UK offers new Esport Athlete Performance and Management undergraduate certificate

University of Kentucky students can develop skills in the esport and gaming industry with the new Esport Athlete Performance and Management undergraduate certificate.

The 15-hour certificate is open to students in any major and covers fundamental skills related to sport leadership and ethics, managing a sport or fitness program and facility and event management. It also covers skills specific to gaming, such as video game design and fitness and nutrition for esports and gaming.

By completing the certificate, students will gain: 

• working knowledge of the quickly growing esport industry; 
• experience in event and facility planning, staffing, directing and evaluating; 
• fundamentals of leadership and ethics in the sporting world; 
• hands-on experience working directly with the esports initiative on UK’s campus; and 
• competence in communicating effectively with audiences and individuals from various backgrounds and cultures.

“Students who are drawn to the world of esports and gaming can earn this certificate to become equipped with the skills necessary for many types of careers, both within the gaming industry and beyond,” said Stuart Best, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UK College of Education Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion. “The certificate will give students a foundational knowledge in leadership, management and planning, while providing hands-on experience using that knowledge in the gaming and esport industry.”

Best teaches a course required in the certificate curriculum, Fitness and Nutrition for Esports and Gaming. As a sports scientist and performance analyst, he uses his background to develop several workshops for students taking the course to experience and analyze the physical impacts of gaming.

Not all students who have taken the gaming fitness and nutrition course are gamers. When Best has surveyed his students on the first day of class each semester, a number of students say they don’t have much experience playing video games.

“They want to take the course because it is in a field they are completely unfamiliar with,” Best said. “They have varying interests, often in nutrition, psychology and communications, and want to learn about variances in their own field so they can carry those over to people who have different backgrounds and interests."

Several courses in the certificate program are taken by students majoring in sport leadership and kinesiology – exercise science, who may wish to add the certificate to their program.

For students interested in working directly in the esport and gaming field, faculty expect they will have many opportunities in the rapidly expanding industry as tournament organizers, facility designers, team managers and athlete support staff.

To learn more about the Esport Athlete Performance and Management undergraduate certificate, click here. UK students can declare the certificate in MyUK GPS (graduation planning system). For more information about declaring a certificate, students should make an appointment with their academic advisor.