The number of students who have graduated with a video games degree has risen by 116 per cent over the last 5 years, according to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
In 2016/17, the number of people who graduated with a video games degree was 1,290, a significant increase on the 595 graduates in 2012/13. These figures were highlighted by the Government following a Written Question from the Conservative MP for North Swindon, Justin Tomlinson.
The growth in graduates is accompanied by growth in the sector as a whole. The video games industry is growing at 7 per cent per annum, with the majority of new roles requiring people with university education and industry-ready skills.
TIGA’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Wilson OBE said:
“It is great to see that more students than ever are graduating in video games courses from the UK’s world class universities. With our sector growing at an impressive 7 per cent a year, there is high demand for skilled graduates.
“Universities have different success rates when it comes to graduates securing roles in our industry. The TIGA University Accreditation System was introduced to recognise the very best undergraduates and postgraduate university courses, enabling students and industry to find those courses that are developing industry-ready graduates and strengthening the link between industry and academia. 18 universities have secured TIGA University Accreditation status. Up to 67 per cent of graduates on some TIGA Accredited courses are securing jobs in the games industry.
“We need to continue to increase the supply of highly skilled games graduates, encourage more women to consider a career in the sector and work with our universities to ensure that the UK is the best place in the world to develop video games.”
It is important to note that the HESA figures do not include students studying video games art and animation courses.
TIGA is welcoming more universities to consider the benefits of Accreditation, and encourages them to make contact: Mark.Eyles@port.ac.uk and/or richard.wilson@tiga.org.
The full Written Answer is available below:
Video Games: Graduates
Department for Education
Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con): To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of students who have graduated with a degree in video games in each year since 2010.
Mr Sam Gyimah: The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes statistics on enrolments and qualifications obtained at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Latest statistics refer to the academic year 2016/17.
The table below shows the numbers of first degree qualifiers in computer games subjects for each year since 2012/13. Information on the number of qualifiers in these subjects has been available since the introduction of the third version of Joint Academic Coding System (JACS3) in 2012/13, hence figures cannot be provided for any year prior to that.
Full-person-equivalent [1] First Degree qualifiers in computer games subjects
UK HEIs
Academic years 2012/13 to 2016/17
| ACADEMIC YEAR | NUMBER OF QUALIFIERS IN COMPUTER GAMES SUBJECTS [2] |
| 2012/13 | 595 |
| 2013/14 | 625 |
| 2014/15 | 690 |
| 2015/16 | 900 |
| 2016/17 | 1,290 |
[1] Counts are on the basis of full-person-equivalents. Where a student is studying more than one subject, they are apportioned between the subjects that make up their course. [2] Qualifiers in Games (principal category I6 of the JACS), which includes Games, Computer games programming, Computer game design and Computer games graphics. This code is only available since the introduction of JACS3 in 2012/13. More information on JACS codes can be found at the following link: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs.