Indiana's one ranked program is a strong one. Indiana University-Bloomington ranks 6 of 89 and is a game design program, with a score of 85.2 and an 81% completion rate. Among game design schools in Indiana it stands alone as a ranked bachelor's, and Ball State University adds an animation bachelor's that scores 80.0. Prices run about 6.7% below the national average, so a paycheck goes further here.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
1Game Design Bachelor's Ranked for 2027top score: Indiana University-BloomingtonOur ranking
3Game-Related Programs in the State3 bachelor's, 0 associate, 0 graduateIPEDS
$16.3kMedian Net Pricebachelor's schools here, aided first-year studentsIPEDS
Indiana University-Bloomington leads at 85.2.It is the only ranked program in Indiana, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 81% of its students and has a $16,282 net price.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $105,920 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 14,130 people work as software developers in Indiana. In Indiana, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $63,430, which is 39% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Indiana: BEA puts prices 6.7% 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 Indiana: BEA puts prices 6.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $8,373.The Frank O'Bannon Grant is Indiana's main state grant. Indiana's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $10,786 on average across 15, under the $13,240 median state. Out of state, tuition averages $22,693.Costs ›
City guides: Indianapolis.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 ›
Indiana in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in Indiana
Indiana University-Bloomington is a public school and the only ranked game bachelor's in the state. It's a game design program, graduates 20 students a year and has a net price of $16,282. Its 81% completion rate is the best of any program in this part of the Midwest, though that's a school-wide figure. Its score of 85.2 comes with an 81% completion rate, which tells you students who start tend to finish.
Animation fills out the picture. Ball State University scores 80.0 at a net price of $13,017, and Huntington University scores 71.8 at $21,149. Three colleges in Indiana have a game-related program at any level, all at the bachelor's level, and there are no associate or graduate programs listed.
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 Indiana
The Game Design School in Indiana for 2027
Indiana University-Bloomington leads, ranked 6 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 81% and an average net price of $16,282. Every school on this list is public. The best game design schools ranking shows how these compare with every school in the country.
The program: 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.
A Hoosier can study game design in a city setting without leaving the state: Indiana University offers a B.S. in Game Design from its arts and sciences college and media school. In-state tuition is published at $10,622 a year, while out-of-state students pay $40,369, so residency changes the bill by $29,747 annually.
School-wide, aided first-years pay a net price of $16,282 and the admit rate is 78%. Students choose from six focal areas, among them game design theory, art and sound, with nine credit hours in the one they pick. Around 20 students graduate from the program each year, and 81% of the university's entering class finishes within eight years. The university enrolls 48,424 students in all. The school-wide cost of attendance is $30,602 before aid.
Animation bachelor's programs in Indiana, 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.
Indiana's pay is lower than most of the country. The median pay for software developers is $105,920, $30,060 down on the national median, and 14,130 workers are counted in that field. Game designers sit inside web and digital interface designers, a group earning $63,430, or $40,570 below. Indiana's lower wages mostly track its lower prices, and a graduate who stays in the state keeps more of each paycheck than the raw number suggests.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$55,480
$46,600–$70,260$47k–$70k$46,600 to $70,260
3,450
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$97,000
$79,340–$116,010$79k–$116k$79,340 to $116,010
1,520
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$105,690
$82,960–$141,460$83k–$141k$82,960 to $141,460
350
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile.
Pay in Indiana's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Price level
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood
$106,870
$67,530
95.7
Fort Wayne
$101,560
$70,270
92.6
Evansville
$98,560
$56,690May 2024
91.5
Median annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the state's largest metropolitan areas by total employment, all in Indiana. 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.
Animators earn a median of $75,250, $26,780 down on the national median, and about 300 people hold those jobs. Computer programmers earn $97,000, only $3,390 below. Graphic designers earn $55,480 and there are 3,450 of them, the biggest design pool for entry-level art and UI work.
Indianapolis has the best figures for several roles. Its software developers earn $106,870, its graphic designers $60,520 and its art directors $105,270. Fort Wayne beats it for web and digital interface designers at $70,270 against $67,530, and Evansville has no published figure for animators or designers. No Indiana metro publishes an animator wage. Evansville's software developers earn $98,560, the lowest of the three Indiana metros listed.
The gap is partly a cost story. Cost of living explains part of the gap, because a price level of 93.3 means prices about 6.7% below the national average. Entry roles for graduates include testing, junior programming, junior design, and art or interface positions, and art directors earn $105,690 once they've climbed there.
About 14,130 people work as software developers in Indiana. In Indiana, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $63,430, which is 39% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Indiana: BEA puts prices 6.7% 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 Indiana
Paying for School in Indiana
Indiana's 15 public four-year colleges bill residents $8,373 on average and nonresidents $22,693, a $14,320 premium. In-state students end up at a $10,786 net price after aid. The public game and animation schools charge $9,785 to residents and $33,933 to everyone else, which is a $24,148 spread. These figures describe the public sector as a whole, so check the exact bill at Indiana University-Bloomington and Ball State University.
Public colleges in IN
Figure
Public four-year colleges
15
Average in-state tuition
$8,373
Average out-of-state tuition
$22,693
Average net price, aided in-state students
$10,786
Means across Indiana's public four-year degree-granting colleges that offer undergraduate study: tuition from IPEDS for 2023-24 (15 colleges reporting), net price for 2022-23 (15 reporting). Net price is what first-year students with grant aid paid after grants.
Indiana's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $10,786 on average across 15, under the $13,240 median state.
The Frank O'Bannon Grant from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education is need-based. Indiana also takes part in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP), and Ohio has public game programs nearby. Out-of-state students from member states should ask Indiana University-Bloomington whether MSEP rates apply.
State Aid in Indiana
Indiana's main need program for undergraduates is the Frank O'Bannon Grant, run by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. In its own words: "The Frank O'Bannon Grant, which includes the Higher Education Award and the Freedom of Choice Award, is Indiana's primary need-based financial aid program." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
Indiana belongs to the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP). In the program's own words, "MSEP offers a discounted tuition rate with an average annual tuition savings of $7,000.." It also says: "The program is volunteer based"
With one ranked public program, the big question is whether you can get in and whether you can afford the nonresident bill. A resident pays $9,785 in tuition and a nonresident pays $33,933, which is the widest gap I'd expect to see in this region. If you're an Indiana resident, the choice is easy to defend. Ask whether the program admits directly or through a general admission first.
Design or animation is the real split. Indiana University-Bloomington is the design choice, Ball State University is the animation choice, and no Indiana school is a game programming program or simulation. If code is your focus, Ohio has five game bachelor's programs and Michigan has three.
Ball State University has the lowest net price of the three at $13,017 and scores almost as high as Indiana University-Bloomington. Compare the two directly, since the median net price across the state's game and animation schools is $16,282. Huntington University costs more and scores lower, so it needs a specific reason such as location or size.
Neighboring States
Neighboring stateOhio5 ranked game bachelor's · 11 programs in allView the Ohio guide ›
Neighboring stateMichigan3 ranked game bachelor's · 10 programs in allView the Michigan guide ›
Neighboring stateIllinois1 ranked game bachelor's · 12 programs in allView the Illinois guide ›
Neighboring stateKentucky1 related programs, no game bachelor'sView the Kentucky guide ›
City guides
Cities in Indiana
One city in Indiana has its own guide, ranking every program inside the metro and within 50 miles of the city center (100 miles for a large city with few programs close by), with distances, metro pay and nearby public college costs.
Indianapolis, IN5 programs within 100 miles · 3 ranked game bachelor'sView the Indianapolis guide ›
Indiana University-Bloomington is the top-ranked game design school in Indiana, 6 of 89 in our national ranking. It finishes 81% of its students and has an average net price of $16,282 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 20 students a year. It's the only ranked game bachelor's in Indiana, out of 3 game-related programs in the state at every level. Out-of-state students pay $29,747 more a year in published tuition there. See its full profile in the state ranking.
What Does Ball State University Offer in This Field?
Ball State University has an average net price of $13,017 a year for aided first-year students (IPEDS), the price after grants rather than the published one. Published tuition is $8,948 for in-state students and $27,496 out of state. It is in Indiana, ranked 12 of the animation schools nationally, with a school-wide completion rate of 66%. Your own price depends on your family's income, so run the college's net price calculator before you compare it with others. See the state ranking.
How Much Do Software Developers Earn in Indiana?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $105,920 in Indiana, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). In Indiana, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $63,430, which is 39% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Indiana: BEA puts prices 6.7% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further. About 14,130 people work as software developers in Indiana. See what game jobs pay in Indiana.
Does Indiana Have a State Grant I Can Use?
Indiana's main state grant for undergraduates is the Frank O'Bannon Grant, run by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. In its own words: "The Frank O'Bannon Grant, which includes the Higher Education Award and the Freedom of Choice Award, is Indiana's primary need-based financial aid program." State grants usually require you to study at an eligible college in Indiana, 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 $10,786 after grants. See paying for school in Indiana.
How Big Is the In-State Tuition Advantage?
Yes, through the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP): Indiana is a member, and in the exchange's own words, "MSEP offers a discounted tuition rate with an average annual tuition savings of $7,000.." It also says: "The program is volunteer based" Each college decides which programs and how many seats take part, so check the specific game program before you count on a discount. For comparison, out-of-state tuition at Indiana's own public colleges averages $22,693 against $8,373 in state. See paying for school in Indiana.
Which Indiana Metro Pays the Most for Graphic Designers?
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN pays software developers the most of Indiana's metros, a median of $106,870 (BLS May 2025), against $98,560 in Evansville, IN. Software developers is the occupation BLS counts game programmers in. The statewide median is $105,920. Higher metro pay usually comes with higher living costs, so compare both before you move for a job. See what game jobs pay in Indiana.
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.
