Eight games courses, run by Staffordshire University, have been recognised for excellence by the games industry.
It is great to see how the University continues to engage with industry, teach industry relevant courses and prepare students for work in the video games industry. Congratulations to Staffordshire University on achieving TIGA University accreditation for 8 of its games courses.
TIGA, the games industry trade association, has announced successful accreditation of the following games courses.
- BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design
- BEng (Hons)/MEng Computer Games Design
- BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design (With Foundation Year)
- BSc (Hons) Computer Gameplay Design and Production
- BSc (Hons) Computer Games Design and Programming
- BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming
- BA (Hons) Games Art
- BA (Hons) Concept Art for Games and Film
The accreditation takes in to account that a good percentage of Staffordshire’s games graduates find work in the games industry, in related industries or are starting out on careers using the skills they gained on their courses.
The TIGA Accreditation Team also highlighted a thriving games development culture at Staffordshire University consisting of societies, games jams, student led community on Discord, engagement in industry-led conferences and competitions and overseas trips.
The University’s commitment to keeping their game development technologies up to date was also noted by the accreditation team and in particular the new Smart Zone facility with VR and AR equipment, 3D printing and other important technologies.
Chris Kingsley OBE, CTO at Rebellion and Chair of the TIGA Education Committee, said: “Staffordshire University was one of the first to apply for TIGA University Accreditation back in 2015. It is great to see how the University continues to engage with industry, teach industry relevant courses and prepare students for work in the video games industry. Congratulations to Staffordshire University on achieving TIGA University accreditation for 8 of its games courses. I look forward to assessing more of the University’s courses in the future.”
Staffordshire University Associate Professor Bobbie Fletcher who head up the Department for Games and Visual Effects said the University was thrilled to have added three more courses to their suite of TIGA accredited courses.
“We were very impressed with the rigour by which the TIGA Accreditation Panel analysed every aspect of the courses, the resources and the course teams and we are delighted we passed muster.”
All Computer Games courses are informed by industry and Staffordshire University has a particularly close relationship with Epic Games. The accreditation team said it was impressed by the number of courses that have briefs and projects from industry as part of the learning experience.
Dr Mark Eyles, TIGA Educational Advisor added: “Being able to examine the game development courses offered by Staffordshire University five years after the first round of accreditations has been an opportunity to once again see the high quality teaching on offer. All these courses offer valuable industry-like experiences for their students.”
The accreditation team also commended the games course teams and technicians for their work during COVID-19 to enable students to remotely connect to technologies within university computer labs.