Missouri has three ranked game bachelor's programs, and every one is private. If you're searching for game design schools in Missouri, Lindenwood University, in Saint Charles, leads at 23 of 89 nationally and costs $18,698 net. Drury University ranks 35 of 89, and Webster University ranks 44 of 89. For a public price, Missouri Western State University offers an animation bachelor's at $12,764.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
Lindenwood University leads at 70.5.3 ranked programs in Missouri, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 58% of its students and has a $18,698 net price. Drury University is next at 63.2.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $126,120 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 20,020 people work as software developers in Missouri. In Missouri, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $70,970, which is 32% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Missouri: BEA puts prices 9.2% 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 Missouri: BEA puts prices 9.2% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $8,649.The Access Missouri is Missouri's main state grant. Aided in-state students pay $13,026 on average across 16 public four-year colleges, about what the median state charges. Out of state, tuition averages $18,073.Costs ›
City guides: St. Louis and Kansas City.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 ›
Missouri in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in Missouri
No public school makes the ranked list, so Missouri is a private-college state for game design. Lindenwood University scores 70.5 and turns out 13 graduates a year, Drury University, in Springfield, scores 63.2 with 6, and Webster University, in Saint Louis, scores 59.6 with 17. All three are game design programs.
None offers a game programming program or simulation. Beyond the ranked three, Missouri has 8 game-related programs across 6 colleges, including 1 associate program and 1 graduate program. Animation bachelor's options include Missouri Western State University, Kansas City Art Institute, Drury University, or Webster University.
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 Missouri
The 3 Best Game Design Schools in Missouri for 2027
Lindenwood University leads, ranked 23 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 58% and an average net price of $18,698. None of them is a public university. The best game design schools ranking shows how these compare with every school in the country.
Each ranked program in Missouri, 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.
Saint Charles, MO · Private nonprofit · Game design program
70.5
#23 of 89 nationally
Lowest net price in Missouri
Private
Missouri students get a private-college option here that does not charge residents differently: Lindenwood's published tuition is $19,900 for everyone, and the net price for aided first-years is $18,698 school-wide. The campus is in Saint Charles, a city setting, and it carries the lowest net price among Missouri programs on this list.
The Bachelor of Arts in Game Design is taught in a blended format through the College of Arts and Humanities, where students move from concept to finished product in courses on game aesthetics, immersion and usability, and they study storytelling and character development along the way. Around 13 students graduate each year, and 57% of applicants are admitted across the university.
The Missouri angle also includes the campus itself: a city location near the St. Louis metro, a university of 6,826 students, and a cost of attendance of $37,702 school-wide. Earnings for graduates of all majors are $53,278 ten years after enrolling.
Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit · Game design program
63.2
#35 of 89 nationally
Highest completion in Missouri
Private
In Missouri, Drury University's game development option sits inside a computer science degree, which means graduates leave with a software engineering core and a program page that stresses hands-on application development. Two application development courses, algorithms and an AI course are among the required classes.
The city campus in Springfield has the highest completion rate among the Missouri programs we cover, at 60% within eight years school-wide. Tuition is $35,400, and aided first-years pay a net price of $22,194 on average. The admit rate is 58%, and enrollment is 1,615. About 6 students graduate from the program each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete an internship as additional coursework. Completion is measured across the university, which enrolls 1,615 students in total, and tuition is the same for all students.
Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit · Game design program
59.7
#44 of 89 nationally
Largest program in Missouri
Private
Missouri students can study game design at Webster University without leaving the state, in a suburban setting at Saint Louis. The program is a collaborative, team-based studio experience covering the full development lifecycle, from mechanics and narrative design to virtual reality and the business of gamification.
There is no in-state discount at this private university, so tuition is $31,450 for all students, and the school-wide net price for aided first-years is $27,695. Cost of attendance before aid is $53,626. With about 17 graduates a year, it is the largest game program in Missouri, and graduates of all majors earn $50,876 ten years after entry.
Students use industry-standard tools including Unity and Unreal Engine throughout the program. The university enrolls 8,260 students, its SAT midpoint is 1210, and the admit rate is 86%.
Animation bachelor's programs in Missouri, 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.
Missouri pays under the national median across the board, but the costs are lower too. Game programming sits inside the software developer figure, with a state median of $126,120, trailing the national median by $9,860, with 20,020 employed. Game and UI designers show up in the web and digital interface designer figure, a median of $70,970, or $33,030 below.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$56,750
$45,420–$70,920$45k–$71k$45,420 to $70,920
4,500
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$90,420
$69,080–$106,970$69k–$107k$69,080 to $106,970
1,520
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$100,940
$79,030–$126,360$79k–$126k$79,030 to $126,360
780
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile.
Pay in Missouri's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Special effects artists and animators
Price level
St. Louis, MO-IL
$129,030
$74,780
$75,820
95.1
Kansas City, MO-KS
$124,990
$75,690
$69,820
92.5
Springfield, MO
$102,350
$60,650
Not published
88.6
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. 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.
Animation is the thinnest field. Special effects artists and animators earn $65,470 with only 80 employed, which is $36,560 below the national median. Graphic designers earn $56,750 and art directors earn $100,940, or $13,910 below the national median. At $90,420, computer programmers also sit below the national median. Early-career roles are mostly QA, junior design, art and UI work, and junior programming.
St. Louis is the strongest metro, with software developers at $129,030, animators at $75,820 and art directors at $101,480. Kansas City pays software developers $124,990 and computer programmers $101,830, which is the higher programmer figure of the two big metros. Springfield, home to Drury University, pays software developers $102,350 and has no published animator figure.
Missouri is about 9.2% cheaper than the national average, which is a state price level of 90.8. Springfield is at 88.6, Kansas City at 92.5 and St. Louis at 95.1, so the lower pay goes further, especially away from the two big metros.
About 20,020 people work as software developers in Missouri. In Missouri, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $70,970, which is 32% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Missouri: BEA puts prices 9.2% 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 Missouri
Paying for School in Missouri
Missouri has 16 public four-year colleges, where residents average $8,649 and everyone else averages $18,073, a premium of $9,424. The average net price after aid for in-state students is $13,026. At the schools that run game or animation programs, public tuition is $8,310 for residents and $17,220 for nonresidents, a gap of $8,910.
Public colleges in MO
Figure
Public four-year colleges
16
Average in-state tuition
$8,649
Average out-of-state tuition
$18,073
Average net price, aided in-state students
$13,026
Means across Missouri'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.
Aided in-state students pay $13,026 on average across 16 public four-year colleges, about what the median state charges.
Access Missouri, run by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, is the need-based state grant. Missouri belongs to the Midwest Student Exchange Program, though the data lists no member with a public game program nearby, so don't count on it for this degree.
Missouri's public four-year colleges have an average net price of $13,026 for aided in-state students. That is below the net price at all three ranked private schools, which run from $18,698 to $27,695. Ask each private school for a financial aid estimate before you rule it out, because sticker price and net price can be far apart.
State Aid in Missouri
Missouri's main need program for undergraduates is the Access Missouri, run by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. In its own words: "Access Missouri is a need-based program designed to be simple to understand, provide predictable, portable awards, and increase access to your school of choice." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
Missouri 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"
Weigh price against reputation. Lindenwood University is both the highest ranked and the cheapest of the three at $18,698. Drury University costs $22,194 and Webster University $27,695, so the top-ranked school is also the best value on the list.
Missouri has no ranked public game design option, which makes Missouri Western State University's animation bachelor's the main public path. It scores 69.0 at $12,764 and is an animation degree, not a game design degree, so look closely at its game-related courses. Pair it with a self-taught engine project and you have a competitive portfolio.
If you want a public game design program, look beyond the border. Arkansas and Oklahoma each have 2 game bachelor's programs, and Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have 1 each. The in-state and out-of-state gap of $8,910 at Missouri's public schools shows what an out-of-state student would add. Whichever school you pick, visit in person and ask to see a student game or portfolio, because that tells you more than a ranking number.
Neighboring States
Neighboring stateArkansas2 ranked game bachelor's · 2 programs in allView the Arkansas guide ›
Neighboring stateOklahoma2 ranked game bachelor's · 2 programs in allView the Oklahoma guide ›
Neighboring stateIllinois1 ranked game bachelor's · 12 programs in allView the Illinois guide ›
Neighboring stateIowa1 ranked game bachelor's · 4 programs in allView the Iowa guide ›
Neighboring stateKansas1 ranked game bachelor's · 5 programs in allView the Kansas guide ›
Neighboring stateTennessee1 ranked game bachelor's · 3 programs in allView the Tennessee guide ›
Neighboring stateKentucky1 related programs, no game bachelor'sView the Kentucky guide ›
Neighboring stateNebraskaNo programs; the guide lists the nearestView the Nebraska guide ›
City guides
Cities in Missouri
2 cities in Missouri have their own guides, 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.
Kansas City, MO4 programs within 100 miles · 0 ranked game bachelor'sView the Kansas City guide ›
St. Louis, MO4 programs within 50 miles · 2 ranked game bachelor'sView the St. Louis guide ›
Lindenwood University is the top-ranked game design school in Missouri, 23 of 89 in our national ranking, followed by Drury University at 35. It finishes 58% of its students and has an average net price of $18,698 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 13 students a year. It is also the lowest-priced of the 3 ranked here. See all 3 ranked Missouri programs in the state ranking.
What Is the Pay for Game Developers in Missouri?
Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $126,120 in Missouri, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). In Missouri, web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, earn $70,970, which is 32% under the national median of $104,000. Living costs work in your favor in Missouri: BEA puts prices 9.2% below the U.S. average, so a paycheck or a student budget goes further. About 20,020 people work as software developers in Missouri. See what game jobs pay in Missouri.
Which Missouri Game School Costs the Least?
The lowest-priced ranked option in Missouri is Lindenwood University, at an average net price of $18,698 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 Missouri averages $8,649, if a related program at home fits. See paying for school in Missouri.
Is There a Public Game Design Program in Missouri?
All 3 ranked game design programs in Missouri are at private colleges, so the choice here is between schools rather than sectors. Lindenwood University leads at 23 of 89 nationally, with 58% completion and a $18,698 net price. Private colleges charge every student the same tuition, so in-state residency doesn't lower the price, but grant aid often does. Compare completion as well as price. See the state ranking.
Is Missouri Cheap to Live In?
Missouri is cheaper than average to live in: overall prices run at 90.8 on BEA's Regional Price Parities, where the U.S. average is 100, and housing at 69.9. Housing pulls the cost down most, at 69.9 on BEA's housing index against 100 nationally. Aided in-state students pay $13,026 on average across 16 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 Missouri.
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.
