Texas has four ranked bachelor's programs, and the best deal among the game design schools in Texas is public: University of Houston-Victoria, ranked 25 of 89, at $9,912 after aid. The other three are private, in Austin, San Antonio and Houston, and Sam Houston State University adds a strong animation bachelor's. Public tuition is low too, averaging $5,763 for residents.
Kevin ToFounder & EditorB.S. in Computer Science, Temple UniversityUpdated
4Game Design Bachelor's Programs Ranked for 2027top score: University of Houston-VictoriaOur ranking
15Game-Related Programs in the State8 bachelor's, 6 associate, 1 graduateIPEDS
$20.9kMedian Net Pricebachelor's schools here, aided first-year studentsIPEDS
University of Houston-Victoria leads at 68.9.4 ranked programs in Texas, scored on completion, net price and size. It finishes 43% of its students and has a $9,912 net price. University of the Incarnate Word is next at 60.3.The Ranking ›
Software developers earn $132,150 here.The U.S. median for the same job is $135,980. About 163,880 people work as software developers in Texas. Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Texas sits close to the national median: $102,650 against $104,000. BEA's index puts prices in Texas near the U.S. average, at 97.1.Pay ›
Living costs sit near the U.S. average.BEA's index puts prices in Texas near the U.S. average, at 97.1.Prices ›
Public in-state tuition averages $5,763.The TEXAS Grant is Texas's main state grant. Texas's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $9,985 on average across 72, under the $13,240 median state. Out of state, tuition averages $15,317.Costs ›
City guides: Houston, San Antonio and more.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 ›
Texas in brief
Key Facts About Studying Game Design in Texas
Texas lists 15 game-related programs across 13 colleges, but only four count as ranked bachelor's degrees. One is public and three are private. By field, three are game design and one is simulation, with no game programming bachelor's in the ranked set. The state also has seven associate programs and one graduate program, which gives you stepping stones if a bachelor's isn't the first move.
University of Houston-Victoria leads at 25 of 89, scoring 68.9, with nine graduates a year and a 43% completion rate. Saint Edward's University (Austin) ranks 47 of 89, University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio) ranks 42 of 89 and Houston Christian University ranks 59 of 89. Sam Houston State University has no ranked game degree but an animation bachelor's with a 84.6 score and a $14,556 net price.
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 Texas
The 4 Best Game Design Schools in Texas for 2027
University of Houston-Victoria leads, ranked 25 of 89 in the national game design ranking, with a completion rate of 43% and an average net price of $9,912. One of the 4 is public. The best game design schools ranking shows how these compare with every school in the country.
Each ranked program in Texas, 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.
Within Texas, Victoria offers a public, city-based path to a Bachelor of Science in Digital Gaming & Simulation at a cost most in-state families can handle. Residents pay $5,111 in published tuition before aid, while students arriving from other states pay $14,903.
The university enrolls 3,586 students, admits 96% of applicants, and reports a school-wide net price of $9,912 for aided first-years. Sticker cost of $23,153 is the lowest in the national top 25. About 9 students complete the program annually. Across the university, 43% of entering students graduate within eight years, and graduates of all majors earn $54,467 a decade out. Choosing Victoria means a smaller town and a smaller bill. Out-of-state premium is $9,792, so the Texas-resident discount is the main draw.
San Antonio, TX · Private nonprofit · Game design program
60.3
#42 of 89 nationally
Private
For Texas students weighing private options, Incarnate Word offers a 3D Animation and Game Design BFA with a game programming track that uses game-engine driven instruction, plus a production management minor taught by industry practitioners. The program stresses that a strong portfolio is what wins work in a competitive industry, and applicants start with the university's undergraduate application.
Published tuition is $35,050, and aided first-years pay an average net price of $21,246 across the university. The San Antonio campus is in a city, and the college admits 98% of applicants. Roughly 4 students graduate from this major each year. Earnings for graduates of all majors were $56,733 ten years out, and 55% of entering students complete a degree within eight years.
Austin, TX · Private nonprofit · Game design program
59.1
#47 of 89 nationally
Highest completion in Texas
Largest program in Texas
Private
Within Texas, Saint Edward's is the largest game development program in our data, graduating about 13 students a year, and it has the highest school-wide completion rate among the Texas schools we list, at 62%. It is a Bachelor of Arts housed in the School of Arts and Humanities, in the Visual Studies department, with a minor also available.
Graduates the page names have gone on to roles such as associate producer, game engineer and QA tester. Austin is home to indie studios and large developers, which gives students nearby places to look for internships. Published tuition at this private university is $50,484 for everyone, and the net price for aided first-years is $28,351, against a $71,334 cost of attendance. Ten-year earnings average $58,826 school-wide.
Houston, TX · Private nonprofit · Game design program
52.9
#59 of 89 nationally
Private
In Texas, tuition at private universities does not depend on residency, and Houston Christian is no exception: published tuition is $36,750 for Texans and out-of-state students alike. The school-wide net price for aided first-years is $20,530, well under the $58,132 cost of attendance, so the sticker figure overstates what most aided students pay.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Video Game Design is based in Houston, in a city setting, at a private nonprofit with 4,276 students. Graduating classes are tiny, about 1 student a year. Across the university, 48% of students complete a degree within eight years, 84% of applicants are admitted, and earnings ten years after enrollment average $55,933 across all majors, a figure to weigh against the aid-adjusted cost.
Animation bachelor's programs in Texas, 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.
Texas pays close to the national median in most game-adjacent jobs, and it employs more people in these jobs than most states. Software developers, the group that includes game programmers, have a median of $132,150 and a headcount of 163,880. The national median is $3,830 higher. Computer programmers make $99,330, only $1,060 short of the national figure, with 7,620 employed.
$62,460–$121,960$62k–$122k$62,460 to $121,960, May 2025May 2025
1,870May 2023
$102,030
Graphic designersWhere many art and UI graduates start
$60,150
$45,990–$75,540$46k–$76k$45,990 to $75,540
13,670
$62,960
Computer programmersProgramming roles outside software development
$99,330
$74,290–$127,640$74k–$128k$74,290 to $127,640
7,620
$100,390
Art directorsSenior art leads; rarely a first job
$88,270
$75,510–$108,320$76k–$108k$75,510 to $108,320
2,480
$114,850
Annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between the 25th and 75th percentile. Figures tagged May 2023 are from that earlier BLS release, because BLS didn't publish one for Texas in the current release.
Pay in Texas's Largest Metro Areas
Metro area
Software developers
Web and digital interface designers
Special effects artists and animators
Price level
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
$133,290
$104,150
$79,390
103.1
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands
$129,440
$96,750
$77,690
98.6
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
$134,120
$119,950
$82,570
98.1
Median annual wages, BLS OEWS May 2025, for the state's largest metropolitan areas by total employment, all in Texas. Price level is BEA's Regional Price Parity for 2024, where the U.S. average is 100.
Design and art roles are healthier than in smaller states. Interface designers, who include game designers, have a median of $102,650 and 5,910 jobs, $1,350 under the national figure. Animators and effects artists make $78,930, though BLS publishes no headcount. Graphic designers make $60,150 and art directors make $88,270, which is $26,580 under the national median for art directors.
Austin is the metro that stands out for design. Interface designers there have a median of $119,950, against $104,150 in Dallas-Fort Worth and $96,750 in Houston. Austin also leads for software developers at $134,120 and for animators at $82,570. Houston pays art directors the most at $91,570. Dallas-Fort Worth has the highest price level of the three at 103.1, while Austin sits at 98.1 and Houston at 98.6.
Typical entry points are QA tester, junior designer, art or UI assistant and junior programmer, and you move up as you ship projects. Across the state, prices run about 2.9% below the national average (a price level of 97.1), so pay in Texas goes a little further than the national figures suggest.
About 163,880 people work as software developers in Texas. Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Texas sits close to the national median: $102,650 against $104,000. BEA's index puts prices in Texas near the U.S. average, at 97.1.
The game design salary pages explain what each occupation covers and how game studios fit inside it.
Cost in Texas
Paying for School in Texas
Texas has 72 public four-year colleges. Residents average $5,763 and nonresidents average $15,317, a premium of $9,554. Once aid is counted, in-state students average a net price of $9,985. Looking only at schools with a game or animation bachelor's, resident tuition averages $5,484 and out-of-state averages $15,300, so living in Texas saves $9,816 a year in tuition.
Public colleges in TX
Figure
Public four-year colleges
72
Average in-state tuition
$5,763
Average out-of-state tuition
$15,317
Average net price, aided in-state students
$9,985
Means across Texas's public four-year degree-granting colleges that offer undergraduate study: tuition from IPEDS for 2023-24 (66 colleges reporting), net price for 2022-23 (59 reporting). Net price is what first-year students with grant aid paid after grants.
Texas's public four-year colleges are a good deal: aided in-state students pay $9,985 on average across 72, under the $13,240 median state.
The TEXAS Grant, a need-based award from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, is the state aid to ask about. The Academic Common Market applies to graduate level only for Texas, so it won't reduce a bachelor's bill. Your best discount is simply being a Texas resident at a Texas public school.
State Aid in Texas
Texas's main need program for undergraduates is the TEXAS Grant, run by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In its own words: "The Texas Legislature established the TEXAS Grant to provide aid to Students with financial need who are attending a Texas public University or health-related institution." Fill out the FAFSA early, since many state programs award money until it runs out.
Tuition Exchanges
Texas takes part in the Academic Common Market (ACM) only at the graduate level, so undergraduates pay full nonresident tuition at public schools in other states unless the school offers its own award.
Choosing
How to Choose a Game Design Program in Texas
The split is lopsided toward private, three programs to one. University of Houston-Victoria is the public pick and the cheapest at $9,912 after aid. It files under simulation, so expect a technical, systems-minded curriculum. The three private campuses file under game design, with net prices of $28,351 at Saint Edward's University, $21,246 at University of the Incarnate Word and $20,530 at Houston Christian University.
Think about size and city. Saint Edward's University graduates 13 students a year and sits in Austin, the metro with the best design pay. Houston Christian University graduates one student a year, which tells you the program is tiny. If you want the strongest score for the money in design, Sam Houston State University's animation bachelor's at 84.6 is worth a campus visit, though it isn't a game design degree.
Compare the median net price of $20,888 at Texas game and animation schools with the $9,985 public average. Going private costs real money, so ask what the private campus gives you that the public one does not. Remember that net price and completion rate describe the whole school, not the game program.
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 stateLouisiana1 ranked game bachelor's · 3 programs in allView the Louisiana guide ›
Neighboring stateNew Mexico4 related programs, no game bachelor'sView the New Mexico guide ›
City guides
Cities in Texas
3 cities in Texas 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.
Austin, TX6 programs within 100 miles · 2 ranked game bachelor'sView the Austin guide ›
Houston, TX4 programs within 50 miles · 1 ranked game bachelor'sView the Houston guide ›
San Antonio, TX3 programs within 50 miles · 1 ranked game bachelor'sView the San Antonio guide ›
University of Houston-Victoria is the top-ranked game design school in Texas, 25 of 89 in our national ranking, followed by University of the Incarnate Word at 42. It finishes 43% of its students and has an average net price of $9,912 for aided first-year students, both school-wide IPEDS figures, and the program graduates about 9 students a year. It is also the lowest-priced of the 4 ranked here. Out-of-state students pay $9,792 more a year in published tuition there. See all 4 ranked Texas programs in the state ranking.
Does Texas Pay Game Designers Well?
Pay for web and digital interface designers, where bls counts game designers, in Texas sits close to the national median: $102,650 against $104,000. Software developers, the BLS occupation that counts game programmers, earn a median of $132,150 in Texas, against $135,980 nationally (BLS May 2025). BEA's index puts prices in Texas near the U.S. average, at 97.1. About 163,880 people work as software developers in Texas. See what game jobs pay in Texas.
What Is the Cheapest Game Design Program in Texas?
The lowest-priced ranked option in Texas is University of Houston-Victoria, at an average net price of $9,912 a year for aided first-year students. The catch is completion: 43% 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 Texas averages $5,763, if a related program at home fits. See paying for school in Texas.
Does Texas Have a State Grant for College?
Texas's main state grant for undergraduates is the TEXAS Grant, run by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In its own words: "The Texas Legislature established the TEXAS Grant to provide aid to Students with financial need who are attending a Texas public University or health-related institution." State grants usually require you to study at an eligible college in Texas, 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 $9,985 after grants. See paying for school in Texas.
How Much More Do Out-of-State Students Pay in Texas?
Out-of-state students pay about $9,554 more a year in tuition at Texas's public four-year colleges, where in-state tuition averages $5,763 against $15,317 for nonresidents (IPEDS 2023-24). After grants, aided in-state students pay an average net price of $9,985. Texas takes part in the Academic Common Market (ACM) only for graduate study, so undergraduates pay the full out-of-state rate. See paying for school in Texas.
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.
