Studio Practice (Games) (top-up) at UCA
Our Studio Practice top-up course in Games at UCA Farnham will give you the chance to gain all the skills you need to progress to postgraduate study.
Ideal for international students and also suitable to UK students looking to build upon existing qualifications, this course is aligned with Year 3 of our BA and BSc Games courses, so you can progress to a Master's degree in a streamlined way.
You'll get right into the action from the start, undertaking research and practical projects, working on collaborative activities and building your skills, knowledge and confidence.
What you'll
study
The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.
Launch Week
All launch weeks feature a range of activities, which will comprise an interdisciplinary Industry Guest Speakers’ Series offered to all students across the School of Games and Creative Technology. There will also be other activities, such as study trips and/or studio visits, Design Sprints, could also take place.
Final Major Project: Pre-Production
You will develop a significant body of work that demonstrates your chosen pathway discipline, ideation skills, genre interests and your aspiration for your future role within the Games and entertainment industries. Work from this period of study will make up and define your graduate portfolio. This unit is all about developing your project proposal through which you will define the concept, scope, audience, and purpose of your Final Major Project.
Advanced Games Programming
This unit introduces advanced programming practices and theories that are common requirements within professional environments within both video game and software development.
While focused on introducing the fundamental principles of computer science; algorithms, data structures and design patterns in conjunction to this, you will be required to take part in various technical tests designed to gauge your knowledge of programming languages and ability to problem solve. The tests that will be taken throughout this unit will be in line with industry standard tests that are typically used during recruitment processes.
Final Major Project: Critical and Conceptual Influences
This unit consists of a period of sustained, individually negotiated research which will help you develop an appropriate methodological approach towards your Final Major Project. You’ll produce a written piece that reflects upon and articulates a clear and sustained argument.
Professional Practice
You’ll identify, explore and develop professional promotional resources that highlight your strengths and your body of work. This will help you define and present yourself in a professional manner to external parties, in line with the conventions of professional practice and the workplace.
Opportunity Week
A range of activities will be available to students during this week, to broaden their engagement and subject knowledge, such as Games Jams and Design Sprints.
Final Major Project: Production
The culmination of your studies, you’ll follow through with your agreed proposal to produce a body of work that demonstrates your creativity, skill, knowledge and understanding of recognised games industry practices and pipelines, to a professional standard. Work from this stage will make up your graduate portfolio.
Course specifications
Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.
Explore our gradshows
Each year, we’re privileged to be able to share our graduates’ incredible work with the world. And now’s your chance to take a look.
Visit the online showcaseFees & financial support
Tuition fees - 2025/26
- BA (top-up) course: £9,250
Tuition fees - 2025/26
- BA (top-up) course: £9,250 (see fee discount information)
Tuition fees - 2025/26
- BA (top-up) course: £17,500
Please note: The fees listed on this webpage are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules.
UCA scholarships and fee discounts
At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.
Financial support
There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.
Additional course costs
In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.
These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.
Facilities
Our games courses have studios with high-end PCs with Alienware towers, 4k dual screen monitors and Wacom Cintiq graphics tablets, all dedicated to games design, with software including Unity and Unreal games engines. There is also a VR development studio, and a dedicated Games Incubator Studio for graduate entrepreneurs looking to set up their own companies or looking to release games to market. In addition, our Farnham campus has sound production and Foley studios, pro tools and a specialist library.
Games studio, UCA Farnham
Foley sound studio, UCA Farnham
Games studio, UCA Farnham
Library, UCA Farnham
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Entry & portfolio
requirements
BA/BSc (Hons) course (top-up)
The standard entry requirements* for this course are:
- 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
- Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
- Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject
And/or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
In recognition that you may already have a relevant professional qualification, or appropriate working experience in the relevant industries, APEL may be accepted for entry on to the course. This will be based on the partnership articulations and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Other relevant and equivalent UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
Portfolio requirements
You will be required to submit a digital portfolio and if you’re a student from the UK, attend an Applicant Day. This can include personal work with traditional or digital media, sketchbook drawings, and relevant coursework. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your digital portfolio will be sent to you after you’ve submitted your application. View more portfolio advice
*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades - in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.
BA/BSc (Hons) course (top-up)
The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:
Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.
Portfolio requirements
You will be required to submit a portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application. View more portfolio advice
English language requirements
To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required: