Game Design MFA

two computers with the title surrounded by blue and purple lights
Course Requirement PDF How to Apply

Advance the Art, Science, and Culture of Play

Laguna College of Art + Design’s Game Design MFA seeks to advance the art, science and culture of play by creating a context for advanced study and innovative work.

Course Requirement PDF How to Apply

Introduction

LCAD’s Game Design MFA is a 2-year terminal Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree that allows you to explore the design and development of games as a creative practice. The program offers a unique, multidisciplinary approach that bridges the gap between theory and practice in game design.

The Game Design MFA curriculum is centered on the processes of both the creation and the development of games. The program acknowledges that games are responsible for providing much more than mere entertainment; they also are meaningful products of a thriving global economy that illuminate truths about our world, our societies, and ourselves.

LCAD’s Game Design MFA is structured in such a way that will empower you with both the knowledge base and the skill sets to ensure that your own meaningful game design enterprises are economically impactful and sustainable.

Our Game Design program will develop your creative skills and enhance your potential as a game designer, developer, and entrepreneur.

Select program candidates will create a graduate level game development environment, replicating that which reflects the current industry model, nurturing advanced skills in design, research and development, leadership and marketing in the creative art of game design.

Student Work

Three digital game characters. They are short and all gray. They are wearing armor and spiked helmets.

Game Design Character

MFA Game Design Student
Three digital game characters. They are short and all gray. They are wearing armor and spiked helmets.

Untitled

MFA Game Design Student
An armored creature with horns stands upright on a gray background, holding a long staff with fire on the end of it

Game Design Creature

MFA Game Design Student

Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the theoretical aspects of picture making, incorporating effective pictorial strategies.
  • Use appropriate technical and conceptual strategies to support their artistic intents.
  • Describe how representational art fits into the greater art historical context.
  • Communicate ideas clearly, in writing.
  • Critically evaluate their own work and the work of other artists and will discern between fashionable trends and authentic explorations.
  • Promote and market their work and their abilities to professional venues; i.e., galleries, exhibitions, educational institutions, etc.

Department Leadership

Tim Photo

Chair of MFA Game Design

Tim Pryor

Tim Pryor is a production specialist in the game industry that consults with other studios to organize and manage development from mobile development to commercial location-based entertainment. Tim is also an entrepreneur with interests inside the game industry and out. His most notable work has been with companies such as: Warner Bros Interactive, Universal, Universal Theme Parks, Tencent, Google, Scopely, Sega, and Nintendo. Tim is passionate about building experiences rather than products.

Admissions Information

Application Dates

  • LCAD has a rolling admissions policy and will accept applications until we’ve filled all spots for an incoming class. Applications will still be considered after the following priority dates:

    Fall: December 1st

    Spring: December 1st"

  • Course Requirement PDF
  • How to Apply