Becker College in Massachusetts is following a recent esports trend in the U.S. education system by announcing the country’s first degree in esports management.
The four-year Bachelor of Science in Esports Management degree will be offered through the college’s business department, and will give students all the knowledge and experience that they need to kickstart their career.
“The rapid growth of esports brings with it new jobs and demands from the industry. That translates to tremendous career opportunities for our students,” Alan Ritacco, dean of the School of Design and Technology, said in the announcement “With a spirited college community that gets video games, adding esports management is a perfect fit.”
The curriculum will focus mainly on the business side of esports. Students will learn how to plan and create events, promote tournaments, as well as develop and market businesses. They will also be taught about the multiple game genres in the industry to give them better knowledge of esports as a whole, instead of just learning about a single game such as League of Legends or Fortnite. In their senior year students will also undertake an internship.
Becker is one of many universities to add esports to its curriculum. Staffordshire University in the U.K. became the first university in the country to offer students a degree in esports production. The university partnered with ESL UK to have a member of the industry shadow its curriculum.
Ashland University in Ohio also announced an esports scholarship in February, when it revealed plans to create an esports arena and an area for practice. The scholarship offers players $4,000 worth of tuition to join the program and compete as an Ashland University member.
Students interested in enrolling for the Becker College degree will need to wait until the fall of 2019. For more information on the curriculum you can check the college’s website.
