Esports is taking the college world by storm. Having already launched an esports team back in February, Bowie State University wants to further support its students by creating an esports gaming lab facility , alongside a new game development and design degree, the Washington Business Journal reports. The historically Black university is currently on the lookout for bids to fund the gaming lab facility. The university hopes the gaming facility will encourage more students to tap into esports, strengthen their loyalty to the university’s team by creating an exclusive space, and support the addition of an undergraduate degree in game design. “It’s all part of an effort and plans to also create a game design academic program,” university spokesperson, Cassandra Robinson, said according to the outlet. Robinson also confirmed senior academic administrator Carl Goodman is leading the efforts for the layout of the degree program that is to come.

Maryland-based HBCU Bowie State University (BSU) has secured a historic partnership with stop-motion innovator LAIKA to build a first-of-its-kind animation studio for its students. According to a press release, LAIKA — the Oscar®-nominated and BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning feature film animation studio — has teamed up with BSU to build the nation’s first stop-motion animation studio. The aim is to enhance the school’s animation curriculum and offer students an alternative career path in the creative space. "THE GOAL IS TO SEE REPRESENTATION": @BowieState will soon get a new stop motion animation studio, thanks to a partnership w/ @LAIKAStudios . It's the first stop motion studio at an HBCU. The goal is to help students get jobs + increase diversity in animation @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/Lef17YlWDP — Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) February 3, 2021 “This is a great opportunity for students to learn valuable skills that will carry them into the professional world of animation,”...