Michigan has three ranked game bachelor's programs, and two of them are public. Among game design schools in Michigan, Michigan State University leads at 10 of 89 nationally, and Eastern Michigan University follows at 16 of 89 and costs $17,388 net. Baker College, in Owosso, is the lone game programming option at 36 of 89. Below you'll find what the jobs pay, what college costs and how to choose.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
3Game Design Bachelor's Programs Ranked for 2027top score: Michigan State UniversityOur ranking
10Game-Related Programs in the State6 bachelor's, 4 associate, 0 graduateIPEDS
$21.0kMedian Net Pricebachelor's schools here, aided first-year studentsIPEDS
Michigan State University leads at 79.0.3 ranked programs in Michigan, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 83% of its students and has a $24,630 net price. Eastern Michigan University is next at 75.4.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $125,570 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 43,460 people work as software developers in Michigan. In Michigan, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $81,010, which is 22% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Michigan: BEA puts prices 3.8% 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 Michigan: BEA puts prices 3.8% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $12,343.The Michigan Achievement Scholarship is Michigan's main state grant. Aided in-state students pay $13,449 on average across 21 public four-year colleges, about what the median state charges. Out of state, tuition averages $21,300.Costs ›
City guides: Detroit and Lansing.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 ›
Michigan in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in Michigan
Two public schools and one private school make the ranked list. Michigan State University, in East Lansing, scores 78.9, sends out 49 graduates a year, and its completion rate is 83%. Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, scores 75.4 with 31 graduates a year, but its completion rate is 55%.
Baker College, in Owosso, offers a game programming program and scores 62.5, with 11 graduates a year and a completion rate of 26%. Outside the ranked list, Michigan has 11 game-related programs across 11 colleges, including 5 associate programs. For animation, Ferris State University scores 84.0 at a net price of $13,154, the lowest of the animation options in the state.
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 Michigan
The 3 Best Game Design Schools in Michigan for 2027
Michigan State University leads, ranked 10 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 83% and an average net price of $24,630. 2 of the 3 are public. The best game design schools ranking shows how these compare with every school in the country.
Each ranked program in Michigan, 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.
Michigan residents get the full benefit of a public university here: Michigan State charges $17,739 in-state tuition, while out-of-state students pay $44,510, a premium of $26,771. School-wide, first-year students receiving aid pay a net price of $24,630, and the cost of attendance before aid is $34,240.
The Bachelor of Arts in Games and Interactive Media is the largest game program in the state, with about 49 graduates a year in a city setting. Across the university, 83% of entering students finish within eight years, and graduates of all majors earn $67,253 ten years after entry. The SAT midpoint is 1270.
Coursework is project-based and draws on partnerships with game studios, resulting in a portfolio. Alumni work as game designers and developers, narrative designers and technical artists.
Michigan students at Eastern Michigan pay a published tuition of $15,920, and because that figure is the same for out-of-state students, the in-state advantage lies elsewhere: a school-wide net price of $17,388 for aided first-years. Cost of attendance before aid is $34,026.
The campus is suburban, in Ypsilanti, and the Simulation, Animation and Gaming major is based in Sill Hall. Its students learn the 3D pipeline of modeling, texturing, lighting and animation alongside creative writing and traditional art. About 31 students graduate each year. The university's SAT midpoint is 1045, and 55% of entering students complete within eight years.
The program page lists about 138 majors and a NASAD accreditation. The university enrolls 12,631 students, and 80% of applicants are admitted.
Owosso, MI · Private nonprofit · Game programming program
62.5
#36 of 89 nationally
Lowest net price in Michigan
Technical track: game programming
Private
Baker College's Owosso campus is a small-town setting, one of the few town campuses among the 89 programs we rank, and its Game Software Development degree is offered online. Michigan students pay the lowest net price in the state among the ranked programs, $14,743 for aided first-years across the college.
Because Baker is a private nonprofit, residents and non-residents pay the same published tuition of $12,600. The college describes itself as one of Michigan's most affordable, and its cost of attendance is $26,900. About 3,955 students attend, and 82% of applicants are admitted. School-wide completion is 26%, and earnings ten years out average $35,833 across all majors. The program graduates roughly 11 students a year. The degree is delivered online, which widens access beyond the Owosso area.
Animation bachelor's programs in Michigan, 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.
Michigan pays below the national median in every occupation we track, so plan around lower costs rather than a high salary. Game programmers are counted as software developers, and their state median is $125,570, short of the national median by $10,410. Interface designers, the closest category for game and UI work, earn $81,010, or $22,990 below.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$57,350
$46,370–$70,400$46k–$70k$46,370 to $70,400
6,070
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$65,860
$56,700–$98,900$57k–$99k$56,700 to $98,900
4,400
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$86,660
$65,000–$121,620$65k–$122k$65,000 to $121,620
1,080
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile.
Pay in Michigan's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Special effects artists and animators
Price level
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
$130,760
$99,450
$77,390May 2024
100.3
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood
$107,520
$78,430
$61,050May 2024
95.5
Ann Arbor
$126,830
$56,920
$83,530
100.9
Median annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the state's largest metropolitan areas by total employment, all in Michigan. 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.
The sharpest gap is in programming outside software development. Computer programmers earn $65,860, which leaves them $34,530 behind the national median, with 4,400 employed. Animators and 3D artists, counted as special effects artists and animators, earn $86,630, $15,400 under the national median, with only 230 employed. Graphic designers earn $57,350 with 6,070 employed, and that is where many art and UI graduates start before moving into game studios. First jobs tend to be QA, junior design, art and UI work, or junior programming.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn is the metro to watch for software developers at $130,760 and interface designers at $99,450. Ann Arbor pays animators $83,530, the only metro of the three with a published animator figure, though its interface designer median is just $56,920. Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood is the cheapest metro, with software developers at $107,520.
Living costs help. At a state price level of 96.2, prices run about 3.8% below the national average. Grand Rapids is at 95.5 and Detroit at 100.3, so a Michigan paycheck stretches further than the raw medians suggest. Compare any offer against that price level before you decide a lower number is a bad one.
About 43,460 people work as software developers in Michigan. In Michigan, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $81,010, which is 22% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Michigan: BEA puts prices 3.8% 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 Michigan
Paying for School in Michigan
Michigan has 21 public four-year colleges, a larger public system than most states in this set. Average in-state tuition is $12,343 and out-of-state is $21,300, a premium of $8,957. After aid, in-state students at those colleges pay $13,449 on average.
Public colleges in MI
Figure
Public four-year colleges
21
Average in-state tuition
$12,343
Average out-of-state tuition
$21,300
Average net price, aided in-state students
$13,449
Means across Michigan's public four-year degree-granting colleges that offer undergraduate study: tuition from IPEDS for 2023-24 (21 colleges reporting), net price for 2022-23 (21 reporting). Net price is what first-year students with grant aid paid after grants.
Aided in-state students pay $13,449 on average across 21 public four-year colleges, about what the median state charges.
At the public game schools specifically, tuition is $15,920 whether you live in Michigan or not, so there is no residency discount at those two campuses in the data. The Michigan Achievement Scholarship, run by the Michigan Department of Treasury through MI Student Aid, is need based. Michigan has no tuition exchange listed, so out-of-state savings have to come from the school's own aid.
State Aid in Michigan
Michigan's main need program for undergraduates is the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, run by the Michigan Department of Treasury, MI Student Aid. In its own words: "The Michigan Achievement Scholarship is designed to help recent high school graduates in Michigan receive funds for continuing education." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
No regional undergraduate tuition exchange covers Michigan, so public schools in other states charge their full nonresident rate.
Choosing
How to Choose a Game Design Program in Michigan
Pick between the two public schools first. Michigan State University costs $24,630 net and Eastern Michigan University costs $17,388, a difference worth weighing against completion rates of 83% and 55%. A lower net price means little if you don't finish.
Then think about code versus design. Baker College is the only game programming program in the ranked list and the cheapest of the three at $14,743, but its completion rate is 26%, so ask what support students get. The other two are game design programs, which fits a student who wants to work on systems, levels and story. Look at the program pages to see how much of each curriculum is code and how much is design, because the filing label is only a starting point.
Michigan's pay runs lower than the national median, so debt matters more here than in higher-paying states. Ohio has 5 game bachelor's programs next door if you want to compare, and Indiana and Wisconsin each have 1.
Neighboring States
Neighboring stateOhio5 ranked game bachelor's · 11 programs in allView the Ohio guide ›
Neighboring stateIndiana1 ranked game bachelor's · 3 programs in allView the Indiana guide ›
Neighboring stateWisconsin1 ranked game bachelor's · 7 programs in allView the Wisconsin guide ›
City guides
Cities in Michigan
2 cities in Michigan have their own guides, ranking every program inside the metro and within 50 miles of the city center, with distances, metro pay and nearby public college costs.
Detroit, MI4 programs within 50 miles · 1 ranked game bachelor'sView the Detroit guide ›
Lansing, MI3 programs within 50 miles · 2 ranked game bachelor'sView the Lansing guide ›
Michigan State University is the top-ranked game design school in Michigan, 10 of 89 in our national ranking, followed by Eastern Michigan University at 16. It finishes 83% of its students and has an average net price of $24,630 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 49 students a year. The cheapest ranked option is Baker College at $14,743, though it finishes 26% of students. Out-of-state students pay $26,771 more a year in published tuition there. See all 3 ranked Michigan programs in the state ranking.
Do Game Jobs Pay Well in Michigan?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $125,570 in Michigan, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). In Michigan, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $81,010, which is 22% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Michigan: BEA puts prices 3.8% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further. About 43,460 people work as software developers in Michigan. See what game jobs pay in Michigan.
What Is the Cheapest Game School in Michigan?
The lowest-priced ranked option in Michigan is Baker College, at an average net price of $14,743 a year for aided first-year students. The catch is completion: 26% 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 Michigan averages $12,343, if a related program at home fits. See paying for school in Michigan.
Is Michigan a Cheap Place to Live While Studying Games?
Michigan is cheaper than average to live in: overall prices run at 96.2 on BEA's Regional Price Parities, where the U.S. average is 100, and housing at 82.3. Housing pulls the cost down most, at 82.3 on BEA's housing index against 100 nationally. Aided in-state students pay $13,449 on average across 21 public four-year colleges, about what the median state charges. The city guides show local rent and room and board. See what game jobs pay in Michigan.
Does Michigan Have a Tuition Exchange for Out-of-State Game Programs?
Not through a regional exchange: Michigan isn't in one for bachelor's students, so out-of-state public colleges charge their nonresident rate. 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 Michigan's own public colleges averages $21,300 against $12,343 in state. See paying for school in Michigan.
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.
