Female computer science students given boost by leading games company

The video games industry is usually seen as a bro-ey, male-dominated one.

But US games giant Bethesda – which is behind popular titles like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM and Wolfenstein – wants this to change.

It has donated US$100,000 to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation which provides scholarships to women and minority communities to study computer science or games production, “to do our part to support the next generation of game developers”.

The ESA Foundation, aimed at improving diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), says it has provided almost US$1 million in scholarships over the past decade.

Single player campaigns are part of our DNA. We are proud and excited to donate $100,000 to the @ESA_Foundation/@ESAsFoundation to support its scholarship program. We hope one of you might make the next great single player game! https://t.co/BireqgtkXh #TheGameAwards#SavePlayer1 pic.twitter.com/d8hdWLoGjb

— Bethesda (@bethesda) December 8, 2017

Bethesda’s US$100,000 donation will go towards supporting 33 scholarships.

The Computer Science and Video Game Arts Scholarships are offered for full-time undergraduate study at accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States.

“This generous gift from Bethesda will help the ESA Foundation to continue providing scholarships for students following their dream of earning a computer science or video game arts-related degree,” said the organisation.

“Together we can empower the next generation of video game developers.”

Applications for the Computer Science and Video Game Arts Scholarship for 2018/19 are open between Feb 1 and April 26, 2018.

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