Bowie State University is building on its recent foray into esports with plans for a lab facility and a new game development and design degree — but its goals for getting into gaming go far beyond a new building.
After launching an esports team in February, Maryland’s oldest historically Black university is seeking bids for the development of an esports gaming lab facility on its Bowie campus through its Center for Business and Graduate Studies, which would facilitate the sport that involves multi-player video gaming competitions.
The goal of the physical building is to attract more students to the sport, establish a dedicated space for the university’s team and, eventually, set up an undergraduate degree in the field that would coincide with the university’s focus on computer science and cyber analytics.
“It’s all part of an effort and plans to also create a game design academic program,” university spokesperson Cassandra Robinson said, adding that university provost Carl Goodman is currently working on the buildout of that degree program. “That’s coming down the road.”
