international study trips and festivals which will incur costs. These costs are proportional to the distance and length of the activity. Students are encouraged to market their work in forums relevant to their study which may mean paying for materials or a digital service provider.
All essential reading material and learning resources related to their course of study are available in the library, however, students may wish to purchase their own books, subscribe to relevant online journals or pay for access to online resources or memberships.
Career Prospects
Guided by industry experienced professionals, graduates of Games Art will develop a specialised portfolio that demonstrates the knowledge, skills and creative expertise required to become highly valued employees within the growing games and related industries, both here in the UK and abroad.
