Competitive Gaming is now a College Major in China

By Tye Donaldson, October 27, 2016

What was once distracting you from your homework can now be your homework, and possibly make you millions.

Competitive video gaming, commonly known as “E-sports,” is now being offered as a college major in China, according to The Nanfang. E-sports competitions are held all around the world, with some offering up to USD6.6 million in first-place prize money. Dota, Hearthstone, and League of Legends are three of the most prominent and lucrative games played by the pros.

Gaming in China
The official DOTA 2 World champions in 2014.

The popularity and revenue generated by E-sports has led to China’s Ministry of Education approving competitive video gaming as a college major. Next fall, the first E-sports class will be taught at the Hunan Sports Vocational College. Students earning a diploma in the program are also required to take courses in law, computer science and English while they learn the different aspects of video gaming.

“We want to churn out all kinds of professionals in club management, data analysis, tactics design, sports brokering, coaching, judging and anchoring. E-sports players are just one of the many options,” said Liu Jun, vice dean of Hunan Sports Vocational College, regarding the coursework of the new major.

[Images via Huffington Post, Digital Trends]