Technical Art and Visual Effects for Games

BSc (Hons)

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

UCAS code

I6T2

Start dates available

  • September 2027
University of Staffordshire Courses

UK's #1 Games Institute

TIGA Best Educational Institution 2025

Master Technical Art and VFX

Develop specialist skills in visual effects, programming, tools development, animation and more.

Build an industry-ready portfolio

Create a final-year Technical Art portfolio project that showcases your technical and creative skills to future employers.

As a Technical Art and Visual Effects student, you’ll turn your code into breathing visual worlds, empower your team with dynamic tools, build captivating VFX and get the very best out of your games performance. Get ready to fuse the universes of games art and programming.

Walk tight rope of ultimate performance and stunning graphics.

Our BSc (Hons) Technical Art and Visual Effects degree has been designed to give you the foundations needed to find your technical specialism in the dynamic Games and VFX Industry. You will experience our incredible Game Art and Programming structures allowing you to become a hero in Technical Art development.

Master the Pipelines.

Study a wide range of specialist games modules such as VFX, 3D Asset Creation, World Building, Tools Programming, Animation, Simulation and much more. You’ll develop enormous transferable skills as you master the Technical Art pipeline and get the most out of next generation technologies.

We win together.

Technical Artists super charge Games Development Teams. You’ll get to experience this first hand in our production studio and development modules. Build not just for yourself but for others!

Collaborate and Innovate.

From day one you are building. You’ll work independently, collaboratively and innovatively as you tackle the latest and greatest games industry challenges. Build your network with award-winning industry partners through sponsored game jams, guest lectures, portfolio reviews, and mock interviews.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Technical Art and Visual Effects for Games

Duration

University of Staffordshire undergraduate courses are usually 3 years for full-time study.

Courses which offer other study options have longer durations:

  • Full-time with a placement year, 4 years

  • Full-time with a foundation year, 4 years

Course content

In your first year, you will build strong Technical Art foundations exploring core programming concepts, creating props and materials, building worlds and developing visual effects. You’ll grow in confidence across multiple disciplines and begin to find your Technical Art niche.

During your second year, you will begin to specialise and pick optional modules to level up your Technical Art skill. You will explore and develop skills in areas such as VFX, tools development, animation and more. A highlight of the second year is the collaborative group work; you’ll get to showcase your incredible Technical Art powers in our Production Studio Module and master Indie Art Development.

In your final year, you will build your Technical Art Portfolio Project. Bringing together your skills, you’ll get to set off on a journey to showcase your Technical Abilities. Alongside your project the final year offers you further specialisation opportunity as you learn how to push your VFX and Technical Art skill to the new level.

Our final year helps you build industry ready work as you tackle authentic assessments and craft stand out portfolio projects to launch your game development career.

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.

Year 1 compulsory modules
3D Props And Materials 30 credits
Core Programming Concepts For Games 30 credits
Vfx And Shaders For Games 30 credits
Worldbuilding Studio: Real-Time Environments 30 credits
Year 2 compulsory modules
Game Production Studio 30 credits
Indie Art Development 30 credits
Show 4 optional modules
Year 3 compulsory modules
Games Art And Concepts Live Brief 30 credits
Show 5 optional modules

Entry requirements

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

Careers

The Technical Art and Visual Effects course gears you towards careers such as; Technical Artist, Visual Effects Artist, Technical Animator, CFX Artist, 3D Asset Artist, Tools Developer, Indie Development and much more.

Many graduates have secured roles with leading games companies, including EA, Rockstar Games, Playground Games, Codemasters, Rare, Larian Studios, Frontier, Rebellion, Supermassive Games, Unity, Cloud Imperium Games and Climax Studios.

Additionally, some graduates developing and releasing their own independent projects.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities—potentially supported by the Turing funding.

All students have access to Careers, Placements & Employability, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and laboratory practicals. In addition, you will have meetings with your academic mentor at least twice a year. You will be taught in first-class learning spaces throughout your course. Many of our courses are accredited or recognised by professional, statutory or regulatory bodies.

Assessment

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark. 

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

  • study skills such as reading, note-taking and presentation skills
  • written English, including punctuation and grammatical accuracy
  • academic writing and how to reference
  • research skills
  • critical thinking and understanding arguments
  • revision, assessment and examination skills
  • time management

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Feedback

Feedback will be provided continuously throughout the course in a variety of different ways. Such as in class conversations, 1-2-1 meetings with your tutors, formative marking and via our industry approved Digital Academy Forums. 

Staff

Please note, teaching team staff members may change during your studies.

Profile Image

Chris Windmill

Senior Lecturer

Christopher is a software engineer with a background in real-time systems, large scale networks and systems with a passion for games and optimisation. His main area of interest is in the use of technology to improve the human experience.

Chris's profile
Profile Image

James Banton

Lecturer

James works across Games Development and Games Programming and actively researches Artificial Intelligence in games, focusses on employability for students and readying students throughout their work for industry standard.

James's profile

Robert Lambert

Senior Lecturer

Matthew Novak

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer 3D Game Art

Fees

For the course starting on 20 September 2027 the tuition fees are:

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £10,050 per year of study £17,285 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk.

Scholarships and additional funding

As an undergraduate student at Staffordshire, you may be eligible for additional financial support through one of our scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Apply now to Technical Art and Visual Effects for Games

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus BSc (Hons) Full-time 20 September 2027 Apply now

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Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

Have you considered?

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021