First esports college degree in the Philippines now in the works

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21) — Online gaming might not be an after-school pastime anymore in the future as the first degree program in electronic sports (esports) in the country is being developed.

The Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) and esports and gaming agency Tier One Entertainment collaborated to develop the curriculum of the four-year degree on Bachelor of Science in ESports. It will be offered this coming school year once approved by the Commission on Higher Education.

“We will be passing the curriculum to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on March this year. If this goes well, we might have a full course available by 2020,” said Tier One Entertainment in a post on social media.

The gaming agency’s chief executive officer Tryke Gutierrez said that the new degree program will have two tracks namely: game development and esports management. However, he did not disclose yet the subjects under the program.

“The goal has always been to create more opportunities for gamers in Asia. If this curriculum gets approved, we won't just be providing post career opportunities for gaming, but we will have a new generation of graduates ready to work in the esports industry,” said Gutierrez in an online post.

However, Gutierrez reminded future students that the program will not be as easy as a simple hobby.

“I also want to take this time to personally ask all the future enrollees to please take every subject seriously and learn whatever you can learn from the experts of the industry. We'll do our best to push this industry forward but we need more help. Study hard, train hard. We need you. See you in 4 years!!,” he said.

It was a dream come true for online gamers as esports made its debut in the international sporting event like the Southeast Asian Games last year. The country’s own Team Sibol bagged several gold medals in the event.

Meanwhile, several universities abroad particularly in United States and United Kingdom are already offering degree programs in online gaming.

In the Philippines, nine universities and colleges offer only game development degree program. These are the Asia Pacific College, CIIT College of Arts and Technology, Colegio de San Juan de Letran (Laguna), De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde, De La Salle University Laguna campus, FEU Institute of Technology, iAcademy, Mapua University Makati campus, and University of the East- Manila.