Austin has a bigger tech economy than its list of game design schools near Austin would suggest. Two ranked programs sit inside the metro, both at Saint Edward's University, 5 miles from the city center. Beyond that, this page reaches out to 100 miles and finds only a pair of ranked programs in San Antonio, so past the first campus your options mean moving or a long commute. Here's how the pieces fit together.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
2Game Programs Within 25 Milesgame design, programming, simulation and animation, all levelsIPEDS locations
2Game Programs Within 50 Milesabout an hour outIPEDS locations
6Game Programs Within 100 Milesat 4 colleges; 2 ranked game bachelor'sIPEDS locations
Saint Edward's University leads the metro at 59.1.2 ranked programs sit inside the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro. Completion is a strength at 62%, above the 59% median, but its $28,351 net price is $2,201 more than the median ranked program's.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $134,120 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 31,960 people work as software developers in the metro, a heavier concentration than the country as a whole (location quotient 2.28). Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $119,950 in Austin, 15% more than the $104,000 national median.Pay ›
427 software and game publishers in the metro.Concentration 4.06, where 1.00 matches the U.S. Those publishers employ 30,603 people. The metro also has 1,461 custom programming studios and 233 film, video and animation production companies.Employers ›
In-state tuition starts at $3,690.2 public colleges nearby offer a game-related program. The highest in-state tuition nearby is $5,400, so where you enroll changes the bill a lot.Costs ›
A one-bedroom rents for $1,556 a month.The U.S. median one-bedroom is $1,301. Rent is the big cost in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro: the median is $1,784 a month, $297 over the U.S. median. The lowest on-campus room and board nearby is $10,800 a year at Blinn College District.Living Costs ›
Ranked in Austin
The Best Game Design Schools in Austin, TX for 2027
Saint Edward's University, a private nonprofit, holds both ranked programs in the metro. Its game and interactive media design degree ranks 47 of 89 with a score of 59.1, and it reports 13 graduates a year. The animation program ranks 58 of 82 with a score of 51.3 and graduates just 2 a year.
Published tuition is $50,484. The whole university reports a $28,351 net price and 62% completion. Treat those as figures for the whole university. The game program graduates 13 a year, a small cohort, so ask the school how big its classes run.
Game design, game programming, simulation and animation programs are all scored the same way, on completion, net price and program size. On each card, completion is the school's 8-year award rate and net price its average for aided first-year students, both from IPEDS; grads a year is the program's own average, 2022 to 2024. Miles are straight-line from central Austin.
Austin, TX · Private nonprofit · Game design program · 5 miles
59.1
#47 of 89 nationally
5 miles from Austin
Private
Saint Edward's sits 5 miles from central Austin, which the program calls the third largest hub for video game development in the country. Students network at events like the Austin Game Conference and Classic Game Fest, and a Meet the Makers series brings industry veterans to campus. Recent students have interned with Nokia and McAfee, among others.
The BA in Video Game Development teaches every phase of making a game: concept, prototyping, narrative design, asset creation, testing and release. A Game Fair at the end of each semester lets classmates, friends and family play student games. About 13 students graduate each year. Published tuition is $50,484, aided first-years pay a net price of $28,351 school-wide, and the cost of attendance is $71,334 before aid.
Austin, TX · Private nonprofit · Animation program · 5 miles
51.3
#58 of 82 in animation
5 miles from Austin
Animation
Private
Five miles from downtown Austin, Saint Edward's puts an animation major close to a city the university calls a hub of animation jobs, with employers such as Powerhouse Animation Studios and Minnow Mountain. Students can intern with local studios and get involved at South by Southwest and the Austin Film Festival, and the department hosts working professionals who speak to classes.
The B.A. in Animation starts from drawing, script writing and sequential art, then moves through courses such as Foundations in Animation, Animation Production, Kinestasis and Motion Graphics, and Compositing and Visual Effects. Classrooms have Cintiq pen displays and stop-motion cameras. Tuition is $50,484 for every student, and aided first-years pay a net price of $28,351 school-wide against a $71,334 cost of attendance before aid. School-wide, 62% of entering students finish within eight years. This small major graduates about 2 students a year.
The rest of the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro and the nearby areas are covered on the Texas page.
StateTexas4 ranked game bachelor's · 15 programs in allView the Texas guide ›
Pay in Austin
What Game Jobs Pay in Austin
Austin pays developers about what the rest of the country does. Software developers earn $134,120 at the median, $1,860 under the national figure and $1,970 over the Texas one. The metro employs 31,960 of them, and the middle half earns $104,000 to $168,730.
$63,560–$127,080$64k–$127k$63,560 to $127,080, May 2025May 2025
480May 2023
$78,930May 2025
$102,030
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$65,060
$52,140–$79,790$52k–$80k$52,140 to $79,790
1,880
$60,150
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$100,700May 2025
$74,910–$135,630$75k–$136k$74,910 to $135,630, May 2025May 2025
1,160May 2024
$99,330May 2025
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$100,690
$80,010–$158,080$80k–$158k$80,010 to $158,080
400
$88,270
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metropolitan area. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile. Figures tagged May 2024 or May 2023 are from that earlier BLS release, because BLS didn't publish one for the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro in the current release.
Design pays better relative to Texas. Web and digital interface designers, the category with game and UI designers, earn $119,950, or $15,950 above the national median and $17,300 above the state median. Art directors earn $100,690. Animators and 3D artists have a $82,570 median, which is $19,460 below the national figure, and BLS doesn't publish how many work in the metro. Computer programmers earn $100,700.
The cost picture is mixed. Prices overall rate 98.1 and housing alone 120.4, against a national average of 100, so prices overall are slightly below average even though housing runs high.
About 31,960 people work as software developers in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro, a heavier concentration than the country as a whole (location quotient 2.28). Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $119,950 in Austin, 15% more than the $104,000 national median. BEA's index puts prices in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro near the U.S. average, at 98.1.
Austin's employer mix is stronger than its school list. Census files game publishers with software firms, and that group here counts 427 businesses and 30,603 employees, at 4.1 times the national concentration. Contract programming shops add 28,216 employees, a concentration of 3.7 times the national one. Census doesn't count game studios as a separate industry, and most are counted under software publishers, so these figures cover software firms of every kind.
Industry
What it covers
Businesses
Employees
Concentration
Software and game publishers
Software publishers (game publishers and studios are filed here)
427
30,603
4.06
Custom programming studios
Custom computer programming services (contract and co-development studios)
1,461
28,216
3.74
Film, video and animation production
Motion picture and video production (animation and VFX studios)
233
1,028
0.87
Graphic design firms
Graphic design services
198
496
1.35
Establishments and March payroll employees in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro, County Business Patterns 2023. Concentration is the industry's share of metro employees divided by its share nationally: 1.00 matches the U.S., 2.00 is twice as concentrated.
Animation and video production is at 87% of the national concentration, and graphic design firms at 1.4 times. Software developers are 2.28 times as common in the metro as nationally, and web and digital interface designers 1.14. Art directors come in at 0.90, less common than nationally. BLS doesn't report the animator location quotient for Austin.
Practically, that means programming skills travel further here than art skills. If you're an artist, expect to build a portfolio that also works for non-game design jobs.
How Common Game-Adjacent Jobs Are in Austin
Occupation
Jobs per 1,000
Location quotient
Software developers
24.71
2.28
Web and digital interface designers
0.83
1.14
Graphic designers
1.45
1.14
Art directors
0.31
0.90
BLS OEWS May 2025. Jobs per 1,000 of all metro jobs; a location quotient above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in the metro than nationally.
Talent pipeline
How Many Game Graduates Austin Produces
Colleges within 100 miles of Austin produce about 70 graduates a year from game-related programs of every level, and 40 of them earn a bachelor's. Inside the metro the total is 15 a year, against 33,040 core jobs, a share of under 0.1%. Saint Edward's University accounts for all of it, with 13 from game and interactive media design and 2 from animation.
The 6 largest game-related programs within 100 miles of central Austin by graduates a year, IPEDS completions averaged 2022 to 2024:
That ratio shouldn't be read as a shortage of graduates. Core jobs here means software developers, interface designers and animators, and most of those positions aren't in games. Graduates also relocate, and employers hire from anywhere. What it does tell you is that this isn't a metro where a lot of local game programs compete for the same seats.
Cost near Austin
Paying for School in Austin
Both public colleges on the list are in Texas, and both are 81 miles away, so they're community colleges rather than easy commutes. Northwest Vista College charges $5,400 in state and $9,810 out of state, which adds $4,410 for nonresidents, and its net price is $5,655. Blinn College District charges $3,690 against $8,370 and has a net price of $12,910.
The public colleges within 100 miles that offer a game-related program, all in Texas. Tuition is the published undergraduate rate for 2023-24 (IPEDS IC), before aid; net price is the school-wide average for aided first-year students, 2022-23 (IPEDS SFA).
The state grant to ask about is the TEXAS Grant, from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Texas isn't part of any undergraduate regional tuition exchange, so there's no out-of-state discount program to rely on. If you're coming from another state, plan on paying the full premium at public schools.
State Aid in Texas
Texas's main need program for undergraduates is the TEXAS Grant, run by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In its own words: "The Texas Legislature established the TEXAS Grant to provide aid to Students with financial need who are attending a Texas public University or health-related institution." The Texas page covers state aid and public college costs in more detail.
Tuition Exchanges
Texas takes part in the Academic Common Market (ACM) only at the graduate level, so undergraduates pay full nonresident tuition at public schools in other states unless the school offers its own award.
Living costs
Living in Austin as a Student
Rent in Austin is above the national figure but not extreme. Median rent runs $1,784 a month, $297 over the U.S. median. A one-bedroom runs $1,556, or $18,672 over twelve months, and a two-bedroom split two ways costs $930 apiece. Overall prices are 98.1 against a national 100.
Monthly rent
Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro
U.S.
All rentals, median
$1,784
$1,487
One bedroom, median
$1,556
$1,301
Two bedrooms, median
$1,859
$1,490
Median gross rent (rent plus utilities the tenant pays), American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, tables B25064 and B25031.
Three of the four colleges report on-campus room and board. Blinn College District is cheapest at $10,800, University of the Incarnate Word is $13,746 and Saint Edward's University is highest at $14,010. Northwest Vista College has no campus housing, so you'd rent off campus.
Rent is the big cost in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro: the median is $1,784 a month, $297 over the U.S. median.
Each college's own yearly estimates for a full-time undergraduate, 2023-24 (IPEDS IC). Off-campus is for a student not living with family.
Neither of the ranked game programs near Austin is counted under programming. Both are game and interactive media design, and the animation entries sit beside them, so the mix runs toward art and design. Someone who wants to build engines or tools would likely major in computer science elsewhere and use game electives. Blinn College District lists associate work in computer game programming, the one programming-flavored entry in range.
Both ranked options are private, so there isn't a public bachelor's alternative to compare. Saint Edward's has a net price of $28,351, while University of the Incarnate Word runs $21,246. Community college is the cheaper way to start, but the two on this list are 81 miles away, so you'd be moving for those too.
If you want to live in Austin, Saint Edward's is the one real answer, at 5 miles. It offers on-campus room and board at $14,010, which helps if you don't have a place yet. Our data has no studio facts for Austin, so don't treat any program's location as a ticket to internships without asking the school directly.
The one college on this page isn't open admission; Saint Edward's University admitted 81% of applicants for fall 2024. None requires SAT or ACT scores.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Best Game Design Schools Near Austin: Which Ones Rank?
Saint Edward's University is the top-ranked game design school near Austin, scoring 59.1 and ranked 47 of 89 nationally. Completion is a strength at 62%, above the 59% median, but its $28,351 net price is $2,201 more than the median ranked program's. About 13 students a year graduate from it, a mid-sized program by the ranking's standards. Saint Edward's University is next at 51.3, one of 2 ranked programs in the metro. See the ranked programs.
What Is a Typical Game Developer Salary in Austin?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $134,120 in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). Web and digital interface designers, where game designers are counted, earn $119,950 in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro, 15% more than the $104,000 national median. BEA's index puts prices in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro near the U.S. average, at 98.1. See what game jobs pay in Austin.
Is There In-State Tuition for Game Design Near Austin?
In-state tuition at public colleges near Austin starts at $3,690 a year, at Blinn College District, and runs up to $5,400 at Northwest Vista College. Nonresidents pay $8,370 at Blinn College District. 2 public colleges within 100 miles offer a game-related program, and private colleges charge every student the same tuition. After grants, Northwest Vista College has the lowest average net price nearby, $5,655, under the $13,240 public average in the median state. See paying for school in Austin.
How Far Is the Nearest Game Design Program From Austin?
2 ranked programs sit inside the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro. Saint Edward's University scores highest, at 59.1. The top program is 5 miles from central Austin, close enough to commute if housing nearby is out of reach. 2 game-related programs sit within 25 miles of central Austin and 2 within 50, counting every level. The rest of the metro and the nearby areas are on the Texas page. See the ranked programs.
How Much Does It Cost to Live in Austin as a Student?
Median rent in the Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos metro was $1,784 a month in 2024, $297 above the U.S. median of $1,487 (Census ACS). A one-bedroom runs $1,556. On-campus room and board at nearby colleges starts at $10,800 a year at Blinn College District, which bundles meals and avoids a lease. Housing is the expensive part: BEA puts it at 120.4 against a U.S. average of 100. See living in Austin as a student.
How Easy Is Admission to Game Design Programs Near Austin?
The one college on this page isn't open admission; Saint Edward's University admitted 81% of applicants for fall 2024. None requires SAT or ACT scores. At 81%, most applicants get in, so a solid application with a portfolio is usually enough. Saint Edward's University is 5 miles from central Austin. Each program card shows its college's admission rate where one is reported. See how to choose a program.
Keep exploring
Related Pages
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CityHouston, TX146 mi from Austin · 4 programs within 50 miles · 1 ranked game bachelor'sView the Houston guide ›
2NCES, IPEDS Outcome Measures 2023 The completion factor: the share of all entering students, full-time, part-time and transfer, who earned an award within eight years. School-wide.
