In an effort to boost diversity in the game industry, the ESA Foundation has awarded 30 scholarships to female and minority students pursuing game-related degrees. The scholarships totaled $90,000, spread across students in 21 academic institutions for the 2010-2011 school year.
The Foundation has provided financial assistance to women and minority students since 2007. The focus is on students aiming for careers in game development, including those seeking degrees in graphic design, computer science, animation, programming, digital entertainment or software engineering. A new round of scholarships is offered each year. Each of the 30 scholarships is in an amount of $3,000, with 15 going to high school seniors and 15 to current college students.
Game industry related degree programs are growing with more than 300 colleges and universities offering video game courses or degrees.
"The video game industry is pleased to foster opportunities for gifted youth to use their creativity, innovation and passion to create games that entertain, inspire and educate," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. "The ESA is proud to help advance the careers of aspiring game developers and enhance the diversity of our industry by offering scholarships to women and minority students."
1 Comments
October 22, 2010
I am so glad to see these scholorships offered. I wish we had known about this four years ago when my daughter was looking into Digipen Institute of Technology. She is a senior now and will graduate this spring from there. However, it pleases me that I can pass this information on to others who are looking to get into the gaming field.