Digital Games, B.A.
The Bachelor program Digital Games (B.A.) at the CGL trains graduates in the disciplines of game design, game art and game programming to become independent and team-minded personalities. The qualifications correspond to the current requirements of the industry and enable the students to think and act as entrepreneurs in a forward-looking manner.
Programme facts
| Degree | Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) |
|---|---|
| Duration | 7 semesters, 210 ECTS |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Required English | B2 |
| Study mode | Full-Time |
| Start | Winter semester |
| Application | Via uni-assist, winter semester until 31.03 |
| Admission | No admission restriction: every eligible applicant is admitted |
| Tuition fee | €0 per semester for international students |
| Semester contribution | €276.70 per semester |
| Campus | Köln-Mülheim |
What the tuition fee consists of
Will I get in
Every applicant who meets the formal requirements is admitted — but places can run out before the deadline, so apply at the start of the window.
How the selection works and how strong the competition is — we go through it against your certificate when we select programmes for you.
Programme selection →About the programme
In the course of the BA “Digital Games” students should acquire artistic-scientific as well as technical-practical knowledge and skills for the conception and planning, development and production of digital games and other non-linear interactive audio visions, especially in the three central focus areas “Game Arts”, “Game Design”, i.e. mechanics and non-linear narration, as well as “Game Programming”. Furthermore, the program offers historical-theoretical perspectives and artistic as well as ethical orientations, which are conveyed by “Media and Game Studies”. In addition to practical training, graduates are encouraged to carry out scientific-artistic experiments, innovative approaches and aesthetic risks, and through scientifically sound knowledge are enabled to react independently to future technical and aesthetic changes. Moreover, students should become aware of the economic potential and develop innovative approaches and models in this field.
Read moreShow less
The program is project-centred and explicitly promotes professional learning objectives and competences. Students acquire a rich set of methodological, theoretical and design-practical skills to be able to independently supervise and manage artistic-scientific or artificial-economic projects. This involves both the acquisition of generalistic “Game Literacy” – which is indispensable for interdisciplinary collaboration in the games industry – and specialisation in one of the fields of “Game Arts”, “Game Design” or “Game Programming”.
In addition, students are familiarized with central aspects of current scientific questions on the production, use and impact of non-linear audio visions. In lectures and seminars methods of theory formation – research, analysis, criticism, synthesis – are imparted and the gained media-historical and media-theoretical findings are experimentally tested and applied in the entire range of courses.
The training of critical judgement with regard to the cultural and social effects emanating from one’s own work is another important goal of the course. Particular emphasis is placed on ethical competences: the development of a committed attitude towards one’s own artistic-scientific actions. Last but not least, students should be prepared for work in international contexts and intercultural teams.
What you study
In a joint first year of study, the students of all three specializations (Game Design, Game Art, Game Informatics) develop a canon of knowledge that gives them the ability for interdisciplinary exchange within practical projects.
The full curriculum and the programme's parameters are part of programme selection: we compare them with your profile.
Pick programmesCost of study
| Tuition fee of the federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia), international students | €0 |
|---|---|
| Semester contribution | €276.70 |
Requirements and application
| Previous education | practical media skills, knowledge and experience; Individual interest, intrinsic motivation and personal ambition to deepen media practical and media theoretical examination of non-linear audio visions; the practical ability to work independently and in a team on creative projects; the media-theoretical ability to participate in scientific discourse; the command of the English language in word and writing |
|---|---|
| Language | English B2 — confirmed by a certificate when you apply |
| Application | Via uni-assist, winter semester until 31.03 |
The procedure and the set of documents depend on your certificate. We check the university's requirements against your documents and give you a list: what to submit, how to certify and translate it, where and when to apply.
Check the requirementsHow to get into this programme
- 1Check your certificate and its recognitionDirect admission, a year at a university at home, or Studienkolleg first — this decides the whole plan.
- 2Documents and translationsCertified translations of the certificate and transcript, an APS if required. 3–4 weeks.
- 3Application via uni-assist until 31.03uni-assist checks documents for 4–6 weeks — send them well before the deadline.
- 4Admission, visa, movingPlan 2–3 months for the visa and the blocked account in parallel.
How to apply
You can submit the application yourself or with our help — the university decides on admission in both cases.
Applications go through the university's portal or uni-assist. Typical mistakes:
- ×incorrectly made certified copies and translations
- ×a wrong set of documents
- ×the application submitted the wrong way
- ×errors or gaps in the application form
- ×the application submitted at the wrong time — too early or too late
An incomplete or incorrectly prepared application is excluded from the selection — it can no longer be corrected after the deadline.
StudyInFocus does not represent the university and does not influence the admission decision. We do not sell study places and do not guarantee admission — this is a service for preparing and submitting documents on the applicant's side.
Video about the programme
Questions about this programme
How much does the programme cost?
What language level do I need?
When do I need to apply?
Don't postpone the application
The deadline is 31.03.2027 (168 days left). Language, translations and the document check take months, not weeks. In 30 minutes we will build a plan backwards from the deadline and tell you honestly whether you can make it.