BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year
Course Overview
The UK market for video games was £7.05 billion in 2022 (1). If you seek a career in a strong economic sector, then a career in games is an excellent choice. From PC, console and mobile games to serious games for education and training and the emerging virtual reality games market, software developers seek highly qualified games specialists.The first year of our 4-year BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year degree offers an introduction to the study of games. The emphasis is on creativity, with specialisation in the route you want to follow. Key topics include simple games production using industry-recognised platforms and technologies. Our dedicated games team will work to help you build your skills, preparing you for your honours degree. Our teaching aims to develop you to be able to work in the games industry.
The foundation year constitutes a "bridge" between further and higher education. There is a greater emphasis on practical work, with dedicated support to help you prepare for the more demanding academic tasks at the honours degree level.
Once you've successfully completed the foundation year, you'll automatically progress onto the main degree programme, where your studies will focus specifically on games art (though you'll have the chance to transfer streams to BSc (Hons) Games Design or BSc (Hons) Games Programming on completion if you prefer (2)). Throughout the degree, we'll take an intensely practical approach designed to mimic the working environment found in the games industry. We'll work together to develop your understanding of the creative and technical possibilities of games art. Our studio-based course will guide you from the basics of digital art, through character and environment modelling, texturing, lighting, level design and concept art, to the latest technologies in game art.
We share your passion for games and offer a supportive atmosphere where you can show your work and respond to critiques, which may come from staff, your peers or guest experts from the industry. These sessions help you learn to develop your ideas and improve your presentation and communication skills, ready for a career in this ever-growing industry.
(1) Ukie - https://ukie.org.uk/news/2023/04/uk-consumer-games-market-valuation-2022 - accessed on 23 April 2024
(2) Subject to approval by the relevant programme leader
Highlights
- Our Computer Science courses are 5th in the UK for student satisfaction, according to The Complete University Guide 2024.
- Our Computer Science courses are also placed in the top 5 in the UK for teaching quality by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
- Interdisciplinary projects with students from our other games courses give you opportunities to learn the vocabulary, production pipelines and work cultures of these disciplines, along with valuable team working skills.
- We frequently collaborate with games development companies on games usability testing and offer you the opportunity to test upcoming games before they go to market. Previous students have been credited for their work in some of these testing sessions.
- Our dedicated games labs feature high-specification hardware and industry-standard software, including Wacom Cintiq tablet displays, Pixologic Zbrush, Autodesk Maya, and Adobe Substance Painter and Designer.
- Our game jams are great opportunities to build your social network and practice your team working, problem-solving and project management skills.
- In our portfolio modules, you can focus your project on the area of games art you wish to specialise in, giving you the chance to create a large portfolio piece for your showreel.
- During your final year, you’ll work with students from our other games courses to produce a complete game demo. The finished demo will be available for industry employers to view at the end-of-year degree show.
Key Features
- Games graduates from the University of Bolton have been enjoying careers in the games industry for longer than most. We were one of the first UK universities to offer games courses.
- Our dedicated games tutors have a vast range of industry experience and an extensive network of contacts in the games industry. Members of our team have worked in AAA studios, run their own studios and are actively conducting research.
- Team working and collaboration are essential for games industry success, so we encourage you to work on games projects in interdisciplinary teams with students from our other games courses.
- Industry experts from the leading games studios in the UK and Bolton graduates now successful in the sector are regularly invited to give guest lectures on aspects of games development.
- We’ll help and support you to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates your skills in preparation to impress potential employers.
- By choosing to study with us, you'll have the chance to enjoy Bolton's many shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities. Manchester, one of the UK's most multicultural and lively cities, is less than 20 minutes away by train. Not forgetting, the North West of England is renowned for its beautiful countryside, coastline and heritage. This makes Bolton an ideal base from which to explore some of the best cultural and outdoor activities the UK offers.
Entry Requirements
- 48 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
- Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
- You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
- We’re happy to consider your application if you have non-traditional entry qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience or a suitable portfolio of work that is deemed a reasonable substitute for the above qualifications.
- You’ll be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- If English is your second language and you feel you need extra help with your language skills, you have the option of studying specialist language modules during the foundation year. Please contact the English for Academic Purposes team for further information and advice.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
As a BA (Hons) Games Art with foundation year graduate, you’ll be able to demonstrate skills in creativity, communication, teamwork, problem-solving and project management. You’ll also be able to work independently, develop concepts and respond to briefs.
The key to gaining employment in the games industry is the quality of your portfolio, and developing this, is an integral part of the course. Our expert staff will support you to develop a personal portfolio of knowledge and experiences that reflect industry needs.
What can I do with this qualification?
Alternative career options
Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers, bearing in mind that relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:
- Film
- Advertising
- Marketing
- Web design
- Broadcast media
- Teaching
- Digital media
Fees & Funding
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
If you wish to apply to multiple institutions or courses for September, then apply through UCAS
You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £27. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £22.50 is applicable.
The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.
You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:
Institution Code Name: BOLTN
Institution Code Number: B44
Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com
International Applicants
The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world. We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.
This course is not currently accepting international online applications.
Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom
Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Partner Organisation Applicants
Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom
Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Teaching & Assessment
We use a variety of teaching and learning methods to help you achieve your potential, including lectures, demonstrations, practical lab sessions, critique sessions (peer and assessed), reflective learning through journals and logs for various activities, as well as online sessions and support. Creating your portfolio is a vital part of the course, allowing you to demonstrate your creativity and skills in constructing concept art and 2D and 3D assets such as characters, environments and vehicles.
The course is very practical in nature, offering opportunities for you to develop a high level of visual creativity and softer skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, organisation and communication that are highly valued in the games and interactive entertainment industry. Guided independent study and self-directed learning are also essential to your success, for instance, library research and background reading, preparing for practical activities and working on projects.
In terms of formal assessment, you can expect written examinations and reports, assignments, projects, case study analyses, in-class tests, demonstrations, presentations, and others. These contribute to your final module mark and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. We also use other forms of assessment to help you learn, especially critique sessions. These provide you with feedback and inform your development, though these do not count towards your final module mark.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Introduction to Digital Art
- Introduction to 2D Game Construction
- Introduction to 3D Game Construction
- Foundation Project
- Art Fundamentals
- Fundamentals of 3D
- Digital Sculpting
- Level Design
- Environment Art
- Advanced Digital Sculpting
- Technical Art
- Advanced Environment Art
- Hard Surface Modelling
- Group Portfolio Project
- Major Project
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | Coursework 100% |
| Level 1 | Coursework 100% |
| Level 2 | Coursework 100% |
| Level 3 | Coursework 100% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 0 | Guided independent study 55% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 45% |
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 66% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 34% |
| Level 2 | Guided independent study 77% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 23% |
| Level 3 | Guided independent study 77% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 23% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
