First PH esports college course proposed at Lyceum

The Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU), in partnership with esports and gaming talent agency Tier One Entertainment, has been working on a draft curriculum for a Bachelor of Science degree in ESports, which will be offered this coming school year once approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The proposal will be submitted to CHED in March 2020, and if approved, this will be the first esports college course to be offered in the Philippines.

Esports Curriculum Development proposal of Tier One Entertainment to the Lyceum of the Philippines University. Image: Facebook/@TrykeGutierrez

Alodia Gosiengfiao, popular cosplayer/gamer and Chief Creative Officer of Tier One Entertainment has drafted the curriculum for the four-year degree and announced it on Instagram on February 19. Tryke Gutierrez, Tier One's CEO, has also said in a Facebook post that they are finalizing the draft for the esports course. According to his post, the new Bachelor of Science in Esports program will have two tracks namely: Game Development and ESports Management. While Tryke Gutierrez said that they can't disclose the subjects under the program yet, he noted that they were 80% done with the draft.

Tryke stated on his Facebook post that the esports course is not all fun and games, "To the future students of Bachelor of Science in ESports, show our society that gaming is not a waste of time. It's not going to be just about fun and games. It takes more than passion: you need hardwork, sacrifice, skills, professionalism, and more."

He also clarified that this course is not designed to develop pro-players, it is meant for those who will work on the backend operations of esports. Unlike the previous esports courses developed in Southeast Asia, which focuses on gaming skills, like the first DOTA 2 school in Philippines located in Cebu and Malaysia's Asia Pacific University Course for DOTA 2, LOL, CS:GO and FIFA 17, which molds students to be a professional gamers. This is not the case for the said Esports program by Tier One and LPU, which focuses on backend operations of esports. Below are the expected careers/jobs to the Esports industry of a BS in Esports graduate.

Image: Facebook/TryQ

The drafted curriculum will be submitted to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on March 4, 2020.

If approved by the government, the program may be able to provide job opportunities, specifically to those who want to work in the esports industry, Gutierrez said, "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."

Tier One and LPU are working on two programs, a full four-year bachelor's degree in Esports, and another two-year associate course in Esports and Game Design.

Image: Facebook/TryQ

It was a dream come true for online gamers as esports industry made its debut in the international sporting event and recognized as a medal sport for the first time in history like the Southeast Asian Games last year. The Philippines' own Team Sibol bagged 3 gold medals in the event. Pinoys are also known in the international gaming scene, like the TNC team, which won first in the MDL Chengdu Major 2019. The prize pool in this international gaming scene is very high in which a player can earn so much money, like we have the list of top 5 richest Pinoy Dota 2 Players in 2019.

What can you say about this non-traditional degree program called B.S. in Esports proposed by Tier One Entertainment? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.