Making a game with “physics” in it seems like kind of a weird thing to do if seeking a physics degree. The engine already has physics built in. Using Unreal will teach you programming, design and general work flow and trouble shooting. Unless you are going to program some really bad *** physics behavior I am not sure what you are really going to accomplish showing off a template game with physics working. Unless your department of academics don’t know anything about modern 3d design software (which wouldn’t surprise me).