Game Design programs
15 programs — 5 with federal cost data, the rest suppressed for small class sizes and listed after them, led by institutions where this is the main program rather than one of many. Federal figures cover the wider program family, so a row may share its numbers with related degrees.
Data last updated
Specific program
Schools file the same degree under different federal codes — Berklee’s music production sits under “Music, Other”, Academy of Art’s under “Recording Arts”. These groups gather every code a program is actually filed under.
Delivery
A note on this grouping. It includes a federal catch-all code, which is where several well-known programs in this area are filed — but catch-alls also hold degrees that are not. Check the program name on each row.
Hide for-profit colleges(7 programs)What our data shows about for-profit collegesAcross the creative fields on this site, students at private for-profit institutions borrow 27% more than students at public ones ($29,332 against $23,033) and earn 15% less four years after completing ($38,361 against $45,110).The combined effect is severe. Median debt at a for-profit equals 70% of a graduate’s annual earnings, against 47% at a public institution. And 10% of for-profit programs leave graduates owing more than they earn in a year — against 1% of public ones. Ten times the rate.This is a pattern across 212 for-profit programs, not a handful of outliers, and it holds in every creative field we cover. It does not mean no for-profit program is worth taking: some appear high in our best-value rankings, and this filter hides those too. It means the odds are materially worse, and the burden of proof sits with the school.Figures are medians computed from the College Scorecard and IPEDS data behind every table on this site.
| Institution | Programcredential and delivery | at completion | 4 yrs after | Median federal loan debt at completion, divided by median earnings four years later. It answers a single question: how much of one year’s income do you owe on the day you finish?Below 50% is generally considered manageable. Above 100% means graduates owe more than they earn in a year, and repayment on a standard ten-year plan starts to consume a serious share of income.Debt covers federal loans only, so real ratios are often worse. Both figures are medians — half of graduates fall on the wrong side of each. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington UniversityDE · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $16,516 | $50,722 | 33% |
| Dakota State UniversitySD · PublicRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsWeb Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $27,000 | $42,513 | 64% |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignModeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationComputer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $36,750 | $73,398 | 50% |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherAssociate degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignModeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationComputer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $31,211 | $60,731 | 51% |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherMaster’s degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignModeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationComputer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $71,352 | $87,998 | 81% |
| NUC UniversityPR · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherUndergraduate certificate · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| NUC UniversityPR · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherAssociate degree · Not reportedWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| NUC UniversityPR · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| College of Our Lady of the ElmsMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California Institute of the ArtsCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California Institute of the ArtsCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherMaster’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Wilmington UniversityDE · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherAssociate degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Dakota State UniversitySD · PublicRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherUndergraduate certificate · Fully onlineWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsWeb Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Dakota State UniversitySD · PublicRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherAssociate degree · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Computer GraphicsWeb Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherUndergraduate certificate · HybridWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignModeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationComputer GraphicsThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
Source: College Scorecard, Field of Study (retrieved September 2026)
How we are paid: StudyCreative earns revenue when readers ask to be connected with a school. No school pays to appear in these figures, to change them, or to be left out of them. Full disclosure.
One thing these figures cannot tell you
Earnings and debt are reported by the federal government at a four-digit program level, so a figure shown against “Game Design” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.