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Best Game Design Schools Near Nashville, TN (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Nashville, Tennessee has 1 accredited school offering game design programs. Nashville has a population of about 1,065,078. In the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the top-earning game design-related role is Computer and Information Systems Managers at a median $165,970 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Game Design Schools to Nashville
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer game design programs near Nashville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Nashville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Nashville.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Tennessee schools on the Tennessee game design page.
Game Design Wages Near Nashville
Nashville is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area (BLS area code 34980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Software Developers
$126,610
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$131,475
Special Effects Artists and Animators
$83,080
TN statewide
$86,272
Graphic Designers
$60,370
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$62,690
Web and Digital Interface Designers
$63,510
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$65,950
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
$95,280
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$98,941
Writers and Authors
$63,270
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$65,701
Computer Programmers
N/A
TN statewide
–
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$165,970
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
$172,347
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Nashville at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
96.3 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Nashville-Area Cities With Game Design Programs
How many accredited game design schools are near Nashville, TN?
Our directory has 1 accredited schools offering game design programs near Nashville. The closest is Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY (59.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Western Kentucky University (59.1 miles). 1 of the highlighted schools is flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying game design roles near Nashville?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying game design-related roles near Nashville are: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($165,970), Software Developers ($126,610), Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers ($95,280). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Brentwood instead of Nashville?
Brentwood, TN is 12.4 miles from Nashville and has its own set of local game design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
