Scholarships for Gamers (No Cheat Codes Needed)

Vindication! For those of us that spent years of our lives gaming and telling our parents that we aren’t wasting our time, we can finally prove it to them! There is a wide variety of college scholarships for gamers preparing to attend, or are already in college.

Many of them are geared toward students who want to make a career out of creating video games, not just playing them. But there are still plenty of scholarships for video gamers that are willing to play competitively even if they are not studying a related field.

Put down the controller (just for a little bit) and check out these ten scholarships for gamers.

1. The Adobe Design Achievement Award

Award: $5,000 (plus an Adobe Creative Cloud Membership, a student pass to the Adobe MAX, and a year-long mentorship!)

Available to: Students above the age of 18 who are enrolled in an accredited school and used Adobe tools to create their entry.

2. Aspiring Animation Professional Scholarship

Award: $1,000

Available to: U.S. high school seniors pursuing a degree program related to animation at an accredited post-secondary school or college.

3. Gamers Helping Gamers Scholarship

Award: Up to two awards of $5,000

Available to: Matriculating high school seniors or undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need.

4. WomenIn Scholarship

Award: Multiple awards of $2,500

Available to: Female-identifying full-time undergraduate students starting their second year of college or graduate school attending an accredited school in the U.S. during the 2017-2018 academic year. Must have a GPA of 3.3 or above.

5. Mark Beaumont Scholarship Fund

Award: Two awards of $2,500

Available to: Full-time undergraduate students starting their second year of college or graduate school at an accredited school in the U.S. during the 2017-2018 academic year. Must have a GPA of 3.3 or above and be pursuing a career in the business of interactive entertainment.

6. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund

Award: Two awards of $2,500

Available to: Full-time undergraduate students starting their second year of college or graduate school attending an accredited school in the U.S. during the 2017-2018 academic year. Must have a GPA of 3.3 or above and be pursuing a career in the development of interactive entertainment.

7. ESA Foundation Scholarship Program

Award: Multiple awards of $3,000

Available to: Full-time undergraduate women or minority students who are enrolled (or will be enrolling) at an accredited four-year school in the U.S. Must be studying a degree leading to a career in computer and video game arts, have a GPA of at least 2.75, and be a U.S. citizen.

8. Support Creativity Scholarships

Award: Three awards of $1,000

Available to: Students majoring in any creative field who are attending (or will be attending) college or graduate school in the New York Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut).

9. Phyllis Craig Scholarship

Award: $1,000

Available to: Full or part-time students enrolled in an accredited animation program at a U.S. school who are U.S. citizens (or registered aliens) with demonstrated financial need.

10. WorldStudio AIGA Scholarship

Award: $500 - $5,000

Available to: U.S. citizens (or legal permanent residents) who are enrolled (or are planning to enroll) full-time at an accredited school in the U.S. and are pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, interactive design, or photography. Must have at least a 2.0 GPA and demonstrated financial need.

NOTE: If you’ve missed this year’s deadline for these scholarships for gamers, bookmark the page! Many of these resources indicate there will be opportunities offered for the 2018-2019 academic year.