Top 5 Scholarships for Gamers (2024) and How to Apply
If you want a career in the video game industry, finding the right educational program can jump-start your career and help you find a better game job, faster.
But unfortunately, college isn’t cheap — many programs can cost a small fortune that could take you years to pay back after graduation.
That’s where scholarships, and other forms of financial aid, can really make a difference. Scholarships can reduce the amount you pay for college, which means you’ll have a lot less to pay back after you graduate. Keep reading to learn where you can find the best video game scholarships, and find out how to make sure your application has the best shot at getting accepted.
Financial aid for game degrees
Even if you’ve discovered the perfect college offering the exact major you’re looking for, paying for your education can still be a challenge.
One way to help reduce costs is to choose an online program. They’re not for everyone, but they do offer some cost savings, including the option to live at home and maybe even work part-time or full-time while you study.
Whether you choose an online program or prefer to attend a traditional in-person university, the first step is to apply for federal and (if applicable) state financial aid by filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. Completing the FAFSA is necessary if you’re interested in grants, work-study jobs, federal student loans, and other types of aid.
While some scholarships can be used by students in any degree or major, you might be surprised to learn that some scholarships are specifically for students going into the video game industry. In addition to federal aid, applying for scholarships is another crucial step that can make your education more affordable.
How to apply for game scholarships
If you’re planning to attend a game college or university, get in touch with your university’s financial aid office. They can give you a list of scholarships, some of which are specific to your school or even your major. If you’re lucky, they might even have some insider advice to boost your chances of getting accepted.
Another great option is to search and apply for scholarships on a scholarship platform like Bold.org. Bold.org offers a lot of unique, easy-to-apply-for scholarships, many of which aren’t listed anywhere else.
But when you apply for scholarships, it’s easy to make mistakes that can take you out of the running. So before you apply, keep these important tips in mind:
- Follow instructions. With any scholarship, make sure to read the application instructions carefully, so you don’t forget to include any of the required information. If you don’t fill out the form completely, your application could be rejected.
- Don’t miss the application window. Pay close attention to scholarship deadlines. Scholarships are extremely strict about their deadlines, so if your application doesn’t reach them in time, it will be thrown out — no exceptions.
- Send your application early. Even if you can hit the application deadline, don’t wait until the last minute to apply. In general, the earlier you can submit your application, the better your chances of landing the scholarship.
The 5 best scholarships for video game design
Entertainment Software Association Scholarships
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) offers three scholarships for women and minority students who want to work in the video game industry. Their best-known scholarship is the ESA Foundation Computer and Video Game Arts Scholarship. This scholarship is open to students attending a four-year college or university who want to work in video game design. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must have a GPA of at least 2.75.
The ESA also offers the ESA Foundation LGBTQ+ support scholarship for video game arts students who also serve the LGBTQ+ community in some way. The newest ESA Foundation scholarship is for women and minority students who play for their school on an Esports team while also studying for a college degree.
The deadline for the ESA Foundation scholarships is usually in March every year, with past award amounts of $3,000 per person.
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Foundation Scholarships
The AIAS Foundation Scholarship is a $2,500 award for full-time undergraduate and graduate students interested in video game design or the video game industry. This includes not only students majoring in video game design, sound design, art, animation, programming, engineering, and game direction, but also those studying law, marketing, and business administration. To apply, you must attend college or university full-time and have a GPA of 3.3 or above. The deadline for the AIAS Foundation Scholarship is usually in late May every year.
The AIAS Foundation, with support from Intel, also awards the WomenIn Scholarship. The scholarship is a $2,500 award for female undergraduate or graduate students working towards a career in game development or the interactive arts industry.
AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships
The AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships are awarded to students in design, illustration, and photography from disadvantaged backgrounds. The AIGA Worldstudio Scholarship promotes talent and creativity in the design field. Also, it supports students who are involved in giving back to their communities.
Students must be undergraduates or graduates and must be U.S. citizens or have a green card. A minimum 2.0 GPA is required. Scholarship awards are usually $2,000 to $3,000, although some awards of $5,000 have been given in the past. Some students may also win a $500 “honorable mention” cash prize.
IGDA Foundation Scholarships
For future game designers and developers, attending game industry events and meeting current professionals can be just as important as earning good grades in school. The IGDA Foundation, a charity run by game developers, offers several scholarship programs that send young gamers to the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), the world’s top event for video game developers. IGDA Scholars also receive coaching to help them on their career path.
The IGDA offers the Eric Dybsand Memorial AI Scholarship for a student interested in artificial intelligence, and the Gerald Lawson Scholarship for underrepresented minorities in the gamedev community. They also run an umbrella program, the Virtual Exchange, which houses their sub-programs for IGDA Scholars, Velocity, and Next Gen Leaders programs for students from diverse genders and backgrounds.
NYU Game Center Evo Scholarship
The NYU Game Center Evo Scholarship is designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in fighting games who want to study game design at NYU’s Game Center. The Game Center is part of NYU’s respected Tisch School of the Arts and offers a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts and two-year Master of Fine Arts in Game Design. Past scholarships have included partial tuition or full-ride scholarships.
Twitch Students Scholarship
The 1,000 Dreams Fund Twitch Student scholarship provides 24 scholarships of $1,000 each to students who are pursuing careers in the gaming industry. To be eligible for the grant, you need to be a Twitch Affiliated or Partnered Broadcaster, and currently enrolled in high school, a two-year, four-year college/university or graduate school.
Esports Scholarships
If you’re one of the many video game designers-in-training who is also a competitive gamer, you might want to look into Esports scholarships.
A growing number of colleges and universities have added Esports to their athletic programs, and some offer Esports scholarships for the most talented gamers. League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Overwatch are just a few of the games that Esports teams play at colleges and universities around the country.
These universities are some of the top to offer Esports scholarships:
- University of California, Irvine
- Indiana Tech
- University of Utah
- Harrisburg University
- Robert Morris University
- Arcadia University
- Full Sail University
- Hawaii Pacific University
Who says all that time playing online games was a waste of time? It might just earn you a new career, partially- or fully-funded by your college or university.
Scholarships help fund your game dev career
Although there are some careers in the gaming industry that don’t require a college degree, you will be more competitive if you have earned a degree or certificate.
Whether your goal is to study computer science, art and animation, graphic design, digital cinematography, game development, game programming, 3D modeling, music production, visual effects, or something else entirely, there’s a college or university that’s right for you.
And now, with all of the financial aid that’s available today for aspiring video game developers, there’s never been a better time to take that first step toward your future career making video games.
Special thanks to Bold.org for contributing to this article, and for helping game dev students fund their future careers through unique scholarships.
Image: MD Duran/Unsplash
Read my new book!
Making games for a living is an incredibly rewarding career, but it’s hard to break in unless you have insider knowledge. This book levels the playing field.
What college for a gaming degree would be the most helpful for a high functioning autistic student and what scholarship would be available for autism spectrum?
This is for my niece I’m raising
Hi Susan, this is a great question – I asked around to some of my colleagues in the industry, but unfortunately I did not get any ideas that would be helpful. I think you’d need to talk to a healthcare professional and read up on the general topic of autistic kids in higher education (maybe something like this one?), and any advice there should apply to a game development education as well.
Hi, may I know the process of getting a scholarship or applying to university for a 12 year old intelligent kid who creates video games,interested in that field.
Thank you
Hi Adila – if you (or the person you’re asking for?) is already creating your own video games, that is an excellent start to prepare for a career in game development. So, congratulations on that! Regarding scholarships, unfortunately scholarships are usually only available to people who are beginning their college education. So the first step is to be accepted to a college or university, and then begin applying for scholarships at that time.
My son is attending NYU game design major in the Fall. We are looking for some scholarships for game design, LGBTQ kids or anything else that might apply. Any suggestions? thanks!
Hi Suzie, the only LGBTQ-specific scholarships I know of are the ESA scholarships mentioned in the article. I’ll ask around some more, and update the article if I can find any others.