Looking for game design schools in Georgia? You'll find two ranked bachelor's programs, both public and both game programming programs: Kennesaw State University at 12 of 89 and Georgia State University at 18 of 89. Neither is a game design program, so expect code-heavy coursework. Savannah College of Art and Design adds an animation bachelor's for artists, and the state's median software developer wage is $131,010.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
2Game Design Bachelor's Programs Ranked for 2027top score: Kennesaw State UniversityOur ranking
6Game-Related Programs in the State3 bachelor's, 2 associate, 1 graduateIPEDS
$17.6kMedian Net Pricebachelor's schools here, aided first-year studentsIPEDS
Kennesaw State University leads at 75.7.2 ranked programs in Georgia, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 52% of its students and has a $17,566 net price. Georgia State University is next at 75.1.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $131,010 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 49,700 people work as software developers in Georgia. Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Georgia sits close to the national median: $103,810 against $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Georgia: BEA puts prices 3.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.Pay ›
Living costs run below the U.S. average.Living costs work in your favor in Georgia: BEA puts prices 3.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $4,520.The HOPE Scholarship is Georgia's main state grant. Georgia's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $11,849 on average across 27, under the $13,240 median state. Out of state, tuition averages $14,944.Costs ›
City guides: Atlanta.Each ranks the programs nearby with distances, and covers local pay, the software and media employers in the metro, how many graduates compete for jobs, and rent.City Guides ›
Georgia in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in Georgia
Both of Georgia's ranked programs sit at public universities. Kennesaw State University, in Kennesaw, ranks 12 of 89 and scores 75.7, a 52% completion rate and a net price of $17,566. Georgia State University, in Atlanta, ranks 18 of 89, scoring 75.1, a 58% completion rate and a net price of $16,390.
Both are game programming programs, which means there's no ranked design or simulation program in the state. Kennesaw graduates 43 students a year and Georgia State graduates 17. Counting every level, Georgia lists six game-related programs at five colleges, including two associate programs and one graduate program.
Every score on this page is the same score the national rankings use, built on completion, net price and program size, from federal data. The methodology has the details.
Ranked in Georgia
The 2 Best Game Design Schools in Georgia for 2027
Kennesaw State University leads, ranked 12 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 52% and an average net price of $17,566. Every school on this list is public. The best game design schools ranking shows how these compare with every school in the country.
Each ranked program in Georgia, in rank order: what stands out, the trade-off to weigh, and the figures behind the score. Completion, net price and earnings are school-wide; graduates a year is the program's own; the score is out of 100.
Georgia residents pay $4,560 in published in-state tuition at Kennesaw State, while out-of-state students pay $16,488, so residency matters a great deal here. The program is the only four-year bachelor's degree like it at a public university in the state, and it is taught on a suburban campus with Marietta as the primary site.
Students can choose face-to-face, online or hybrid study and start in fall, spring or summer. The Bachelor of Science in Computer Game Design and Development covers 120 credit hours with a choice of concentrations. School-wide, the net price for aided first-years is $17,566, and 52% of students complete a degree within eight years.
School-wide, 69% of applicants are admitted and the SAT midpoint is 1110. The university enrolls 47,764 students, and earnings for graduates of all majors are $57,552 ten years after enrolling. About 43 students graduate from the program each year.
Georgia State is the Atlanta option for a Georgia student who wants a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design inside a large city. In-state tuition is $7,344 published, before aid, compared with $23,520 out of state, so establishing residency is worth real money here.
The campus setting is a city, and the degree is part of the College of Arts & Sciences, and the school-wide net price for aided first-years is $16,390, 58% of students finish within eight years, and the admit rate is 55%. The program graduates about 17 students each year.
The SAT midpoint across the university is 1060, and earnings for graduates of all majors are $47,384 ten years out. Georgia State has 34,944 students, which gives the game design cohort plenty of company in other majors.
Animation bachelor's programs in Georgia, scored the same way and listed in score order. Completion and net price are school-wide IPEDS figures; grads a year is the program's 2022-2024 average.
Programs reported to IPEDS, with graduates per year averaged 2022 to 2024. Associate and graduate programs aren't in the bachelor's ranking, so they carry no score here.
Software developers in Georgia earn a median of $131,010, $4,970 under the national median. This is the BLS category where game programmers and engine developers are counted, and it employs 49,700 people in the state. The middle half of earners make between $103,410 and $162,240.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$60,250
$44,750–$77,670$45k–$78k$44,750 to $77,670
5,920
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$98,380
$80,320–$120,670$80k–$121k$80,320 to $120,670
1,890
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$110,430
$52,900–$157,750$53k–$158k$52,900 to $157,750
1,420
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile.
Pay in Georgia's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Special effects artists and animators
Price level
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
$132,960
$118,190
$76,110
100.1
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
$119,780
$80,990
Not published
91.9
Savannah, GA
$123,220
$95,440May 2024
Not published
95.2
Median annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the state's largest metropolitan areas by total employment. Price level is BEA's Regional Price Parity for 2024, where the U.S. average is 100. Figures tagged May 2024 are from that earlier BLS release, because BLS didn't publish one for that metro area in the current release. A cell marked with a dash means BLS (or BEA, for price level) didn't publish a figure for that metro area, usually because too few employers reported.
Designers fare nearly as well as the national average. Game designers and UI designers are counted under web and digital interface designers, who have a median of $103,810, just $190 under the national median. Special effects artists and animators, where game animators and 3D artists are counted, earn $81,390, a gap of $20,640 under the national median, with just 350 people in those jobs here.
Atlanta pays the most for software developers at $132,960, for web and digital interface designers at $118,190, and for graphic designers at $62,680. Animators are the exception, with a median of $76,110 in Atlanta against $81,390 statewide. Savannah's art directors earn $117,650 and its computer programmers $105,600, while Augusta's software developers earn $119,780. Augusta has no published animator figure and Savannah has none for web and digital interface designers.
Few graduates start as senior designers. Entry-level work tends to be game testing, junior design, art and interface roles, or junior programming. Graphic designers, with a median of $60,250, are where many art and UI graduates begin, and art directors earn $110,430 but rarely as a first job. Georgia prices run about 3.7% below the national average, which is a price level of 96.3.
About 49,700 people work as software developers in Georgia. Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Georgia sits close to the national median: $103,810 against $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Georgia: BEA puts prices 3.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.
The game design salary pages explain what each occupation covers and how game studios fit inside it.
Cost in Georgia
Paying for School in Georgia
Georgia has 27 public four-year colleges, and the typical in-state student pays $4,520 in tuition against $14,944 for an out-of-state student, a $10,424 premium. After aid, an average in-state student's net price is $11,849. The two public game schools run higher, charging residents $5,952 and nonresidents $20,004, which leaves $14,052 between the two.
Public colleges in GA
Figure
Public four-year colleges
27
Average in-state tuition
$4,520
Average out-of-state tuition
$14,944
Average net price, aided in-state students
$11,849
Means across Georgia's public four-year degree-granting colleges that offer undergraduate study: tuition from IPEDS for 2023-24 (27 colleges reporting), net price for 2022-23 (27 reporting). Net price is what first-year students with grant aid paid after grants.
Georgia's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $11,849 on average across 27, under the $13,240 median state.
The HOPE Scholarship, run by the Georgia Student Finance Commission, is a merit award, so your grades decide whether it applies. Georgia also lists the Academic Common Market as its tuition exchange. If you live in another member state, ask your home state's higher education office whether a Georgia program qualifies. Because HOPE is based on merit, a strong high school record can lower what you pay at Kennesaw State University or Georgia State University.
State Aid in Georgia
Georgia's main merit program for undergraduates is the HOPE Scholarship, run by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. In its own words: "The scholarship provides money to assist students with a portion of the tuition cost at a HOPE Scholarship eligible college or university." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
Georgia belongs to the Academic Common Market (ACM). In the program's own words, "Many students qualify for in-state tuition to study at out-of-state institutions.." It also says: "Not all colleges participate, not all programs are offered, and not every offered program is available to students in all states."
Your real choice in Georgia is between two public programming degrees. Kennesaw State University scores higher, but Georgia State University has the lower net price and sits in Atlanta, where the best-paying game-adjacent jobs are. Visit both and ask each how much of the coursework is design versus code. Ask each department who teaches the capstone course and whether students ship a playable game before they graduate.
If you want a design-first degree, Georgia won't give you one in the ranked data. Savannah College of Art and Design is the only animation bachelor's listed, with a score of 47.6 and a net price of $46,524, far above the public schools. Florida and North Carolina each have four ranked bachelor's programs, so they're the first places to look next door.
Residency decides the bill here. A Georgia resident pays about $5,952 in tuition at a public game school, and an outsider pays $20,004. If you're local, the public programs are cheap and close to the median net price of $17,566 across game and animation schools in the state.
Neighboring States
Neighboring stateFlorida4 ranked game bachelor's · 13 programs in allView the Florida guide ›
Neighboring stateNorth Carolina3 ranked game bachelor's · 14 programs in allView the North Carolina guide ›
Neighboring stateAlabama1 ranked game bachelor's · 2 programs in allView the Alabama guide ›
Neighboring stateTennessee1 ranked game bachelor's · 3 programs in allView the Tennessee guide ›
Neighboring stateSouth CarolinaNo programs; the guide lists the nearestView the South Carolina guide ›
City guides
Cities in Georgia
One city in Georgia has its own guide, ranking every program inside the metro and within 50 miles of the city center, with distances, metro pay and nearby public college costs.
Atlanta, GA3 programs within 50 miles · 2 ranked game bachelor'sView the Atlanta guide ›
Which Georgia Colleges Have Ranked Game Programming Bachelor's Degrees?
Kennesaw State University is the top-ranked game design school in Georgia, 12 of 89 in our national ranking, followed by Georgia State University at 18. It finishes 52% of its students and has an average net price of $17,566 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 43 students a year. The cheapest ranked option is Georgia State University at $16,390. Out-of-state students pay $11,928 more a year in published tuition there. See all 2 ranked Georgia programs in the state ranking.
What Do Software Developers Earn in Georgia?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $131,010 in Georgia, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Georgia sits close to the national median: $103,810 against $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Georgia: BEA puts prices 3.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further. About 49,700 people work as software developers in Georgia. See what game jobs pay in Georgia.
Does Georgia Have an Animation Bachelor's?
Special effects artists and animators earn a median of $81,390 in Georgia (BLS May 2025), against $102,030 nationally. The occupation covers film, TV and advertising as well as games. In all, 2 animation programs are offered in Georgia across every degree level. Georgia has one ranked animation bachelor's, led by Savannah College of Art and Design. See what game jobs pay in Georgia.
Does the HOPE Scholarship Cover Game Degrees?
Georgia's main state grant for undergraduates is the HOPE Scholarship, run by the Georgia Student Finance Commission. In its own words: "The scholarship provides money to assist students with a portion of the tuition cost at a HOPE Scholarship eligible college or university." State grants usually require you to study at an eligible college in Georgia, so they rarely follow you out of state, and award rules change from year to year. Aided in-state students at public four-year colleges pay an average net price of $11,849 after grants. See paying for school in Georgia.
What Does College Cost at Georgia's Public Universities?
The lowest-priced ranked option in Georgia is Georgia State University, at an average net price of $16,390 a year for aided first-year students. The catch is completion: 58% of its students finish, under the 59% median, and a program you don't finish costs more than its sticker. Public in-state tuition in Georgia averages $4,520, if a related program at home fits. See paying for school in Georgia.
Is Atlanta the Best Georgia Metro for Game Salaries?
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA pays software developers the most of Georgia's metros, a median of $132,960 (BLS May 2025), against $119,780 in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC. Software developers is the occupation BLS counts game programmers in. The statewide median is $131,010. Higher metro pay usually comes with higher living costs, so compare both before you move for a job. See what game jobs pay in Georgia.
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.
