Game Science and Design, MS (Oakland)

The Master of Science (MS) in Game Science and Design is a program that seeks to give students a comprehensive understanding of how successful game products are created in a player-centric environment. Successful graduates who wish to become professional game developers or game user research experts should be able to collaborate effectively in this dynamic and burgeoning field of practice and research. Focusing on the science of game development, students have an opportunity to learn the design and technological skills needed to build a game and develop a deep understanding of playability and analytics that makes products successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The game industry has expanded to include social and mobile gaming; augmented and virtual reality; as well as games in health, education, and training. Rapid innovations are happening in player psychology, middleware, graphics and authoring tools, game mechanics, and artificial intelligence and narrative techniques. It has become an increasingly competitive space.

The selectiveness of the industry and the diversity of the skills required mean that students seeking entry need both broad and deep skills. As an emergent industry using diverse technology and collaborative practices, the game industry needs professionals with interdisciplinary skill sets who can blend knowledge about development with knowledge about evaluation methods and players’ behavior and psychology.

Jointly offered by Northeastern’s College of Arts, Media and Design and Khoury College of Computer Sciences, the Master of Science in Game Science and Design is a one-of-a-kind interdisciplinary program that seeks to prepare students to meet this need by weaving together science and design. This is a two-year, 34-semester-hours program.

All admitted students will be assigned to an advisor who will help them select a pathway with a coherent set of electives depending on their career goals. The advisor will also monitor their progress through the master’s degree.

Beginning with students admitted in the fall of 2026, all students pursuing on-ground master's degree programs must complete a university-level experiential learning requirement. This requirement may be fulfilled through the curriculum, co-op, or other work- or industry-integrated learning experiences.

Complete all courses and requirements listed below unless otherwise indicated. 

Core Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Core
GSND 5110 and GSND 5111	Game Design and Analysis and Seminar for GSND 5110	5
GSND 5122	Business Models for Creative Media	1
GSND 5130	Mixed Research Methods for Games	4
Thesis
Students complete Games Project, then select either Thesis or a second completion of Games Project, in consultation with the program coordinator.
GSND 7995	Games Project	4
Thesis Conclusion
Complete an additional 4 Semester Hours from the following:		4
GSND 7990	Thesis
GSND 7995	Games Project

Core Electives

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Game Design
Complete one of the following:		4
GSND 6000	Advanced Topics in Game Design
GSND 6225	Applied Game Design
GSND 6240	Exploratory Concept Design
GSND 6250	Spatial and Temporal Design
Game Science
Complete one of the following:		4
GSND 6320	Psychology of Play
GSND 6340	Biometrics of Design
GSND 6350	Data-Driven Game Design

 Other Electives

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete any two (8 semester hours) of the following courses listed.		8
If ARTG 5000 or GSND 6000 is completed more than once, the additional completions may be allowed toward the electives.
Elective courses outside of CAMD are subject to availability and registration policy of the home college.
Science
CS 5340	Computer/Human Interaction
PSYC 4612	Laboratory in Cognition
Programming
CS 5150	Game Artificial Intelligence
CS 5850	Building Game Engines
GSND 6460	Generative Game Design
Extended Realities
EXRE 5010	Immersive Media: Extended Realities (XR) History, Theory, and Impact
EXRE 5011	Seminar for EXRE 5010
EXRE 5020	Developing Extended Realities (XR)
EXRE 5030	Designing Extended Realities (XR)
3D Art
GSND 6520	3D Modeling and Asset Creation Principles
Platforms
CS 5520	Mobile Application Development
CS 5610	Web Development
Experience Design
ARTG 5000	Topics in Design
ARTG 5610	Design Systems
ARTG 5640	Prototyping for Experience Design
ARTG 6310	Design for Behavior and Experience
Data Analytics
DA 5020	Collecting, Storing, and Retrieving Data
DA 5030	Introduction to Data Mining/Machine Learning
JRNL 6341	Telling Your Story with Data
Information Design and Data Visualization
ARTG 5100	Information Design Studio 1: Principles
ARTG 5130	Visual Communication for Information Design
ARTG 5150 and ARTG 5151	Information Visualization Principles and Practices and Information Design Critique Seminar
ARTG 5310	Visual Cognition
ARTG 5330	Visualization Technologies 1: Fundamentals

Program Credit/GPA Requirements

34 total semester hours required
Minimum 3.000 GPA required