The USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp is a 4-week program
designed to help students pursue their dream of working in the video
game industry. The single scholarship in the 2005 summer seasons will
represent the first female registered student in the program, as the
2004 inaugural year featured an exclusively male student body. The
scholarship includes free admission to the camp, room and board at USC,
and three college credits for successfully completing the program.
The USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp runs from July 3rd to
July 30th. Deadline to apply for the scholarship is May 15th. It is
open to any female high school junior or senior with a GPA of at least
3.5 and who submits both a written recommendation from a teacher and a
250-word essay on “Why I want to grow up and make games.” Applications should
be sent to: ea-usc-scholarship@ea.com.
“We hope this scholarship not only provides an exciting opportunity for
an inspired girl, but sends a broader message. EA wants to
encourage girls to aspire for a career building games…and we hope the
best and brightest continue their studies and find a future home in the
industry,” said Steve Seabolt, Vice President at EA.
According to the
Entertainment Software Association, women players represent 39% of the gaming
population and are a growing force
within the gaming community. EA is responding to this demand by
encouraging and empowering young women to take the industry seriously
and consider it for a future career. This scholarship is the first step
in a larger program designed to encourage women to pursue their passion
for gaming and enter the industry as professionals.
EA and USC have been working together in a number of different ways to
ensure students are ready to enter the games industry with the
knowledge and power to make a difference. “EA continues to
support our engineering program at USC,” said Anthony Borquez,
currently associate director of education at the Viterbi School's
Integrated Media Systems Center and formerly the director of the
Information Technology Program, which offers numerous
courses on gaming. “Not only does EA provide us with game
resources and guest speakers for our classes, but we also staff
animators and engineers from EALA who teach classes in my program.”
