All those long nights staying up till 2 am to play video games can finally pay off...literally. Being an avid gamer in this day and age is now worth more than just fun and games - there are quite a few scholarships for gamers who are looking to pay for college! Esports have entered the collegiate sports arena, where students can land Esports scholarships and get paid to play.
Esports has been around for nearly two decades, but is fairly new in the collegiate arena. There are more than thirty U.S. colleges and universities that offer scholarships for gamers, and the University of Utah is one of the larger sports schools to offer scholarships for video gaming. Its varsity Esports team competes at the popular and high-profile League of Legends competition. The university currently offers players partial video game scholarships, with the future goal of offering full video game scholarships to its gaming team. The University of California-Irvine similarly recruits students on partial video game scholarships and have even built a gaming arena for gamers and its school's 10-player team. Robert Morris University was the first college in the U.S. to offer video gaming scholarships, where students can earn up to $19,000 a year in gaming scholarships. Robert Morris University Esports athletes also don team uniforms and post-game meals, just like any other collegiate sports team.
Although many Esports teams are co-ed, the many of the gamers are men. Stephens College joined the National Association of Collegiate Esports, which is home to over 31 video game scholarship-sponsored Esports programs and it is the first women's college to sponsor a varsity team and offer video game scholarships for women. The roster allows for up to twelve female gamers, all of who receive partial video game scholarships.
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If you're looking to play competitively at the collegiate level and earn a college scholarship while doing so, there are plenty of video game scholarships with many more to come as popularity increases at the collegiate level. Here's a comprehensive list of scholarships for gamers:
The Adam Charles Ports Foundation was founded in 2002 to honor the memory of a beloved family member and friend. The ACP Foundation offers significant scholarships to further the academic education of individuals who have trained in the martial arts. Since its inception, the ACP Foundation has awarded $535,000 in scholarships to deserving students who have trained in the martial arts.
The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program honors student-athletes who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and strong leadership skills in sports, in their schools, and within their communities. Whether you're the lead scorer or the most spirited team player, we want to hear how you have taken the skills you've cultivated in the locker room and used them to create a powerful, positive impact [...] More
The Helen Gee Chin Scholarship Foundation was founded on March 7, 2011, to honor the memory of Helen Gee Chin, wife of Sifu Chin of Calvin Chin's Martial Arts Academy, Inc.
The scholarship is open to students who plan to enroll full-time as an undergraduate at an accredited U.S. four-year college or university and meet the minimum eligibility requirements: U.S. citizenship, five or more years [...] More
This endowed flight training scholarship is administered through the EAA chapter network, and was created in Kylie Murray's name to honor her legacy. The recipient of the Kylie Murray Memorial Flight Training Scholarship will have the following characteristics similar to Kylie: Woman ages 16 – 19. Committed interest to earning an aviation-oriented college degree including, but not limited to, [...] More
The Stockton Student Athletes Scholarship Fund was originally established as the Jester’s Club Athletic Scholarship Fund in 2015 at the Community Foundation of San Joaquin. The fund was renamed the Stockton Student Athletes Scholarship Fund in 2020. Two renewable scholarships in the amount of $1,500 each will be awarded this cycle, which means you could receive up to $6,000 over four [...] More
Academic success is a high priority at the Vero Beach Karate Association. Students are encouraged to work for academic excellence. Three achievement programs sponsored by VBKA highlight and focus on excellence in school: the Academic Achievers Program, Student Excellence Award and College Scholarship Program. The pinnacle of VBKA’s support for academics is the College Scholarship Program. [...] More
When you get acceptance letters from multiple colleges, there’s nothing wrong with taking some time to celebrate. But once the mental confetti has fallen, it’s time to decide: which school do you actually want to attend?
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Did you know that there are more scholarships with deadlines in March than any other month? Now is the time to put in a little bit of your time to apply for as many scholarships as you possibly can. Of course, you are going to want to prioritize wisely, with just over a week left in the month. [...]
Most major tech companies offer scholarships for prospective or current college students. While some of those are geared toward all students, other scholarships are designed to fix the racial disparity within the tech industry. According to research from 2021, fewer than 10% of STEM employees in the workforce are African-American. The Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship aims to close the gap and encourage more Black students to major in STEM-related fields. [...]
