Boston's own campuses are expensive and thin on game programs, and the cheapest strong option is in Fitchburg. Looking at game design schools in Boston, the four ranked programs inside the metro are all private and none ranks higher than 45 of 82 for animation or 64 of 89 for game design. The standout is Fitchburg State University, 43 miles from the center, which ranks 9 of 89 with an in-state tuition of $970 before fees.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
5Game Programs Within 25 Milesgame design, programming, simulation and animation, all levelsIPEDS locations
11Game Programs Within 50 Milesat 8 collegesIPEDS locations
3Ranked Game Design Bachelor's Programs Nearbyranked, within 50 miles; plus 4 animationOur ranking
Northeastern University leads the metro at 57.6.4 ranked programs sit inside the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro. Completion is a strength at 91%, above the 59% median, but its $34,770 net price is $8,620 more than the median ranked program's.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $166,090 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 42,310 people work as software developers in the metro, a heavier concentration than the country as a whole (location quotient 1.44). Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $122,270 in Boston, 18% more than the $104,000 national median.Pay ›
700 software and game publishers in the metro.Concentration 2.95, where 1.00 matches the U.S. Those publishers employ 57,225 people. The metro also has 1,483 custom programming studios and 191 film, video and animation production companies.Employers ›
In-state tuition starts at $576.3 public colleges nearby offer a game-related program. The highest in-state tuition nearby is $970, so where you enroll changes the bill a lot.Costs ›
A one-bedroom rents for $1,747 a month.The U.S. median one-bedroom is $1,301. Rent is the big cost in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro: the median is $2,093 a month, $606 over the U.S. median. The lowest on-campus room and board nearby is $11,690 a year at Clark University.Living Costs ›
Ranked in Boston
The Best Game Design Schools in Boston, MA for 2027
Inside the metro, Northeastern University is the closest ranked school at 4 miles. It appears twice, for animation at 45 of 82 and for game and interactive media design at 64 of 89, but it graduates 5 and 1 students a year in those programs. Its school-wide completion rate is 91%, the highest of any ranked Boston-area school, and its net price is $34,770. Montserrat College of Art (Beverly) ranks 60 of 89 and graduates 15 a year, while Lesley University (Cambridge) ranks 67 of 82.
Treat these as small programs inside strong schools. If you're drawn by the Northeastern name, ask how many students are actually in the game track, because one graduate a year is very different from a cohort. Montserrat's 68% completion rate and Lesley's 63% are school-wide figures, not program figures, so they show how the whole school retains students.
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 Boston.
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Animation program · 4 miles
57.6
#45 of 82 in animation
4 miles from Boston
Highest completion in Boston
Animation
Private
Northeastern's campus is 4 miles from central Boston, and its Animation BFA uses the city for co-op placements. Listed employers include the Boston Beer Company, Wayfair and the Boston Public Market, alongside studio co-ops such as DreamWorks Animation and Electronic Arts. The studio program covers 2D and 3D motion design, and a one-year capstone anchors the portfolio.
The university has the highest completion rate in Boston, 91% school-wide, and it admits just 5% of applicants, the most selective admit rate among the 82 animation programs we list. Aided first-year students pay a net price of $34,770, against a cost of attendance of $88,542. About 5 students graduate from the program annually. Tuition is $64,990 for all students, with no residency discount.
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Game design program · 4 miles
52.0
#64 of 89 nationally
4 miles from Boston
Private
Northeastern's campus is 4 miles from Boston, so a student can commute or live on a campus that sits inside the city. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Design is based in the College of Arts, Media and Design and treats games as an expressive, aesthetic form.
Co-op opportunities listed for the program include Zynga and Microsoft Studios. Tuition is $64,990 for all students, and school-wide aided first-years pay a net price of $34,770 against an $88,542 cost of attendance. Northeastern admits only 5% of applicants, and 91% of entering students across the university complete a degree within eight years. The program is tiny, with about 1 graduate a year.
Enrollment across the university is 32,553, and its SAT midpoint is 1490. The program lists career paths such as game designer, game artist and producer.
Beverly, MA · Private nonprofit · Animation program · 16 miles
51.7
#56 of 82 in animation
16 miles from Boston
Largest program in Boston
Animation
Private
Montserrat College of Art, in Beverly, is 16 miles from Boston, and its BFA in Animation is the largest program in the Boston area we cover, with about 15 graduates a year. The curriculum balances narrative and storytelling through motion and acting, draftsmanship and visual development, and collaborative and individual production.
Each year the best student work appears in the Media and Animation Showcase. The faculty include an animator who specializes in 2D character animation and animation for games. With 227 students, Montserrat is the smallest school among the 82 animation programs we cover. Tuition is $38,990, and aided first-years pay a net price of $35,885 school-wide. Earnings for graduates of all majors were $33,022 ten years out. The college is in a suburban setting.
Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit · Animation program · 6 miles
47.8
#67 of 82 in animation
6 miles from Boston
Lowest net price in Boston
Animation
Private
Lesley's campus in Cambridge is 6 miles from central Boston, in a city setting. Animation is one of its BFA majors, alongside film and game art and design, and the university lists full-time and part-time on-campus options with Fall or Spring starts. The 120-credit degree includes 48 credits of studio work in the major and 18 credits of studio foundation.
Lesley students are said to work with clients and industry professionals early. Aided first-years pay the lowest net price in Boston, $33,111, against a $57,956 cost of attendance and published tuition of $33,326. About 4 students graduate from the animation program each year. School-wide, 63% of entering students finish within eight years, and the university admits 97% of applicants. Students may also begin in either Fall or Spring.
The rest of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro and the nearby areas are covered on the Massachusetts and New Hampshire pages.
StateMassachusetts4 ranked game bachelor's · 13 programs in allView the Massachusetts guide ›
Also in the metroNew Hampshire2 ranked game bachelor's · 2 programs in allView the New Hampshire guide ›
More ways in
Other Game Programs in Boston
One more program inside the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro offers a way into game work without a ranked bachelor's. These associate, graduate and certificate programs aren't in the bachelor's ranking, so they carry no score. Grads a year is the program's IPEDS average, 2022 to 2024, and admission is the college's fall 2024 rate (College Scorecard).
Boston pays well for programmers and not for animators. Software developers, who include game programmers, clear $166,090 at the metro median, $30,110 above the national median. Computer programmers outside that title earn $128,900, and art directors earn $151,820, though that's seldom a first job. Web and digital interface designers, a category that holds game and UI designers, earn $122,270.
$63,090–$98,370$63k–$98k$63,090 to $98,370, May 2025May 2025
240May 2024
$80,640May 2025
$102,030
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$78,270
$61,490–$98,260$61k–$98k$61,490 to $98,260
3,560
$76,710
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$128,900
$102,290–$142,650$102k–$143k$102,290 to $142,650
1,600
$128,390
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$151,820
$105,330–$169,710$105k–$170k$105,330 to $169,710
1,550
$149,320
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile. Figures tagged May 2024 are from that earlier BLS release, because BLS didn't publish one for the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro in the current release.
Animation is the soft spot. Special effects artists and animators earn $80,640 in the metro, which is $21,390 below the national median and identical to the state figure. If you're choosing between an art-leaning and a code-leaning path, the Boston wages favor code by a wide margin. Graphic designers earn $78,270.
Prices run high. The metro price level is 108.3 where the national average is 100, and housing alone reads 148.4. Every ranked Boston-proper program here is private, so the cost of living stacks on top of a sticker price of $64,990 at Northeastern University.
About 42,310 people work as software developers in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro, a heavier concentration than the country as a whole (location quotient 1.44). Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $122,270 in Boston, 18% more than the $104,000 national median. Prices in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro run 8.3% above the U.S. average on BEA's index, which takes a bite out of both pay and a student budget.
Boston is much more a software metro than a film one. Because Census files game studios under software publishers, that line is your best proxy, and it sits at 3.0 times the national concentration with 700 businesses and 57,225 employees. Custom programming studios, the contract and co-development shops, reach 1.4 times. Graphic design firms sit at 1.0 times.
Industry
What it covers
Businesses
Employees
Concentration
Software and game publishers
Software publishers (game publishers and studios are filed here)
700
57,225
2.95
Custom programming studios
Custom computer programming services (contract and co-development studios)
1,483
27,075
1.39
Film, video and animation production
Motion picture and video production (animation and VFX studios)
191
1,108
0.36
Graphic design firms
Graphic design services
253
963
1.02
Establishments and March payroll employees in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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 is the gap. Film, video and animation production is only 36% of the national concentration, with 1,108 employees. On the occupation side, developers score a location quotient of 1.44 and art directors 1.68, both more common in the metro than nationally. That makes this a good bet if you're headed toward programming or design, and a thinner one if you want to animate.
Studios exist locally across the metro, but that's not a promise of openings for new graduates.
How Common Game-Adjacent Jobs Are in Boston
Occupation
Jobs per 1,000
Location quotient
Software developers
15.65
1.44
Web and digital interface designers
0.86
1.18
Graphic designers
1.32
1.03
Computer programmers
0.59
1.00
Art directors
0.57
1.68
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 Boston Produces
Programs within 50 miles produce 175 game-related graduates a year, 122 of them at the bachelor's level, but most of that comes from colleges 40 miles or more out. Colleges inside the metro account for 64 a year, a ratio of 0.1% to the 44,640 core jobs. Clark University leads the wider radius with 42 in its animation bachelor's, and Fitchburg State University adds 34. Inside the metro, most of the output is 39 master's graduates at Northeastern University, plus 15 bachelor's graduates from Montserrat College of Art itself.
The 10 largest game-related programs within 50 miles of central Boston by graduates a year, IPEDS completions averaged 2022 to 2024:
Don't read that as a gap you can exploit. Those core jobs are developers, interface designers and effects animators, a group that mostly isn't making games, and big employers recruit from far beyond the local schools. Graduates also move in both directions. The ratio only says the in-metro pipeline is tiny beside the job base, which is all it says.
Cost near Boston
Paying for School in Boston
All three public colleges near Boston are in Massachusetts, and they are the bargain. Fitchburg State University lists $970 in-state before fees and $7,050 out-of-state, an extra $6,080 for visitors, and the school-wide net price comes to $15,820. Quinsigamond Community College, plus Bristol Community College, both list $576 in-state and $5,520 out-of-state before fees. Compared with Northeastern University at $64,990, a Massachusetts resident can cut tuition sharply by starting at a community college or choosing Fitchburg.
The public colleges within 50 miles that offer a game-related program, all in Massachusetts. 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).
Massachusetts offers MASSGrant, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance, so check your eligibility at the school you're considering. Out-of-state New Englanders have another lever: a regional exchange named New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Break offers reduced rates on certain programs, so if you live in Maine or Vermont, ask whether your target program participates.
State Aid in Massachusetts
Massachusetts's main need program for undergraduates is the MASSGrant, run by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance. In its own words: "The MASSGrant program is funded by the state Legislature and provides need-based financial assistance to undergraduate students who in Massachusetts." The Massachusetts page covers state aid and public college costs in more detail.
Tuition Exchanges
Massachusetts belongs to the New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Break. In the program's own words, "66 public colleges and universities in New England participate."
State line
Studying Across the State Line From Boston
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro spans Massachusetts and New Hampshire, so a public college a short drive away can charge you nonresident tuition.
State
In-state tuition
Nonresident tuition
Gap
Massachusetts
$5,575
$17,349
$11,774
New Hampshire
$12,366
$25,057
$12,691
Average published undergraduate tuition at each state's public four-year colleges, 2023-24 (IPEDS IC).
All of these states belong to the New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Break, which can cut nonresident tuition at participating public colleges, so ask each one whether its game program is included.
Living costs
Living in Boston as a Student
Boston rent runs high. Locals pay a median of $2,093, and the U.S. median is $1,487, so you're looking at $606 more. The housing price index is 148.4 with 100 as the national average. A one-bedroom lists at $1,747 monthly, adding up to $20,964 over twelve months, compared with $1,301 nationally.
Monthly rent
Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro
U.S.
All rentals, median
$2,093
$1,487
One bedroom, median
$1,747
$1,301
Two bedrooms, median
$2,221
$1,490
Median gross rent (rent plus utilities the tenant pays), American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, tables B25064 and B25031.
Splitting a two-bedroom, which averages $2,221, brings it to $1,111 per person. Six nearby colleges report on-campus room and board. Clark University is the cheapest at $11,690 and Lesley University the priciest at $19,060, with Northeastern University at $18,790 and Worcester Polytechnic Institute at $18,072.
Rent is the big cost in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro: the median is $2,093 a month, $606 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.
The two community colleges on this list have no campus housing. If you start at one, plan on renting. Metro prices overall sit at a level of 108.3.
Choosing
How to Choose a Game Design Program in Boston
The mix here is almost all design and animation. All three ranked game programs are game design programs, none as programming or simulation, and four animation programs round out the list. If you want to write code for games, Boston's ranked options won't give you a dedicated track, so look at computer science departments or Bristol Community College's computer game programming program, and plan on building a portfolio yourself.
Public versus private is the biggest lever. Fitchburg State University has a $15,820 net price and the best rank, 9 of 89, while Worcester Polytechnic Institute is $47,799 net at 66 of 89. Northeastern University is $34,770 net but at a rank of 64 of 89 for game design. Fitchburg looks like the value pick if you can live 43 miles out, with the distance being straight-line rather than driving.
Living near Boston keeps you near the studios, which is useful when you look for internships. On the school side, Northeastern University is 4 miles from the center, Lesley University 6 and Montserrat College of Art 16.
Admission is rarely the hard part here: 1 of the 3 colleges on this page admits anyone with a high school diploma, and among the rest fall 2024 admission ran from 5% at Northeastern University to 97% at Lesley University. None requires SAT or ACT scores.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Does Boston Rank for Game Design Degrees, and Which School Is Best?
Northeastern University is the top-ranked game design school in Boston, scoring 57.6 and ranked 64 of 89 nationally. Completion is a strength at 91%, above the 59% median, but its $34,770 net price is $8,620 more than the median ranked program's. It is small, about 5 graduates a year, which can mean closer faculty contact but fewer electives each term. Northeastern University is next at 52.0, one of 4 ranked programs in the metro. The cheapest ranked option in the metro is Lesley University at $33,111, with 63% completion. See the ranked programs.
What Do Game Developers Earn Around Boston?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $166,090 in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). Web and digital interface designers, where game designers are counted, earn $122,270 in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro, 18% more than the $104,000 national median. Prices in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro run 8.3% above the U.S. average on BEA's index, which takes a bite out of both pay and a student budget. See what game jobs pay in Boston.
How Cheap Is In-State Tuition for Game Design in Massachusetts?
In-state tuition at public colleges near Boston starts at $576 a year, at Quinsigamond Community College, and runs up to $970 at Fitchburg State University. Nonresidents pay $5,520 at Quinsigamond Community College. 3 public colleges within 50 miles offer a game-related program, and private colleges charge every student the same tuition. After grants, Bristol Community College has the lowest average net price nearby, $5,738, under the $13,240 public average in the median state. See paying for school in Boston.
What Does It Cost to Live Near Boston as a Student?
Median rent in the Boston, Cambridge and Newton metro was $2,093 a month in 2024, $606 above the U.S. median of $1,487 (Census ACS). A one-bedroom runs $1,747. On-campus room and board at nearby colleges starts at $11,690 a year at Clark University, which bundles meals and avoids a lease. Housing is the expensive part: BEA puts it at 148.4 against a U.S. average of 100. See living in Boston as a student.
Can I Get Into a Game Design Program Near Boston?
Admission is rarely the hard part here: 1 of the 3 colleges on this page admits anyone with a high school diploma, and among the rest fall 2024 admission ran from 5% at Northeastern University to 97% at Lesley University. None requires SAT or ACT scores. Starting at an open-admission college and transferring after two years is the most reliable way in. The nearest open-admission option is Montserrat College of Art, 16 miles from central Boston. Each program card shows its college's admission rate where one is reported. See how to choose a program.
Keep exploring
Related Pages
CityWorcester, MA41 mi from Boston · 14 programs within 50 miles · 5 ranked game bachelor'sView the Worcester guide ›
CityManchester, NH50 mi from Boston · 10 programs within 50 miles · 4 ranked game bachelor'sView the Manchester 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.
