New Jersey, US-based Stockton University has announced it is launching an Esports Management undergraduate degree for the upcoming academic year.

The Bachelor of Science in Esports Management degree will be offered through the university’s School of Business, and is set to launch in Autumn 2023.

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The university said its esports degree programme includes business fundamentals, professional work experience, a hands-on internship requirement, as well as work placement opportunities for those seeking to enter the esports industry.

The degree will also offer esports-specific courses, including ‘Esports and Events Industry’ and ‘Esports Event Production’, according to a release. Stockton said those courses are designed to prepare students for a variety of esports-related careers spanning event production, digital media and event marketing, and project management.

Warren Kleinsmith, the Dean of the university’s School of Business, added that students who graduate from the program will have 300-plus hours of experience.

Founded in 1969, Stockton University is a public (state-owned) university with roughly 9000 students enrolled. It offers more than 160 undergraduate and graduate programmes, according to its website.
A landing page for Stockton esports on its website says the degree programme is “highly interdisciplinary, with a curriculum that includes courses from the School of Business, including Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management, Business Studies, and Computer Science.”

Stockton University already has a dedicated esports facility on its Galloway campus. The university’s collegiate Rocket League team finished second in the Collegiate World Championship last year.

Warren Kleinsmith, Dean of the School of Business, commented on the launch in a release: “As Stockton University has grown, so have its offerings related to hospitality, tourism, event management and business studies.

“As a school, we strive to provide programming that is relevant and timely. This is one example of existing talent in our Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management programming seeing synergies between industries and building the necessary networks and curriculum to offer a highly competitive and academically rigorous degree.”

Numerous academic institutions across the world, particularly in the UK and the US, now offer university-level esports degrees. However, some esports degrees have been criticised for poor teaching and a lack of job opportunities for graduates.

The education space in esports more broadly has grown rapidly. In March, Esports Insider hosted ESI Next Gen, a business conference that united leaders in esports, games and education.