Esports Scholarship Watch: UC Irvine
College esports is growing at an exponential rate. So much so that it can be easy to forget that you can get a bit of help with tuition through gaming. So we here at Checkpoint On Campus want to share our Esports Scholarship watch. From there, we hope that students across North America can find a program that helps them further their education and stomp the competition too. This week we highlight UCI in Irvine, California.
UC Irvine Scholarships
Talks about a scholarshipped varsity esports program at UC Irvine started as early as 2015 when collegiate esports programs had just started to take roots at some higher ed institutions across the United States.
With the help of student leadership and major esports sponsorships from partners like iBuyPower, GameFuel, and Logitech, the University of California, Irvine became the first major public school to officially launch its esports program in Fall 2016. Since then, it has been a dominating force in collegiate esports and a leader in esports program development.
In addition, UCI’s commitment to providing scholarships to its players has set a high bar for programs across the country, catalyzing more scholarship opportunities for gamers.
Over the past four years, teams from UC Irvine have participated in several intercollegiate and developer league championships. UC Irvine currently offers three major esports titles in its lineup, including:
- League of Legends
- Overwatch
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
The program offers scholarships to talented recruits for all three gaming titles.
Esports Scholarships at UC Irvine
Tuition at UC Irvine is $42,692 for out-of-state students. For those who do have in-state residence, tuition is $13,700. To help varsity recruits with tuition, the university offers two different scholarships ranging between $1,000 and $6,000.
Students can apply for a varsity scholarship for League of Legends, Overwatch, and Super Smash Bros Ultimate, for amounts ranging up to $6,000. Similarly, the JV aspirants can apply for a $1,000 scholarship for League of Legends.
The esports scholarship eligibility criteria are based on multiple factors, including the student’s academic standing (their GPA) and prowess in the game. To be eligible for the scholarship, a student has to be a current or incoming full-time student at the university and must have achieved the minimum ranks of High Diamond for League of Legends and Grandmaster (4000-5000 SR) for Overwatch.
Live tryouts for the shortlisted esports recruits are held during or shortly before the start of the academic year, depending on the season schedule. The rosters get finalized before the start of each season. You can apply for an esports scholarship at any time during the year.
Why Choose UC Irvine?
While esports scholarship and financial aid programs are attractive incentives for skilled esports players, the biggest reason to join UC Irvine esports is the student-centric approach of the program. The program has dedicated coaches for each gaming title who help the players polish their skills and gameplay strategies.
Additionally, the state-of-the-art gaming arena at UC Irvine spans a 3500 square-foot area containing 72 premium gaming stations aside from consoles, high-performance gaming spaces, and boot camps. Read more on UC Irvine and its esports program at Looking for Group. You can visit the official website of the university here for more information on esports and undergraduate courses offered at the university.
(this article is provided by Looking For Group, a Checkpoint XP content partner.)
