Sony offering scholarships for a game design master's degree

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has recently teamed up with Birmingham City University to offer students a chance to win an academic scholarship that will have Sony pay half of of their fees to attend the Gamer Camp Pro - a master’s degree programme with gaming as its focus - as well as offering the students a six month paid placement at one of Sony’s UK development studios.

“We are delighted to offer PlayStation Academic Scholarships in partnership with Gamer Camp: Pro for the second year running.” said Maria Stukoff of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to GamesIndustry.biz. “Its a great opportunity for the next generation of British videogame talent to acquire professional development skills before they embark into a competitive industry.”

To be eligible for a chance to win one of the four coveted spots, students need to be signed up to Gamer Camp - the more affordable Nano programme will be good enough - by 9th August and they’ll automatically be eligible. The prospective winners will be chosen through an interview process once the initial pool of potential candidates has been decided.

Sony Computer Entertainment is offering a scholarship for a master's degree

“Having an active and influential partner in Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is a massive benefit to the Gamer Camp programme,” says Gamer Camp co- founder Guy Wilday. “Access to Sony development hardware, experienced industry support and these PlayStation Academic Scholarships provides Gamer Camp students with an unparalleled educational opportunity.”

"I went on Gamer Camp: Nano in 2010 and got a job as an artist for a game developer as a direct result of the course, so I am now completing a Masters on Gamer Camp: Pro," added Gamer Camp student Emma Douglas. "The industry connections and highly practical nature of Gamer Camp is what makes the experience so special; it's like a real job in an actual games development studio."

This isn’t the first time that game studios are offering scholarships. A few years ago, the ESA Foundation had announced the establishment of a program which granted $45,000 in scholarships to students who were pursuing careers in game development. This program outlined 15 scholarships of $3,000 each for women and minority students who were enrolled full-time at accredited four-year academic institutions. The scholarships were available for use towards fields that supported game ,which included computer science, animation, graphic design and software engineering, among others.

"Positions in our industry are high-paying jobs with a remarkable potential to inspire and entertain millions of Americans," said ESA president and CEO Michael Gallagher. "We offer this program to help create our industry's next generation who will boost the industry's creative capital with new and unique approaches," Gallagher added.