Applied Games Abertay University

This is a potential research degree area, subject to the approval of the University. If you are interested in undertaking a research degree in this area, please make contact with the Dean to discuss your proposal.

Abertay University has longstanding interests and track record in Applied Games research, an umbrella term for practice-based, theoretical, and experimental research exploring how games can be used in contexts beyond entertainment. This includes but is not limited to games for social change, game-based learning, educational games, history games, games for science communication, games for health, and games for heritage.

At Abertay, researchers benefit from supervisory expertise encompassing not only Design and Computing disciplines, but also adjacent disciplines relevant to the study of Applied Games, like Psychology or Sociology. Many of our academic experts have games industry experience, and Applied Games research can also benefit from our Emergent Technology Centre.

Abertay University is the lead partner for InGAME: Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise, an AHRC-funded R&D centre for Dundee's games cluster. Postgraduate students at the University will have access to research and development opportunities, as well as contact with professionals working within the games industry. Dundee is one of the UK's oldest and most successful games hubs, and we have longstanding relationships with local, national and international game studios.

Entry requirements

If you're not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland, you may need to apply for a visa. You can find out more about applying for a visa and collecting your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) on our Tier 4 visa page. To identify whether or not you need to apply for a visa, please visit the UKBA website.

If your first language is not English or your undergraduate/Master's degree was not taught in English, you are also required to hold a suitable English language certificate.

If you require a Tier 4 visa, you must provide one of the following English language certificates:

• West African at B(4)
• NECO at B(4)
• IELTS 6.5 with no band less than 6.0*

If you do not need a Tier 4 visa or are an EEA national, you are permitted to use one of the following:

• TOEFL 80 with no band less than 18*
• Pearson's PTE 61 with no band less than 56*

*The University can only accept these qualifications if they were completed two years prior to the start of the programme.