Several schools now offer degrees in esports management, marketing and media
Students enrolled in the brand-new esports management degree program at Caldwell University in New Jersey take a course on the social impact of competitive video gaming’s rapid growth.
Coursework in the new major covers the positive aspects: Having an esports team creates a new campus community and gives students a connection to the school that they might not otherwise have found, says Neil Malvone, assistant professor of sports management and esports management.
And the esports management degree program also examines some of the problems that need to be solved: Though a coach of esports teams and several players at Caldwell are women, for example, white men dominate esports nationwide.
The class also discusses video game violence, even though research hasn’t found a strong link between virtual shooting and a player’s behavior in the real world, Malvone says.
“Right now, esports is a billion-dollar industry, and in the next 10 years, it will be in the $40 billion to $50 billion range,” Malvone says.