PROGRAM DETAILS
Ten years ago, faculty from the School of Computing and the Division of Film Studies formed the Entertainment Arts & Engineering program, now Utah Division of Games, to address a growing student population that wanted to study games and game making. Students studying computer science and film came together in a handful of shared courses to learn the myriad facets of entertainment technology, as well as gain practice with new technical skills inside a rigorous academic experience. Over the intervening decade the Utah Division of Games and its course offerings have grown steadily, and the professional and scholarly study of Games has become firmly established as a discrete academic discipline.
The B.S. in Games (BSG) degree is intended specifically for students who aspire to hold careers within the professional games industry or a related field, such as simulation, edutainment, or visualization, and is designed to prepare our students to compete in an increasingly complex industry. The BSG prepares students with skills applicable to the development of entertainment software, games-based learning environments for K-12 students, professional task-training tools, serious games for health, and scientific collaboration or other contexts addressing compelling societal needs. This degree provides a technical grounding in mathematics and computational skills, core knowledge in the design and production of digital playable experiences, and specialization options that prepare students for technical supervision, tools development and overall game design.
The BSG is intended for students who want to deeply engage in this unique discipline, while benefiting from the cross-disciplinary methodology integral to Utah Games.
For more information about how to apply to the University of Utah, click here.
For more information on the program check out our Information Sessions.
Major and Gen Ed Requirements
Prerequisites for the Major
___ GAMES 1010, Survey of Games (3 hours)
___ GAMES 1050, Digital Content Creation (3 hours)
___ COMP 1010 or CS 1400(for CS Minors), Programming for All 1: Beginning Programming (3 hours)
___ COMP 1020 or CS 1410(for CS Minors), Programming for All 2: Extended Applications (3 hours)
Students must complete each of the prerequisite courses with a C- or better, and maintain a pre-major GPA of 3.0 and a cumulative GPA of 2.75.
General Education Requirements
All students pursuing a degree through the University of Utah are required to complete the designated general education courses. Some majors require specific courses be completed to fulfill these gen eds.
___ QA Quantitative Reasoning - Math 1030 (3 hours) or higher
___ WR2 - WRTG 2010 (3 hours), or ENGL 2010 (3 hours)
As for the rest of the general education requirements, our degree does not have any specific course requirements. Students simply must complete a course that fulfills that requirement.
Click here for more information and details on general education courses.
Major Requirements
___ GAMES 3020 Ethics in Games (3 hours)
___ GAMES 3710 Traditional Game Development (4 hours)
___ GAMES 3720 Alternative Game Development (4 hours)
___ GAMES 4500 Capstone I (3 hours)
___ GAMES 4510 Capstone II (3 hours)
A C- or better is required in all GAMES courses to count toward the BS in Games degree. CR/NC grading options are not allowed for any of the major requirements.
GAMES Electives
Students in the BS in Games degree program must complete an additional 30 credit hours (4 of which must be 3000 level or above).
These courses could be used to focus on specific areas of interest such as: Game Design, Game Arts, Technical Art, Game Production.
Courses that qualify as an elective are, any GAMES course that is not a pre-major or major required course, or under the 6XXX level.
Students should plan to meet with an GAMES advisor to discuss how to use their GAMES elective course options to best suit their interests and goals. For a complete list of what classes are available each semester, please see the current academic schedule.
Allied Hours
Students in the BS in Games degree program will also take classes in an allied area of interest. Students should take classes in a minimum of two areas of interest for a total of 12 hours.
*Courses used for General Education courses cannot be double counted towards allied hours.
Suggested Allied Hours
Some courses may have prerequisites you are required to complete before registering.
- ANTH 1010 Culture and the Human Experience
- ANTH 3120 Friendship and Social Networks
- ANTH 3138 Anthropology Violence, Non-Violence
- ARCH 1615 Introduction to Architecture
- ARCH 1630 Architectural Graphics
- ART 2060 Non-Major Digital Photography
- ARTH 1010 Masterpieces of World Art
- ARTH 2500 Intro to History of Art & Visual Culture
- CLCV 1550 Classical Mythology
- CLCV 2780 Graeco-Roman Sport
- CLCV 4550 Ancient Myth and Religion
- COMM 3020 Media & Pop Culture
- COMM 3040 Communication and Relationships
- CS 2100 Discrete Structures
- CS 3500 Software Practice
- DES 1630 Rapid Visualization
- DES 2615 Intro to Design Thinking
- DES 2810 Design History and Theory
- ECON 2010 Principles of Microeconomics
- ECON 3150 The Econ. of Sex, Drugs, and Crime
- ENGL 2090 Videogames and Storytelling
- ENGL 2235 Fantasy
- ENGL 5090 Lit, Film, Videogame
- ENTP 1020 Entrepreneurship and the Startup Methods
- ENTP 2010 Entrepreneurial Marketing
- EP PS 3565 Writing & Communicating in Digital Enviro
- FILM 1610 Intro to Animation Techniques
- FILM 2250 Popular Film & TV: Gender and Sexuality
- FILM 2500 Film Production
- FILM 2650 Storyboarding/Visual Storytelling
- FILM 3420 Sound for Film and Digital Media
- GNDR 1100 Gender and Social Change
- GNDR 2235 Celebrity
- GNDR 3040 Psychology of Gender
- HIST 3100 The Historian’s Craft
- HIST 3900 History Now
- HIST 4075 Science, Technology & Society
- HIST 4085 History of Technology
- MGT 3000 Principles of Management
- MGT 3600 Leading High Performance Groups and Teams
- MKTG 2310 Digital and Internet Marketing
- PHIL 1001 Philosophy & Ethical Dilemmas
- PHIL 4540 Engineering, Ethics, and Society
- PHYS 1010 Elementary Physics: The Way Things Work
- PHYS 3330 Physics of Audio and Video
- PSY 2410 Eat, Work, Play & Sleep: Psych in Everyday
- PSY 3171 Human Factors & Ergonomics
- PSY 3172 Human Performance & Eng. Psych.
- THEA 1033 Acting I for Non-majors
- THEA 1050 Intro to Visual Art of Theatre
- UGS 2050 Making Noise: Sound Art & Digital Media
- WRTG 3018 Writing Popular Culture
- WRTG 3040 Digital Storytelling
- WRTG 4030 Visual Rhetoric: Word/Image/Argument
CURRICULUM PLAN AND CHECKLIST
FIRST YEAR - FALL
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 1010 - Survey of Games | 3 |
| COMP 1010 - Programming for All 1: Beginning Programming | 3 |
| WRTG 1010 - Intermediate Writing (WR1) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. LS, PS, BF, HF, FF) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. LS, PS, BF, HF, FF) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
FIRST YEAR - SPRING
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 1050 - Digital Content Creation | 3 |
| COMP 1020 - Programming for All 2: Extended Applications | 3 |
| WRTG 2010 - Intermediate Writing (WR2) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. LS, PS, BF, HF, FF) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. LS, PS, BF, HF, FF) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
SECOND YEAR - FALL
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 3010 - Asset Pipeline | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| Quantitative Literacy (QL) - MATH 1030 or higher | 3 |
| American Institutions (AI) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
SECOND YEAR - SPRING
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 3020 - Ethics in Game | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. LS, PS, BF, HF, FF) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
THIRD YEAR - FALL
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 3710 - Traditional Game Development | 4 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. IR) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. CW) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 16 |
THIRD YEAR - SPRING
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 3720 - Alternative Game Development | 4 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. QI) | 3 |
| General Ed Course (e.g. DV) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 16 |
FOURTH YEAR - FALL
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 4500 - Capstone I | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |
FOURTH YEAR - FALL
| Course | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| GAMES 4510 - Capstone II | 3 |
| GAMES Elective | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| Allied Course (see list of recommended classes below) | 3 |
| TOTAL | 15 |