Bachelor of Science in Game Design and Development

The Bachelor of Science in Game Design and Development at American University in Dubai is an interdisciplinary program that combines technical game development with creative storytelling. It has two concentrations: Design and Development. The Design concentration covers concept creation, art, storytelling, character creation, virtual world-building, and production. The Development concentration covers coding, programming, software, and advanced game engine courses.

Students study fundamentals in gaming and then move into more creative, practical, and technical coursework. The program includes workshops and lectures by University of Southern California faculty members, delivered through the partnership between the Mohammed Bin Rashid School for Communication and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. The program prepares graduates to use game design and development tools across mediums and to collaborate in multidisciplinary teams from concept to completion.

All applying students must have:

• A high school/secondary school certificate or equivalent from an institution accredited by the Ministry of Education in the U.A.E. or by the relevant national or regional institutional accrediting body;
• International TOEFL® or Academic IELTSTM or the equivalent score on another internationally-recognized English exam. PBT is accepted from specific centers in the UAE.
• The University administers the ACCUPLACERTM Exam (Math) to place students at the appropriate mathematics level. Students may substitute the SAT for this, depending on the score.

• Game Designer
• Level Designer
• Game Artist
• Character Designer
• Game Art Generalist
• Gameplay Programmer
• UI/UX Designer
• Technical Artist
• Narrative Designer