West Virginia University is the Latest School to Add Esports to Academic Curriculum
For years, colleges have transformed parts of their campus into esports venues where gamers could compete at a club or varsity level in games like Fortnite or Arena of Valor.
West Virginia University is taking things to the next level by making esports part of its academic curriculum.
Beginning in the fall of 2022, WVU will be offering a 15-credit minor in esports. The university describes it as highly-organized and competitive environments in person or online.
Nine credits will be dedicated to esports coursework. The studies will offer a foundation of esports history and ethics – as well as legal, regulatory and cultural issues according to Louis Slimak, assistant provost for curriculum and assessment at WVU.
Also available in the coursework is the business of esports, marketing promotion, and the finance of esports – as well as elective studies in sports psychology, strategic communication and social communications including venue and event management.
Some universities don’t see the value in esports programs, but Slimak explains that WVU “needs to innovate academically and transform ourselves to be relevant” in a billion-dollar-plus industry with incredible job growth.
“It’s not just esports,” he adds. “The video game industry is monstrous. It’s bigger than the movie industry.”
He predicts that at first a few dozen students will enter the program, with 60 to 80 students enrolling at any given time eventually.
West Virginia University Provost Maryanne Reed noted the reach that gaming has. WVU has already recruited star player Noah Johnson, a 19-year-old economics major from Baltimore. Johnson was influenced by the fact that Josh Steger, a successful coach and the WVU esports director, is bringing the program to the main campus.
“I was receiving different offers from other colleges. After having conversations with Josh, I liked the vision and direction of the WVU program,” Johnson told the university. “It also helped that Josh was a cool dude.”
There are a handful of schools nationwide, most notably Ohio State University, that are creating degrees in esports and related fields.
“It looks to me like less than a dozen in the country, but that depends on what people call it,” said Slimak.
Esports studies is accepted in some areas of academia. However in others, there are skeptics who question its validity as a career pursuit, and think it’s just being used as a way to increase enrollment numbers.
Schools who support the decision to include esports in their curriculum have a different opinion. The University of New Haven in Connecticut promotes the esports degree on their web site by saying:
“The University of New Haven’s interdisciplinary major in esports and gaming is designed to maximize our strengths in business, technology, engineering and computer science, to create pioneering opportunities that prepare our students to be the future leaders in this high-growth field,” it reads.
“Any technological or medical STEM kind of field does pay well,” said Slimak. “It’s a diverse field which is why I like it. It spans multiple fields. The skills are transferable.”
In 2016 when the organization was formed, the National Associate of Collegiate Esports (NACE), initially counted seven colleges and universities that had varsity esports programs. The figure has since risen to over 170 nationally.
In 2018, Edinboro University became an early adopter of a varsity esports program. University leaders called it a logical tie-in with academic studies in game design, animation and virtual-world development (which is what Edinboro is known for).
Esports programs were perfect during COVID-19 shutdowns, especially for Point Park University. While athletic programs were stopped, esports programs – including the one at Point Park were able to continue due to its ability to be run remotely.
Chris Gaul, esports director and head coach at Point Park University, said that his 18-person team competed in the National Association of Collegiate Esports Rocket League Fall Season. They also competed in League of Legends from their 1,450-square-foot space in the school’s student center that features 16 gaming stations and 3 large-screen televisions.
It’s undeniable that esports is just as popular as ever, and the fact that more universities are accepting it into their curriculum is an exciting prospect for students across the nation.
Story via Government Technology
