IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

Starcraft II Now Offered As Course Study at University of Florida

Posted August 27, 2010 by Ben Strauss

Starcraft II is now being offered as a course study at yet another American college. The course, labeled as IDS 2935 “21^st Century Skills in Starcraft” is designed to teach students how to manage resources in an effective manner.

Nate Poling, a Ph. D candidate at University of Florida, was able to convince his department that the course would work. Several requirements have been put in place to ensure that a flood of students do not register for the class. Honor students, and only those familiar with the game, may register for the online-only class. Even more devastating to potential students, the course will not count towards undergrads’ GPA.

"A student who gets a normal education, gets an MBA, and is in the business world, he could realize that something he learned in his StarCraft course helps him think outside of the box," Poling told MIT's Technology Review. "You synthesize this with an MBA program and voila - you have an innovative business practice.”

Though the course will not affect GPA, Poling expects the class to be popular, but the prerequisites put in place should keep the registration numbers to a manageable size.

The last American college to offer a games related course was California-Berkeley, offering a course on competitive StarCraft through its renowned Haas School of Business.

[Thanks Technology Review]

Ben is a recent graduate of Xavier University.  You can see him ramble on about gaming, gamification, military-related gaming and manly things on his Twitter @Sinner101GR.