BA in Game Design and Development

Game Design and Development

On Campus

Our BA in Game Design and Development provides a comprehensive foundation complemented by hands-on experience through game labs, research projects and internships. Our students gain proficiency with industry-standard game engines, creating 2D and 3D environments for applications ranging from entertainment games to VR healthcare simulations, animation and level design for film, and architectural or product visualization.

One male and one female student smile while looking at the Quinnipiac game cabinet in the SITE, shot from behind the cabinet.

Apply Visit Request Info

Level-Up Your Creativity

Game design and development student. — As a game designer, passion is your key to success in the fast-growing and fast-paced gaming industry. The skills you acquire will prepare you for a variety of fulfilling careers from designing virtual reality experiences for theme parks to developing military training simulations, creating games for the healthcare industry or even revolutionizing course delivery in schools.

Your Experience

All students complete a shared set of core courses and select a concentration that align with their interests and career goals. Our concentrations include spatial technology, art, management and production, writing, performance, game design and programming. We also actively support double majors with complementary fields such as computer science.

One of the program’s defining features is our multi-semester game lab sequence, which begins in the sophomore year. In these labs, students collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to design and build original game prototypes. The program culminates during the senior year with a capstone experience, combining the Senior Project and Seminar.

Students also have the opportunity to spend a semester in California through the QU in LA program, interning at companies like Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment and Facebook. Additionally, many of our students gain early professional experience as counselors at iD Tech, a prestigious nationwide game design camp.

Why Quinnipiac?

Student wearing a VR headset in the classroom

Quinnipiac's Game Design and Development program provides you with unparalleled experiences and opportunities that set you apart. Both the university and faculty strive to make your undergraduate journey not only exciting but also deeply vaulable to your future career. Quinnipiac is committed to helping you succeed and achieve remarkable outcomes in the world of game design.

As a GDD student you'll:

Learn transferable skills and explore game design as it relates to entertainment, education, the medical sciences, game engines, augmented reality and virtual reality.
Retain the Intellectual Property rights to any work you create.
Partner with institutions who have problems they would like to have solved with games, game-like experiences and gamification.
Experience small classes, where our faculty will work with you one-on-one to make sure that you are acquiring the skills you need to be successful.
Be a part of a tightly-knit community of people who support each other, with program cohorts ranging from 17 to 22 students.
Connect with Quinnipiac graduates who are eager to help give you a leg up and good advice for your future career.

Program Statistics

85.7% Success Rate

Percentage of our 2024 program graduates who are either employed or pursuing graduate study six months after graduation (58.3% Knowledge Rate).

5 Spaces

There are five dedicated spaces that provide our GDD students with the tools and resources they need for every step of the game design process – from ideation to creation.

A Community of Doers

Quinnipiac University presents the annual Game Design and Development showcase in the Mount Carmel Campus Student Center Piazza on Thursday, May 4, 2023.

Experiential Learning

Our program offers multiple opportunities to apply your knowledge through hands-on work, service and exploration, equiping you with the skills and knowledge that will distinguish you to employers and pave the way for long-term success.

Learn about our experiential learning opportunities

Game design and development tudents play computer games.

Our Work and Achievements

Our program, faculty and students are consistently recognized for excellence. We place a high priority on exhibiting work publicly and being active members of the game design community at large.

View our achievements

Explore our facilities and resources

From high-tech workstations to versatile studios, our Game Design and Development facilities empowers aspiring game developers to explore, experiment and bring their imaginative visions to fruition.

As a GDD student, you’ll have access to five dedicated spaces equipped with the tools and resources you need to excel: the Gaming Lab, Immersion Sandbox, Computer Lab, and Project Lab — all located in our brand-new academic building, The Site — as well as the eSports Lab on our York Hill Campus.

The SITE is also home to a lounge and AR/VR space, and the motion capture lab at the North Haven campus is available to our students as well.

Students walking in front of the Game Design and Development sign in the SITE — Housed in the SITE, our new state-of-the-art building, the Game Design and Development facilities are designed to provide you with the newest resources to grow in the field.

Two people playing a game on a Quinnipiac Game Design and Development arcade cabinet — The Game Design and Development game cabinet allows the Bobcat community to experience the games you create.

Professor speaking to a group of students in a computer lab

Students working on computers in the Gaming Lab

Professor speaking to group of students working on a PC

The Quinnipiac University eSports lab. — The state-of-the-art, 830-square-foot eSports Lab in the Rocky Top Student Center provides you all you need to game. This facility is also used by our club eSports team.

A student uses a virtual reality headset.

Quinnipiac takes esports to the next level

Quinnipiac eSports team poses and smiles with a championship poster.

Quinnipiac eSports named MAAC program of the year

April 1, 2025

Quinnipiac eSports dominated the 2025 MAAC eSports Championship this past weekend, earning several titles and being named MAAC program of the year.

Career Paths

Our BA in Game Design and Development positions you for a growing number of specialized and in-demand opportunities. Graduates gain valuable skills suited for a wide array of potential careers.

Discover employment opportunities by visiting our careers page or by joining our Discord server.

Explore hiring trends and salary data

Animator
Art Director
Asset Design
Character Design
Concept Artist
Texture Artist

Augmented & Virtual Reality Designer
Game Designer
Level Design
Motion Capture Designer
Usability/Play Testing
Writer

AI Programmer
Audio Programmer
Engine Programmer
Graphics Programmer
Network Programmer
Programming for Game Play Design
Sound Design

Develop games for learning and education
Develop games for health
Develop modeling and simulation
Gamification

Alumni Spotlights

Donovan Sepulveda ’17

Game Producer at Riot Games

Donovan Sepulveda ’17 joined Tespa as a Regional Coordinator after graduating. After, he moved to Blizzard Entertainment where he worked as an Operations Coordinator before being promoted to Associate Manager. He then moved to Riot Games, where he has held positions as Sr. Gameplay Production Coordinator, Associate Game Producer, and Game Producer working on Valorant.

Zaria Brogdon ’20

Senior Project Coordinator at Rockstar Games

Zaria Brogdon ’20 started her career in a production support role at Rockstar Games in New York City. She has since become a Project Coordinator and Senior Project Coordinator at the company.

Catherine Martin ’20

Interactive Software Developer at the Museum of Science

Shortly after graduating, Catherine Martin ’20 was hired as a Game Developer at Grover Gaming, located in Greenville, North Carolina. She then joined the Museum of Science in Boston as an Interactive Software Developer.

Diego Holguin ’17

Systems Engineer at Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies

After graduating, Diego Holguin ’17 became a Software Developer at Collins Aerospace. He then joined MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. Currently, he works at Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies as a Systems Engineer for product configuration management.

Ron M. Burgess ’15

Robotic Process Automation Engineer for SAIC

After Quinnipiac, Ron M. Burgess ’15 became a Mixed Reality Team Lead at SphereGen, a software development company specializing in developing augmented reality applications. He has since transitioned to work with artificial intelligence as a Robotic Process Automation Engineer for SAIC.

Kene Umelo ’21

AR/VR Developer

Kene Umelo started at Lucid Dream helping healthcare and life science organizations educate patients and providers using immersive technology. He then joined King Crow Studios, a VR/XR/AR technology company specializing in defense and industry training.

Antonia Gates ’20

Game Producer at Coolmath Games

At Quinnipiac, Antonia Gates ’20 completed internships with play2prevent, a group building serious games at Yale, and SphereGen, a company developing augmented reality applications. After graduating, she joined Legio Vox Studios as a Narrative Designer. Following that, she joined Coolmath Games in NYC as a Game Producer.

Liam Sheehan ’21, MS ’22

Instructional Designer at Coding Dojo

Liam Sheehan returned to Quinnipiac to complete a Master's degree in Instructional Design after graduating with his BA in Game Design and Development. While completing his MS, he was offered a job as Instructional Designer at Coding Dojo.

Ashley Barbuito ’15

Ashley Barbuito ’15 has worked for SphereGen in a number of different capacities including 3D artist, graphic designer, and social media specialist. SphereGen is a software development company specializing in developing augmented reality applications.

Partner Organizations

As a Game Design and Development student, you will have the opportunity to intern at and collaborate on projects with our partner organizations.

SphereGen

XRpeds

play2prevent

PreviewLabs

Welcome 2 Reality

iD Tech

GameDevCT

Living-Learning Communities

Our Living-Learning Communities offer the opportunity for first-year students to live and engage in a community of like-minded peers. Bolstered by mentorship from faculty and staff, these communities provide a strong foundation for students to develop — both academically and personally — into professionals, leaders, citizens and lifelong learners.

Engineering and Computer Science

The Engineering and Computer Science LLC is for new students in the School of Computing & Engineering interested in building academic skills, community and friendship. This LLC emphasizes hands-on activities and helps support members to become more engaged students who understand how to make a difference at QU and in the world.

Explore all Living-Learning Community opportunities

Summer Programs for High School Students

This summer, take a vacation from the ordinary and continue your education in one of Quinnipiac’s high school summer programs. We are proud to offer a growing list of summer programs designed to give dedicated high school students a chance to grow academically and personally while getting an early taste of the college experience.

Quinnipiac follows NACE First-Destination Survey Standards and Protocols for the collection and dissemination of undergraduate student initial career outcome information six months after graduation. Learn more about the standards for statistics and reporting used by Quinnipiac.