Esports (Minor)
Offered by: Hospitality and Tourism ManagementSRU’s Esports minor consists of a core of 9 required credits (Introduction to Esports, Issues in Esports Health and Society, and Meetings and Event Management). An additional 9 credit hours are available in Strategic Communication & Media, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Sport Management. The structure of the Esports minor is designed to provide students foundational and practical knowledge and experience for employment in the Esports industry. This Esports minor is not to be confused with recreational video gaming for the sole purpose of entertainment, but learning about and leveraging the passion that has created a burgeoning industry of organized competitive video gaming usually played via a computer, gaming console, or mobile device.
Why Choose Esports?
As part of a broader education in your major, the Esports minor will broaden your career opportunities while enriching the undergraduate experience. By providing a robust business background with a focus on the business of Esports, this program prepares you to be a leader in the fast-growing field of Esports management that includes event management and production, business development, league management, communications, broadcast production, sponsorship and social media.
Just how fast-growing is the Esports industry? Often cited games market analytics firm Newzoo estimated the total market size of the Esports industry at $1.1 billion in 2020. SRU’s own Dr. Seth Jenny has published research demonstrating Newzoo’s estimate to be very low, calculating the actual total market size at $24.9 billion. To illustrate the growth, industry revenues were $250 million in 2015. This growth has led to increasing career opportunities for properly trained college graduates. Further, according to Business Insider, viewership for esports is on track for 9% annual growth over the next several years, expanding from 454 million worldwide viewers in 2019 to 646 million in 2023. Additionally, investors have begun to pour funding into the industry—between 2017 and 2018, investment funding exploded from $490 million to $4.5 billion—more than 800% growth year-on-year.
What Will You Learn?
An SRU Esports Minor will enable you to:
- Use esports- specific terminology while describing the broad scope of competitive video gaming, with a focus on health and performance implications of esports and esports-related career possibilities.
- Critically analyze the current trends and issues surrounding esports and video gaming within our global society.
- Understand how to plan, market, and produce Esports events while satisfying multiple stakeholders.
- Identify and assess career paths and business models within Esports.
Its interdisciplinary coursework will include education and training focusing on:
- Public Relations and Promotion of Events
- Event Production and Coordination
- Video Production and Editing
- TV Studio Production
- Sport Marketing and Fan Experienc
- Exercise/Esports Science
- Health Promotion
Careers In Esports
Esports career options and paths include Esports Event Management, Esports Tournament Production, Media and Broadcasting, Exercise Sport Science, Sport Management, Organization Administration, Collegiate Administration, Esports Marketing and Public Relations, Esports Coaching, Education and Player Management, Support Roles (statistician, lawyer, finance, etc).
Clubs & Organizations
National Association of Collegiate Esports
National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors (NAECAD)