Staffordshire University is making changes to its esports degree course.
Staffs Uni – which announced the UK’s first esports degree back in 2017 – won’t be recruiting new students for its London course this year. However, existing students will continue to study at both campuses.
The university is also revising its curriculum and will launch a refreshed esports degree in September 2023.
This follows last year’s heavy scrutiny towards Staffordshire University, with several esports students complaining about the quality of the course. Despite that, the course has seen some bright students graduate, with several landing good jobs in the industry.
Dr Bobbie Fletcher, who was previously at Staffs and now works at the academic director at College of Esports, told Esports News UK last year that the Staffs esports course was originally due to be refreshed for September 2022.
Staffordshire University first opened its Digital Institute at London’s Here East in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park back in 2019.
In other news, Staffs esports course director David Cumming is leaving his post at the end of this month.
He will be replaced by existing esports lecturers Cameron Vanloo and Josh Jarett as interim course directors as the university looks to hire a new member of staff. Cameron recently relocated to Stoke and will take the trip down to the London campus now and then.
London staff will include James Foster, Pablo Nolla Michel and Matt Huxley.
“We are revising our current curriculum and will be launching a refreshed industry-facing degree, underpinned by developing research, in September 2023. In order to facilitate this, we have taken the decision not to recruit a new cohort in London for September 2022 entry.”
Staffordshire University
Following the publication of this article, one student on the course at London contacted Esports News UK anonymously to say the London course stopped accepting new students because David is leaving, and that in the student’s opinion, the university ‘don’t have enough staff’ and don’t want to hire more. They also bemoaned the course content and lecturers.
Another source told Esports News UK the London campus is a little shaken because students don’t feel there’s enough adequate staff to teach them.
A spokesperson from Staffordshire University told Esports News UK: “Staffordshire University was the first university in the UK to launch an esports degree in September 2018 which built on the university’s reputation as a leading institution for computer games degree courses.
“As a sector, esports is maturing and developing into a distinct academic discipline. To reflect these changes and to respond to industry needs in terms of skills, we are revising our current curriculum and will be launching a refreshed industry-facing degree, underpinned by developing research, in September 2023.
“In order to facilitate this, we have taken the decision not to recruit a new cohort in London for September 2022 entry. However, our existing students will continue to study with us at our campuses in Stoke-on-Trent and London, and benefit from our fantastic facilities which include our London Esports Arena.
“As a university, we are committed to the continued development of esports education and the diverse set of transferable skills that this interdisciplinary subject affords and we are looking forward to launching our refreshed provision for September 2023 entry.”
Earlier this year, Staffordshire University said it was disappointed about strike action taking place over its decision to hire new staff via a wholly owned subsidiary company.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
