Computer Games Programming (with Foundation Year)
Entry requirements
A level
Any subject considered.
A pass in any Access Course would be deemed suitable for entry onto this programme.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Any subject considered.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
UCAS points from a minimum of 2 A-Levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications.
About this course
**Reasons to choose Kingston**
- Kingston is an educational partner of Sony through PlayStation First.
- In our inKUbator, you can learn directly from the industry. Speakers have been from Sony, Splash Damage, Aardvark Swift, Interactive Selection, CryTek and Unity.
- Our games lab includes Sony PlayStation 4 development consoles; PCs with GTX1080 graphics cards and supports software including; Microsoft Visual Studio 2017, Unity 3D Pro 2018, Unreal 4.20 and Maya.
- Our commitment to high quality teaching has been recognised with a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold rating. The University has received an overall rating of Gold, as well as securing a Gold award in the framework's two new student experience and student outcomes categories.
**About this course**
Considering the many opportunities offered by the growing games industry? This course could be for you. You’ll graduate with an impressive portfolio to showcase your work.
You’ll learn C++ and C# programming languages, use game engines, such as Unity and Unreal, and develop games for PC, mobile, tablet and the Sony PlayStation 4. Studies include the use of artificial intelligence in real-time strategy, race and first person games as well as educational games. You’ll also learn the computer science that underpins programming, such as requirements analysis and design and network communications.
You’ll be able to participate in a 24-hour games creating team, Game Jams, and attend optional trips (such as the PC Gamer Weekender).
**Future Skills**
Embedded within every course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate, providing you with the skills most valued by employers such as problem-solving, digital competency, and adaptability.
As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.
At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it.
**Career opportunities**
You’ll be prepared for a wide range of computing careers. Graduates have become games programmers, virtual reality games developers, technical programmers and software engineers.
Modules
Example modules:
– Multiplayer and Game Console Programming
– 3D Graphics Programming and Artificial Intelligence
– Professional Game Development Environments
To view the full list of modules, please visit the University course webpage.
Assessment methods
We use a studio based environment for our teaching comprising student led taught elements with practical workshops, tutorials and seminars and most teaching sessions take place in our dedicated games lab. Each module has four hours of directed learning per week. The lectures are supported by in-class activities and interactive taught elements to underpin our active learning approach to game development. Workshop sessions are based on and are reinforced by a problem-centred approach to learning. Students work both individually and in groups to develop their skills, facilitated by the lecturer. Group work is undertaken using an Agile approach as in the games industry. Teaching resources, such as video materials, presentations, links to ebooks and worksheets are provided on the University's web-based virtual learning environment.
Assessment includes coursework and practical/written exams with a focus on learning through making and the development of artefacts. In-class assessed workshop activities support the problem-centric approach of learning and are used to provide individual, timely oral and written feedback and which helps prepare students for the assignments. Each assessment contributes to the students' portfolio which leads to a showcase of work to show potential employers in the both the games and computing industries.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Kingston University
Department of Computer Science
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer games and animation
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a relatively new subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. Gaming is a growing industry, and if it continues to grow we should see the rather high unemployment rate coming down over the next few years. Much the most common jobs for graduates who do get work after six months are in programming roles - but as things stand, be aware that jobs in the field are very competitive and personal contacts - either through family, friends or via specialist employment agencies - are a crucial way into the industry so be prepared to talk as well as code!
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer games and animation
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£29k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here