TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry, is pleased to announce the accreditation and re-accreditation of the following games courses at the University of Hertfordshire.
- BA (Hons) 3D Games Art and Design: Re-accreditation – awarded
- MA Games Art & Design: Accreditation – awarded
The TIGA Accreditation Team was impressed by numerous examples of best practice:
- Both courses demonstrate a good mix of generalist and specialist skills.
- Both courses encourage teamworking. On the BA course students work across different years and some work as contractors for final year students.
- The end of year show, Animation Exposé, is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their work to the games industry. In 2024, 80 industry representatives from 50 companies attended.
- Industry guest lecturer provision is exceptional.
- The gender balance amongst undergraduates is very good. The proportion of females on the BA course has increased from 35% when last accredited to 55% in 2022-2023.
- Students are encouraged to develop an identity and branding pack including CV, business card, portfolio site and template covering letter, which is used to apply for internships. This is excellent preparation for employment.
- The student satisfaction scores for 2023 are excellent.
- The attrition rate on the courses is comparatively low.
- There is good provision of software and hardware for students.
BA (Hons) 3D Games Art and Design
Graduate destinations[1]
- 2020-21: 20 / 36 Hired into Games Industry; 56% industry employment.
- 2021-22: 10 / 22 Hired into Games Industry; 45.45% industry employment.
- 2022-23: 13 / 36 Hired into Games Industry; 36.1% industry employment.
Graduate outcomes 2020-2023
Note: Missing destination data can distort overall employability rates, so in addition to examining data provided by the university, TIGA uses official “Graduate Outcomes” data from HESA for undergraduate courses to report overall employment rates.
BA (Hons) 3D Games Art and Design
- Percentage employed after 15 months: 92.3%
(Graduate Outcomes[2] survey data from 2020-21)
MA Games Art & Design
Graduate destinations[3]
- 2020-21: 8 / 17 Hired into Games Industry 47.5 % industry employment
- 2021-22: 7 / 19 Hired into Games Industry 37% industry employment
- 2022-23: 12/16 Hired into Games Industry 75% industry employment
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, TIGA CEO, said:
“The University of Hertfordshire’s BA (Hons) 3D Games Art and Design and MA Games Art & Design are good quality courses that provide a good mix of generalist and specialist skills. The courses benefit from collaborative working and exceptional guest lecturer provision from industry. The undergraduate course is characterised by low rates of attrition and high rates of student satisfaction. For example, in 2022-23 the attrition rate was 9 per cent and in 2023 94.59 per cent of students agreed that they had the chance to “…explore ideas and concepts in depth”.[4] The University and the games course team have also achieved an impressive gender balance on the BA (Hons) 3D Games Art and Design course. Congratulations to the University of Hertfordshire on achieving TIGA accreditation.”
David Tree, Joint Programme Leader for the Digital Animation Programme, said:
“On behalf of the staff team and students of the University of Hertfordshire, I would like to thank Richard and the TIGA accreditation team for their thorough examination of our courses and for their continued championing of games education in the UK. The staff team put a great deal of effort into ensuring that we deliver a up to date, intellectually stimulating games curriculum which prepares them for working in the games industry. As always it has been a pleasure to work with TIGA to ensure that students get the best experience”
TIGA
TIGA is the trade association for the UK video games industry. TIGA’s vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to develop video games. To this end, TIGA:
- engages with policymakers to create an environment favourable to video games development;
- enhances education and skills through our accreditation programme, the TIGA Games Education Awardsand our education conference;
- promotes best practice through our membership services, including the TIGA STAR Employer Awardand the TIGA Games Industry Awards;
- conducts primary research into the games sector, surveying hundreds of companies each year about the business environment, support policies and the health of the industry.
Get in touch:
Tel: 0845 468 2330
Email: info@tiga.org
Web: www.tiga.org
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/TIGAMovement
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tiga