​​Hi, I'm Tom Apperley, Course Director for BA (Hons) Games Design here at Canterbury Christ Church University. You'll be in excellent hands with Dr Dave Boyd, who leads the Foundation Year and will be your first point of contact as you begin your journey into games design. You'll meet Dave and the rest of the teaching team in person during Welcome Week, and we're all really looking forward to getting to know you.​

Tom Apperley
Course Director

Your Teaching Timetable

Teaching for your course will begin w.c 21 September 2026.

To help you plan your first few weeks, you can view an overview of the teaching activities for your course.

View your first semester teaching timetable.

On a mobile device, click the arrow next to “Search” at the top right of the page to view your timetable.

If your course is taught in groups, the overview will show activities for all groups. You will only need to attend sessions for your allocated group.

Once teaching begins, your individual timetable and group allocation will be available in MyTimetable provided you have completed online registration and created your computing account.

Your Semester 1 Modules

Creative Arts and Industries

The Big Picture*

*All Foundation Year students take The Big Picture during Semester 1. The module includes shared lectures and smaller seminar and pastoral groups.

Seminar groups are arranged broadly by subject area so that discussions, examples, and activities can connect to your intended degree course.

The Unitimetables page shows an overview of all scheduled teaching for the module. You will not be expected to attend every seminar shown there.

Your confirmed lecture, seminar, and pastoral group will be available in MyTimetable once course registration and group allocations have been completed.

Key dates

Academic Calendar: Semesters

View key dates for this Academic Calendar for 2026-27 including when teaching starts and finishes and when you break for holidays.

Welcome

​​Welcome Week is your first opportunity to get to know the university, your fellow students, and the teaching team, and we really encourage you to make the most of it.

The foundation year is designed to build your confidence and skills from the ground up, and Welcome Week is where that journey begins, so it is really important that you are there.

You will also be introduced to your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT), a dedicated member of the teaching team who will be your key point of contact for support and guidance as you settle into university life and work towards your degree.​

Getting started

​​In Semester One you will be enrolled on two modules:

  • Creative Arts and Industries, led by Dr Dave Boyd
  • The Big Picture, led by Dr Simon Prince.

Teaching across both modules is delivered on campus through a combination of lectures and workshops, giving you the chance to start developing your creative skills and building your understanding of the wider world of games and digital media.

​Your first few weeks will ease you in gently.

Welcome Week is focused on getting settled, meeting your peers and tutors, and finding your feet at university rather than diving straight into assessed work.

As teaching gets underway you will find all your module materials, resources, and announcements on Blackboard, the university's online learning environment. It is worth familiarising yourself with Blackboard early on, as it will be your central hub for everything course-related throughout your studies.

If you want to get a head start before teaching begins, the Learning Skills Hub is a great place to build confidence in areas like academic writing and research.​

Your Must Do Tasks

Once you have been invited to register for your course, there are some key tasks you'll need to complete to make sure you are ready to become a CCCU student. 

Registration invitations are sent towards the end of August. We'll send yours to the email address you used when you applied, so please check this inbox regularly to make sure you don't miss any important information.

Pre-course reading

The Games Design course introduces you to different pathways into the games industry. To get you started, we suggest that you begin exploring this exciting industry.

Here are some useful resources that can help to prepare you for the course:

International student success programme

International students: don't miss out! Make sure you register for our international student success programme which provides practical advice on preparing to live and study in the UK.

Contact details

Have a question?

Speak to our friendly team for support.