Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?

No, the Specialization doesn't get you university credit.

What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?

You'll be able to program small (by commercial standards) Unreal games using C++. Although most of you will certainly need to take more courses and get more experience before you can build commercial-quality games (it takes my UCCS students 4 years to get there), this Specialization builds a strong foundation for you to build on.

Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?

This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.

Can I just enroll in a single course?

Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Can I take the course for free?

No, you cannot take this course for free. When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.

C++ Programming for Unreal Game Development Specialization

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C++ Programming for Unreal Game Development Specialization

Learn C++ and how to use C++ in Unreal games

Instructor: Dr. Tim "Dr. T" Chamillard

Included with Coursera Plus

Learn more

4 course series

Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

4.6

(195 reviews)

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 months to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

4 course series

Get in-depth knowledge of a subject

4.6

(195 reviews)

Intermediate level

Recommended experience

2 months to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

This Specialization is intended for intermediate programmers who want to learn how to program Unreal Engine games using C++. Learners should complete at least one other programming Specialization on Coursera (see https://www.coursera.org/specializations/programming-unity-game-development) or one programming course in high school or college before starting this Specialization. The first course assumes that level of programming experience, and throughout the 4 courses in the Specialization you'll learn how to program in C++ and how to use that C++ knowledge to program Unreal Engine games. The C++ and Unreal material in the courses in the Specialization is slightly less comprehensive than the content in the first two game programming courses at UCCS.

Applied Learning Project

Each of the courses includes 10-20 exercises designed to teach you small concepts in C++ and Unreal. You'll also develop several larger C++ console applications, all of them designed to teach you important C++ and Unreal Engine concepts. Completing the exercises and the programming assignments will let you apply your C++ programming skills to both C++ console apps and to Unreal games.

Skills you'll gain

Tools you'll learn

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Taught in English

7 practice exercises

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Specialization - 4 course series

Applied Learning Project

Introduction to C++ Programming and Unreal

Course 119 hours

What you'll learn

This course is all about starting to learn how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal Engine on Windows or Mac.

This course assumes you have previous programming experience in some other language. Although we'll start at the very beginning for C++, hardly anybody learns (or teaches) C++ as a first language. Similarly, Unreal Engine is a commercial, industrial strength game engine. With great power comes great ... complexity, so it's important that you have the will to work hard to learn how to use C++ in Unreal Engine. Computer programming is really fun in general, and programming games is even better! Caution: Introduction (starting to learn C++ and Unreal Engine) is not the same as easy (not hard to do). Learning to program using C++ in Unreal Engine IS hard to do, especially since this course is essentially the first half of a freshman-level college course. Meeting the course challenges while you master the material will be rewarding to you, but doing that will require hard work and maybe even a few expletives along the way. Module 1: Write your first C++ console application and Unreal script Module 2: Learn how we store and use data in our programs Module 3: Learn how we use classes and objects to implement our code Module 4: Learn the basics of Unreal Engine

Skills you'll gain

C++ (Programming Language), Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Debugging, Development Environment, Unreal Engine, Scripting, Software Documentation, 3D Assets, Computer Programming, Video Game Development, and Data Storage

More C++ Programming and Unreal

Course 217 hours

What you'll learn

This course is the second course in the specialization about learning how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal game engine on Windows or Mac.

This course assumes you have the prerequisite knowledge from the previous course in the specialization. You should make sure you have that knowledge, either by taking that previous course or from personal experience, before tackling this course. Throughout this course you'll continue building your foundational C++ and Unreal knowledge by exploring more C++ and Unreal topics. Module 1: Discover how we make decisions in our code Module 2: Get and use player input in your Unreal games Module 3: Learn how to use iteration (looping) to repeat actions in your code Module4: Explore storing lots of data in arrays, C++ containers, and the Unreal TArray<> container

Skills you'll gain

C++ (Programming Language), Computer Programming, Data Structures, Unreal Engine, Data Storage, Video Game Development, and Object Oriented Programming (OOP)

C++ Class Development

Course 318 hours

What you'll learn

This course is the third course in the specialization about learning how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal game engine on Windows or Mac.

This course assumes you have the prerequisite knowledge from the previous two courses in the specialization. You should make sure you have that knowledge, either by taking those previous courses or from personal experience, before tackling this course. Throughout this course you'll continue building your foundational C++ and Unreal knowledge by exploring more C++ and Unreal topics. Module 1: Learn how abstraction helps us develop good software and design and implement console app classes Module 2: Explore how functions really work "under the covers" Module 3: Design and implement Unreal classes and include them in a game. Discover how strings work in both C++ and in an Unreal HUD Module4: Expand your understanding of pointers and add sound effects to an Unreal game

Skills you'll gain

C++ (Programming Language), Object Oriented Design, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Software Design Patterns, Debugging, Application Development, Unreal Engine, Programming Principles, Video Game Development, Program Development, and Game Design

Intermediate Object-Oriented Programming for Unreal Games

Course 415 hours

What you'll learn

This course is the fourth and final course in the Specialization about learning how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal game engine on Windows or Mac.

This course assumes you have the prerequisite knowledge from the previous three courses in the specialization. You should make sure you have that knowledge, either by taking those previous courses or from personal experience, before tackling this course. Throughout this course you'll build on your foundational C# and Unity knowledge by developing more robust games with better object-oriented designs using file input and output, inheritance and polymorphism, and event handling. This course gives you even more tools to help you build great games with C++ and Unreal! Module 1: Start using files to implement your Unreal games Module 2: Learn how inheritance and polymorphism help us write less code for our games Module 3: Implement event handling to make better object-oriented designs and add menus to your Unreal games Module 4: Explore the complete implementation of a small Unreal game

Skills you'll gain

C++ (Programming Language), Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Unreal Engine, File Management, Data Structures, Software Design Patterns, C# (Programming Language), UI Components, Unity Engine, Debugging, Event-Driven Programming, Video Game Development, and Programming Principles

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Instructor

Dr. Tim "Dr. T" Chamillard

University of Colorado System

20 Courses238,210 learners

Offered by

University of Colorado System

Compare with similar products

	Category: This Specialization University of Colorado System C++ Programming for Unreal Game Development	Codio C++: Data Structures and Algorithms	University of California, Santa Cruz C, Go, and C++: A Comprehensive Introduction to Programming	Packt Unreal Engine 5 - The Intermediate Course
		Learn more	Learn more	Learn more
Rating	4.6195 reviews	4.511 reviews	4.339 reviews	5.03 reviews
Level	Intermediate	Intermediate	Intermediate	Intermediate
Skills	Software Design Patterns, Programming Principles, Development Environment, Debugging, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Object Oriented Design, Software Documentation, Computer Programming, Event-Driven Programming, Data Storage, 3D Assets, Program Development, Game Design, Data Structures, Video Game Development	Data Structures, Algorithms, Graph Theory, Programming Principles, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Computer Programming, Computational Thinking, Theoretical Computer Science	Data Structures, Algorithms, Debugging, Computer Programming, Graph Theory, Software Design Patterns, Programming Principles, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Data-oriented programming, Code Review, Computer Science, C and C++, Unit Testing, File Systems, Computational Thinking	Debugging, Scripting, Event-Driven Programming, Data Structures, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Data Management, Animation and Game Design, 3D Modeling, Virtual Environment, 3D Assets, Program Development, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Scalability, Software Design, Game Design, Performance Tuning, Data Store, Video Game Development
Tools	UI Components, Unity Engine, C++ (Programming Language), Unreal Engine, C# (Programming Language)	C++ (Programming Language)	C (Programming Language), Go (Programming Language), C++ (Programming Language), Integrated Development Environments, Command-Line Interface	Unreal Engine
Last updated	2021	2024	2024	2025
Number of practice exercises	7	—	31	8
Degree eligibility	Not eligible for degree credit	Not eligible for degree credit	Not eligible for degree credit	Not eligible for degree credit
Part of Coursera Plus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

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Frequently asked questions

You can complete the specialization 16 weeks, because each of the 4 courses is 4 weeks long

Learners should complete at least one other programming Specialization on Coursera (see https://www.coursera.org/specializations/programming-unity-game-development) or one programming course in high school or college before starting this Specialization.

The Specialization is designed for you to take the courses in order because each of the courses builds on the knowledge you should have learned in the previous courses. If you have previous C++ programming experience and have already written some small games in Unreal, you can probably shuffle the order around, but for most learners doing the courses in order is strongly recommended