Game Development Studies
Game Development (Business Information Technology Programme)
Professional game developers are trained in the Business Information Technology degree programme. This bachelor's degree consists of 210 credits and takes 3,5 years to complete.
The main objective of the game development studies is to develop and hone special skills in game development. When you study game development in Kajaani UAS, you learn the skills and competences necessary to become an expert in a game development team and a professional in game or software development, -training, -designing and -production.
There are 40 spots in the Business Information Technology programme. The first Autumn semester is made up of shared studies (basic IT studies, communications studies and entrepreneurship studies among others). After the first Autumn semester, 24 students are chosen to major in game development based on their skills, motivation and academic success.
Students majoring in game development will choose to specialize in one of the following: Game Programming, Game Graphics or Game Designing and Production.
It is also possible to specialize in Game Sound Production. These studies will be arranged in co-operation with Skövde University in Sweden and students who choose this specialization will spend their second academic year in Skövde.
The second year of this programme is taught completely in English, making it the ideal year for foreign exchange students interested in studying game development in Finland. For more information on exchange options, please contact Mr. Veli-Pekka Piirainen.
Study Content
Game Development studies give you a strong competency in project work, entrepreneurship and business, languages and communications as well as general skills in all the different roles of game development. In Professional Studies you specialize in game programming, game graphics, game designing and production or game sound effects and deepen your knowledge in your chosen field.
Some of the courses are arranged in co-operation with Finnish and International business partners, such as Skövde University (Sweden), Northumbria University (the UK), Teesside University (the UK), University of Oulu, Neogames, Pelitalo Outokumpu and Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Visiting lecturers come from professional game companies in Finland or abroad. Gaming events are arranged as a part of the studies, and students take part in Finnish and International game development competitions (Assembly, ImagineCup) and events (Nordic Game, GetOnline). Students are encouraged to take advantage of exchange programs in our partner schools all over the world.
The most important part in the game development studies is working on real game projects. Students specializing in different roles form teams of 4-5 people and work together on game projects of varying length. As skills and experience are gained, students will work on bigger and more demanding game projects. All game projects are commercial and aim to produce a game that will be published using the appropriate channels. Kajak Games Co-operative is the students’ publisher.
Practical training (30 credits) is a part of the studies and is also spent working on game projects. Students can do their practical training in any game company in Finland or abroad, or choose to do it in Kajak Games Co-operative in co-operation with game companies or schools, or working on their own business model. You can read our students' practical training experiences here.
In the game development industry, the best proof of your skills are game demos and developed games. Games published through Kajak Games Co-operative are the students’ first commercial products, and the games made during your studies – whether they be published or remain 'good practice' projects – form a very competent portfolio that will be irreplaceable when looking for work in the game development industry.
Find out the detailed course structure from Study Structure page.