Games

The two-year MSc programme in Games provides you with technical and social science knowledge on how computer games work, how they are designed and how they have a social impact on us. You will work with some of the worlds leading games researchers, and you will have the opportunity to become a computer games expert yourself.

Computer games can be a form of communication, a learning tool, a means of social interaction and a rehabilitation aid. The Games programme will give you insight into the medium and you will have the opportunity to create the computer games of the future yourself.

The MSc in Games deals with computer games both on a theoretical and a practical level. You will study the cultural significance of computer games, how to contribute to the development of a computer game and how to adapt the commercial potential of games to other communication and media domains.

The programme has an international perspective and is therefore taught in English.

You can choose between three tracks, each with focus on their own subject.

• Game Design
• Game Technology
• Game Analysis

All students have regular co-education and do several projects together, but as your studies progress, you will specialise in one of the academic tracks. This way you will create your own professional profile and focus on the specific area of the games world that you are passionate about.

Game Design

When you graduate as game designer, you will to able to invent ideas and manuscripts, design rules and develop user interfaces for different types of games. In addition to the theoretical and methodical foundation, you will gain solid practical experience with project management. You will learn to carry out analyses and user tests to develop games that meet users demands and needs, and you will be able to transform your ideas into fully fledged, functional products.

The mandatory content is distributed on three courses:

• Foundations of Play and Games (15 ECTS): Focusing on game analysis and game culture on the basis of research-driven studies.
• Game Design (15 ECTS): Focusing on applied design research in computer game design, as well as design and development of proto types.
• Game Development (15 ECTS): Focusing on the development of innovative products which expand game technologies from a structured and scientific perspective.

In your second semester you will begin your specialisation.

Game Technology

Do you have programming experience and do you want to join in creating the game technologies of the future? The Game Technology track provides you with a solid theoretical background and practical experience with programming and game technologies.

The mandatory content is distributed on three courses:

• Game Engines (15 ECTS): Focusing on programming techniques for computer games using research-driven studies.
• Game Design (15 ECTS): Focusing on applied design research in computer game design, as well as design and development of proto types.
• Digital Development (15 ECTS): Focusing on the development of innovative products which expand game technologies from a structured and scientific perspective.

In your second semester you will begin your specialisation.

Game Analysis

Computer Games can create new realities. New narratives, new spaces and new relations. The Game analysis track provides you with insight into game production and the impact of games as cultural objects on society and people. You will be able to transform your theoretical knowledge into concrete objectives in the industry. Game analysis is a theoretically founded track which requires great analytical skill.

The mandatory content is distributed on three courses:

• Foundations of Play and Games (15 ECTS): Focusing on game analysis and game culture on the basis of research-driven studies.
• Game Design (15 ECTS): Focusing on applied design research in computer game design, as well as design and development of proto types.
• Digital Game Theory (15 ECTS): Focusing on advanced analysis of computer games at a high academic level.

In your second semester you will begin your specialisation.

Electives

As a Games student, you can choose among the courses offered at the IT University across tracks and programmes to design your own profile.

Teaching

The teaching methods include lectures, group projects and practicals. Your teachers will be some of the worlds foremost experts on computer games, mainly from Center for Computer Games Research.

The IT University has a close collaboration with the business community, and the programme is designed to give you the opportunity to collaborate with private companies. This means you will always be working with current challenges, and you will have an opportunity to make a network in the business community even before you graduate.

As a Games student, you will become part of a dynamic and creative environment. Many students find that their studies become a lifestyle. Lectures, teaching and workshops are only half of student life. The other half, the students create themselves.

Studies Abroad and Student Exchange

It can be a professional boost and an advantage on your CV to do part of your studies at a foreign university. The IT University has exchange agreements with universities around the world, and to students with game development, game design and game critique as their core competence, we recommend:

• Universiteit Utrecht, the Netherlands
• EPITA Paris, France
• University of Tampere, Finland

To apply for admission to the IT Universitys MSc programme you are required to have:A university or professional bachelors degree, or corresponding degree.If applying to the academic track Game Technology, your educational background must be in computer science or corresponding.English corresponding to the Danish B-levelPlease note that the MSc programme has restricted admission. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6 TOEFL paper-based test score : 550 TOEFL iBT® test: 80

Scholarships

The IT University of Copenhagen offers state scholarships to three or four exceptionally talented MSc applicants (full-degree students) from outside EU and EEA every year. The scholarships will be offered to the applicants who achieve the best scores according to the criteria in our admission rules. The state scholarships consist of free tuition and partly covering of living expenses.

Applicants cannot apply for the scholarships. The IT University considers all admitted MSc students for the scholarships and informs the students chosen for the scholarships in their letter of admission.

Please note that if you recieve a scholarship, you will have to follow and pass full time studies.