Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £10,940 for the course
International/EU: £18,600 for the course -
How long will I study?
1 Year
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Where will I study?
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When do I start?
September 2026
Course summary
- Study on a course that is designed and focused on gaining employment within the creative industries.
- Work in a professional studio-based environment with access to the latest industry standard software and hardware.
- Specialise in your preferred discipline to create original and engaging game content.
- Produce a calling card professional portfolio to showcase your skills to potential employers.
- Contribute effectively to teams that blend diverse expertise to enable effective problem-solving.
You will explore advanced game development methods, inspired by emerging new research and current industry practice. Applying this knowledge to develop your own innovative and distinctive game-based portfolio, you’ll be well-equipped for a constantly evolving creative industry landscape and its exciting job opportunities
Come to an open day
Find out more at our postgraduate open days. Book now for your place.
How you learn
The entire course is geared towards producing employable professionals able to work in the games industry. The curriculum has been designed to enable you to acquire and improve your knowledge and understanding of the subject and develop skills and attributes that will enhance your academic achievement, improve your success in the world of work and underpin your future career.
We promote a learning environment that is both supportive and inclusive, whilst also actively embracing diversity.
During the course, you will produce a portfolio of work to a high professional standard culminating in the production of a showreel that can be used to showcase your specific skillset and expertise to future employers upon graduating.
Tutors will encourage a range of approaches to learning and provide academic support to enable you to actively engage with, develop and demonstrate the necessary skills, qualities, and subject expertise required.
You will learn through:
- Workshops
- Technical demonstrations
- Crit sessions
- One-to-one supervision with discipline-specific members of staff
- Guest lectures
- The chance to work on commercial opportunities with real-world clients
- External visits and field trips
Key themes
Core modules cover game creation techniques and associated skills in your chosen discipline. These modules will introduce you to key skills such as creative ideation, 2D concepting, 3D design, game prototyping, lighting and post-production providing you with a solid foundation to fulfil your potential.
Course support
You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate level employment through a number of key areas. These include:
- access to specialist support services to help with your personal, academic and career development.
- access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones, webinars, and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments.
- industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities.
Continuing Professional Development is encouraged both through assessment and via an academic advising system that supports you in your ongoing development.
Applied learning
Work placements
By participating in work experience opportunities, you will not only expand your skill set but also enhance your confidence, resilience, and ability to navigate professional interactions.
Live projects
You will have the chance to work on Live Projects, collaborating with external partners to tackle real-world challenges, which will provide you with insights into the complexities of professional work. These experiences are carefully integrated into your coursework to facilitate the development of crucial knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours.
Your course has been designed to embrace real-world challenges and provide you with practical skills and knowledge. We do this by developing your expertise in collaboration with industry, commercial and creative practitioners, clients, and organisations. We aim to provide a diverse range of work experience interactions embedded throughout your time studying with us.
Field trips
You will have the opportunity to embark on field trips to professional settings, cultural institutions, and organisations that expose you to different working environments and expand your cultural understanding. You will have opportunities to hear from a diverse range of professional guest speakers who will share their experiences, insights, and knowledge, offering you unique perspectives on industries and career paths.
Networking opportunities
The course embeds opportunities for students to submit their work to internationally recognised awards events, including the TIGA Games Education Awards. Our membership to Game Republic also presents a range of networking, guest speakers, and industry exposure opportunities for our students.
Competitions
We actively encourage engagement in national and international ‘Game Jams’ that have the potential to make a significant impact on your career advancement and exposure. Participating in such competitions allows you to showcase your skills, gain recognition, and create valuable opportunities for yourself.
Course leaders and tutors
Reuben Fleming
Senior LecturerReuben has worked in the games industry and as a freelance animator working on a variety of projects, including TV, advertising, visualization, and digital online me … Read more
Modules
Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.
Final year
Compulsory modules
This module will enable you to realise your creative aspirations through the development, production, and exhibition of one or more projects to a high professional standard. You will be expected to work, individually and or collaboratively, with a high degree of autonomy and self-motivation, identifying and extending the skills, aptitudes, and knowledge you require to realise your production aims. You will bring together your knowledge and understanding of cultural, theoretical, and professional contexts and demonstrate your ability for critical analysis and judgment at master's level.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Research
- Concept creation and documentation
- Ideation
- Project planning
- Producing multiple iterations of work
- Presenting work
- Reflecting on feedback
The module will provide you with the opportunity to undertake a piece of group work relating to your specialist area and to report your findings in an appropriate, applied and industry-based format.
- Build an awareness of the roles and relationships between members of multidisciplinary project teams engaged in the development of real-time entertainment software
- Evidence the ability to successfully manage several aspects of the software life cycle
- Demonstrate your organisational, project management and time management skills
- Establish good business practices and budgeting
- Pitching of your projects
This module will provide you with the opportunity to engage in an extensive practice-based project brief, generated by self-directed research. You will develop personal project management and professional presentations skills and identify a trajectory for your work based on your specialist skill set, knowledge or professional practice.
You will study topics such as:
- Project management
- Self-directed research
- You will work with your tutor to set and measure your personal learning goals
- Into your specialist skill set and specialism
- How to present your work visually, clearly and professionally
This module will introduce you to the wider cultural and commercial aspects of games and how these can be developed through core design and creative processes. You will develop an understanding of how to apply core elements of 2D art 3D modelling, sculpting aspects of game design and methods of ideation.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Industry methods and workflows relating to the design and production
- Introduction of relevant software packages and tools
- Strategies for the effective management and planning
- Opportunities to present and critically evaluate your work
This module will introduce you to the benefits of research, in the context of creative media, to develop your intellectual, reflective, and creative abilities, and to give your practical work depth and integrity. You will be introduced to research methods and from this develop a research and development-led proposal for a practice-based project.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Developing an understanding of research methodologies in the context of creative media and helping you to develop knowledge of a range of key perspectives on practice that have been developed through the history of entertainment design
- The process of research and development of creative media proposals, considering materials that are exemplars in game design, animation, or digital media production
Future careers
This course prepares you for industry roles such as:
- 3D/Character/Environment/Prop artist
- Game Designer
- 2D Concept Artist
- Character animator
- Technical artist/animator
- UX/UI Designer
Equipment and facilities
On the MA Games course, you will have access to a wide variety of facilities across the university campuses – including a 24-hour learning centre, Students’ Union, cafes and eateries, lecture theatres, exhibition spaces and more. You will work in a professional studio-based environment with access to the latest industry standard software and hardware including:
- High resolution 3D scanners
- A cutting-edge immersive suite
- A motion capture studio
- Wacom tablets
- Access to rapid prototyping 3D printers (full colour filament and resin)
- 360 cameras with physical HDRI calibration tools
- VR workspaces with inside-out tracking
- The Autodesk Media and Entertainment Collection (Including Maya and 3ds Max)
- The Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (Including the Substance 3D collection)
- Unreal Engine
- Zbrush
- Marvelous Designer
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEntry requirements
All students
Typically you need a second class honours degree or above in a • traditional art or design • digital art • digital media • games design • animation or a related subject.
We expect you to be artistic and motivated to produce high quality game art. You must also demonstrate that you have an appropriate level of skill in art or design by presenting previous work, showreels or portfolios.
Overseas applicants from countries whose first language is not English must normally produce evidence of competence in English. An IELTS score of 6.0 with 5.5 in all skills (or equivalent) is the standard for non-native speakers of English.
If you do not have such academic qualifications we may consider your application individually, based on your personal, professional and work experience, and other formal qualifications. You may also be able to claim credit points which can reduce the amount of time it takes to complete your qualification at Sheffield Hallam. Find out more
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £10,940 for the course.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £18,600 for the course.
Scholarships and financial support
Find information on scholarships, bursaries and postgraduate student loans.
International scholarships up to £3000 ›
Alumni scholarships up to £2000 ›
Postgraduate loans for UK students ›
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Creative Industries Institute (PDF, 745.6KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
