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FORTUNE.COM// FEB.1 .19STUDENTS AT ONE OF THE L ARGESTU.S. universities have
video games on the brain during lectures. But it’s not
a distraction, because gaming is actually part of the class.
The Ohio State University recently announced an e-sports
program for the upcoming fall semester that includes courses
about coaching e-sports teams, marketing video games, and
managing the business side of gaming. There’s also a new major:
a bachelor of science in game design and e-sports.
Bloody shooter games likeCall of Dutyare a long way from
traditional college subjects such as literature or chemistry. But
with billions of dollars invested in video games, plus the huge
money that fans splurge on game-related merchandise, careers
in e-sports are booming.
As a result, colleges are increasingly adding classes that
are focused on e-sports, or the competitive side of videogaming. For example, in recent years,
both the University of California at Irvine
and Lambton College in Sarnia, Ontario,
introduced e-sports certificate programs,
a step short of a full degree.
What sets Ohio State apart, other than its
new e-sports focus, is its size—the school has
60,000 students—and its success in athlet-
ics like football. Other schools will inevitably
take notice and introduce their own e-sports
programs, predicts Nyle Sky Kauweloa, an
assistant instructor at the University of Hawaii
at Manoa whose Ph.D. research includes
e-sports.
“It’s a significant move,” he says.
Before creating its e-sports program, Ohio
State sought input from administrators and
faculty across several departments. They
brainstormed about which classes to offer and
what they hoped students would ultimately
learn, eventually settling on a general outline.
“We all had the same idea about what we
wanted from this program,” says Deborah M.
Grzybowski, codirector of game studies and
e-sports curriculum development at the uni-
versity and an associate professor in engineer-
ing education.
Ohio State has already debuted three
undergraduate e-sports courses. Ten more
classes are planned for the fall, along with an
e-sports arena that will seat 80 for the school’s
existing competitive e-sports team and for
recreational play.
Although Ohio State’s e-sports program
has yet to start in earnest, interest is already
high, Grzybowski says. A number of students
and parents have contacted the school about
it, but it’s too soon to know how many people
will ultimately enroll.
At the start of the current school year at
the University of Hawaii at Manoa, around
45 students enrolled in an e-sports class,
more than the 10 or 12 that had been ex-
pected, Kauweloa says. Based on its success,
the school is now considering adding more
e-sports courses.
Still, Kauweloa advised schools to think
things over carefully before creating their own
e-sports programs.
“What works in Ohio is not always going
to work for us at U.H. or work for a school
in New York,” he says. “This is the Wild Wild
West.”TECH
E-SPORTS IS THE
NE W PREMED
The Ohio State University is introducing a
video game–related degree. Will other colleges
follow suit? By Lisa Marie SegarraE-SPORTSILLUSTRATION BYNICHOLAS LITTLE