Best Game Design Schools in New Hampshire for 2027
New Hampshire has two ranked game bachelor's programs, and both sit near the bottom of the national list. If you're weighing game design schools in New Hampshire, New England College, in Henniker, ranks 81 of 89, and Southern New Hampshire University, in Manchester, ranks 80 of 89, at net prices of $30,280 and $33,163. Massachusetts next door has stronger and cheaper options, so this page compares them.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
2Game Design Bachelor's Programs Ranked for 2027top score: Southern New Hampshire UniversityOur ranking
2Game-Related Programs in the State2 bachelor's, 0 associate, 0 graduateIPEDS
$31.7kMedian Net Pricebachelor's schools here, aided first-year studentsIPEDS
Southern New Hampshire University leads at 40.4.2 ranked programs in New Hampshire, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 36% of its students and has a $33,163 net price. New England College is next at 40.0.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $139,720 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 10,840 people work as software developers in New Hampshire. Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $111,150 in New Hampshire, 7% more than the $104,000 national median. Prices in New Hampshire run 4.2% above the U.S. average on BEA's index, which takes a bite out of both pay and a student budget.Pay ›
Living costs run above the U.S. average.Prices in New Hampshire run 4.2% above the U.S. average on BEA's index, which takes a bite out of both pay and a student budget.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $12,366.The New Hampshire Governor's Scholarship Program is New Hampshire's main state grant. Public colleges cost more here than in most states, with aided in-state students paying $18,079 on average across 6, against $13,240 in the median state. Out of state, tuition averages $25,057.Costs ›
City guides: Manchester.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 ›
New Hampshire in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in New Hampshire
The two ranked programs are both private and both game design programs. New England College scores 40.0, has 7 graduates a year and a completion rate of 28%. Southern New Hampshire University scores 40.3, graduates 9 a year and has a completion rate of 36%.
Those low ranks come from the scoring, which weighs price, completion and graduates together, so it pays to look closely. The state has just 2 game-related programs in all, at 2 colleges, with no associate, graduate or animation bachelor's programs. The median net price at the two schools is $31,722.
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 New Hampshire
The 2 Best Game Design Schools in New Hampshire for 2027
Southern New Hampshire University leads, ranked 80 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 36% and an average net price of $33,163. 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 New Hampshire, 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.
Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit · Game design program
40.4
#80 of 89 nationally
Private
New Hampshire residents get the same price as everyone else at Southern New Hampshire University: $16,200 in published tuition, or $354 a credit, for an online Game Design & Development B.S. that can be done without leaving home. The degree has three concentrations (game design, game art and game programming) and teaches the production pipeline from concept to playable prototype.
Admission is open to all applicants,, and a faculty-built Game Resource Hub supports learning outside class. School-wide, the net price for aided first-years is $33,163, and about 9 students complete this program annually. Completion across the university is 36% within eight years. Earnings for graduates of all majors were $50,318 ten years out. Students choose a studio-inspired concentration and use industry tools and software.
Henniker, NH · Private nonprofit · Game design program
40.0
#81 of 89 nationally
Private
New England College's Animation and Game Design BFA is a studio-centered degree in a rural New Hampshire town, run through the college's Art and Design Division. The curriculum links related disciplines, pairing artistic expression with technology so students can tell stories, build worlds and produce sound and visual effects.
Because the college is private, New Hampshire residents and others pay the same published tuition of $25,714, and the school-wide net price for aided first-years is $30,280, against a $62,464 cost of attendance. Portfolios of 5 to 15 images are required. The college enrolls 3,275 students and graduates about 7 from this program each year. Ten-year earnings average $42,092 across all majors, and 28% of entering students finish within eight years.
Completion
28%school-wide
Net price
$30,280aided first-years
Grads a year
7this program
Earnings
$42,09210 yrs, all majors
Out-of-state premium
None (private)same tuition for all students
Campus setting
Ruralone of the few rural campuses of the 89 ranked
New Hampshire pays well, particularly for software. Game programmers are grouped with software developers, whose state median is $139,720, edging the national median by $3,740, with 10,840 employed. Interface design, which is where game and UI designers are counted, pays $111,150, or $7,150 above.
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$60,490
$52,830–$78,190$53k–$78k$52,830 to $78,190
790
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$74,000May 2025
$54,460–$95,330$54k–$95k$54,460 to $95,330, May 2025May 2025
590May 2024
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$132,000
$83,020–$134,520$83k–$135k$83,020 to $134,520
160
$114,850
BLS doesn't publish special effects artists and animators pay for New Hampshire. Nationally, the median is $102,030. See animator salary › Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. 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 New Hampshire in the current release.
Pay in New Hampshire's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Price level
Manchester-Nashua, NH
$162,090
$113,700
105.7
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.
Art directors earn $132,000, topping the national median by $17,150, with 160 employed. Graphic designers earn $60,490, $2,470 below. Computer programmers are the weak point at $74,000, $26,390 below the national median. BLS publishes no figure for special effects artists and animators in the state, so there is nothing to compare for animation. The usual way in is QA, a junior design role, art and UI work, or junior programming.
Manchester-Nashua is the only metro listed, and it pays above the state in software: developers earn $162,090 and interface designers earn $113,700. Graphic designers there earn $59,040, and art directors earn $83,010. If you stay in the state, Manchester is where the jobs are.
Costs are higher than average. New Hampshire runs about 4.2% above the national average on prices, a state price level of 104.2, and Manchester-Nashua is at 105.7. That eats part of the pay advantage, so run your own budget rather than comparing salaries alone.
About 10,840 people work as software developers in New Hampshire. Web and digital interface designers, where BLS counts game designers, earn $111,150 in New Hampshire, 7% more than the $104,000 national median. Prices in New Hampshire run 4.2% above the U.S. average on BEA's index, which takes a bite out of both pay and a student budget.
The game design salary pages explain what each occupation covers and how game studios fit inside it.
Cost in New Hampshire
Paying for School in New Hampshire
New Hampshire's public colleges are expensive for a state school. The state has 6 public four-year colleges, where in-state tuition averages $12,366 against $25,057 out of state, a premium of $12,691. Aided in-state students pay an average net price of $18,079. No public school here runs a ranked game program.
Public colleges in NH
Figure
Public four-year colleges
6
Average in-state tuition
$12,366
Average out-of-state tuition
$25,057
Average net price, aided in-state students
$18,079
Means across New Hampshire's public four-year degree-granting colleges that offer undergraduate study: tuition from IPEDS for 2023-24 (5 colleges reporting), net price for 2022-23 (5 reporting). Net price is what first-year students with grant aid paid after grants.
Public colleges cost more here than in most states, with aided in-state students paying $18,079 on average across 6, against $13,240 in the median state.
The New Hampshire Governor's Scholarship Program, run by the New Hampshire State Treasury, is need based. New England's Tuition Break is the regional exchange, and Massachusetts is the member with a public game program nearby, which points to the public school there. Confirm that your major is covered.
If you choose a New Hampshire school anyway, ask about the program's own outcomes. Completion rates of 28% and 36% are school-wide figures, not the program's own, so the game program may do better or worse. Ask how many graduates found game or software work, and ask to see recent student portfolios.
State Aid in New Hampshire
New Hampshire's main need program for undergraduates is the New Hampshire Governor's Scholarship Program, run by the New Hampshire State Treasury. In its own words: "Provides scholarships to New Hampshire residents enrolled in undergraduate programs at eligible institutions within the state." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
New Hampshire 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."
How to Choose a Game Design Program in New Hampshire
Be honest about the ranking. Both New Hampshire programs sit at 81 and 80 of 89, and completion rates of 28% and 36% mean a good share of students don't finish. That doesn't make them bad fits for everyone, but ask each school about advising, portfolio support and where recent graduates work. Their net prices are school-wide figures, so ask for the game program's own cost.
Massachusetts is the better comparison. It has 4 game bachelor's programs, and its public school ranks 9 of 89 and costs about half what either New Hampshire school does. Vermont has 1 and Maine has none. The Tuition Break could cut costs further.
If you want to stay put, online is the other route. Compare the prices below with the $30,280 and $33,163 you'd pay in state. A New Hampshire student who wants to work in games locally should note the software developer pay in Manchester-Nashua and consider a programming-focused degree. Ask the admissions office whether credits earned online or at a community college transfer into the program, because transfer rules change what the degree costs in the end.
Neighboring States
Neighboring stateMassachusetts4 ranked game bachelor's · 13 programs in allView the Massachusetts guide ›
Neighboring stateVermont1 ranked game bachelor's · 3 programs in allView the Vermont guide ›
Neighboring stateMaine3 related programs, no game bachelor'sView the Maine guide ›
City guides
Cities in New Hampshire
One city in New Hampshire 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.
Manchester, NH10 programs within 50 miles · 4 ranked game bachelor'sView the Manchester guide ›
Is It Possible to Study Game Design in New Hampshire?
Hampshire College has an average net price of $27,556 a year for aided first-year students (IPEDS), the price after grants rather than the published one. Published tuition is $57,158 for every student, in state or not. It is in Massachusetts, with a school-wide completion rate of 64%. 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.
Is There a Cheaper Option in Massachusetts?
The lowest-priced ranked option in New Hampshire is New England College, at an average net price of $30,280 a year for aided first-year students. The catch is completion: 28% 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 New Hampshire averages $12,366, if a related program at home fits. See paying for school in New Hampshire.
What Are the Best Game Design Schools in New Hampshire?
Southern New Hampshire University is the top-ranked game design school in New Hampshire, 80 of 89 in our national ranking, followed by New England College at 81. It finishes 36% of its students and has an average net price of $33,163 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 9 students a year. The cheapest ranked option is New England College at $30,280, though it finishes 28% of students. See all 2 ranked New Hampshire programs in the state ranking.
How Much More Do Out-of-State Students Pay in New Hampshire?
Out-of-state students pay about $12,691 more a year in tuition at New Hampshire's public four-year colleges, where in-state tuition averages $12,366 against $25,057 for nonresidents (IPEDS 2023-24). After grants, aided in-state students pay an average net price of $18,079. New Hampshire belongs to the New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Break, which can cut nonresident tuition at public colleges in member states, though each college picks which programs take part. See paying for school in New Hampshire.
Is a Public or Private Game Design School Better in New Hampshire?
All 2 ranked game design programs in New Hampshire are at private colleges, so the choice here is between schools rather than sectors. Southern New Hampshire University leads at 80 of 89 nationally, with 36% completion and a $33,163 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.
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.
