Esports (Top-up)

BA (Hons)

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

UCAS code

S104

Start dates available

  • September 2026

This one-year top-up degree is designed to help you progress to a full honours degree in esports, particularly if you have already completed a relevant level 5 qualification such as an HND or foundation degree.

Esports in its nature is a phenomenon. You’ll join a vibrant community of gamers and industry professionals while developing advanced skills in event management, content creation and business strategy for the fast-growing esports industry. You’ll refine your specialist interests, work with industry level tools and environments, and develop a professional portfolio that reflects your chosen discipline within esports.

You’ll gain the practical experience, industry insight and specialist knowledge to operate at a professional level. Working with industry standard technology, tackling live briefs and completing a major independent project to reflect real world demands and showcase your unique strengths within the esports ecosystem.

By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to step confidently into your chosen discipline, whether you’re interested in event management, marketing, the production or business side of esports.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BA (Hons) Esports

Duration

This course is one year in duration.

Course content

You’ll focus on specialist modules that build the advanced skills you need to thrive in the global esports industry. You’ll learn how to use data to understand audiences, measure performance and support decision making across esports operations, while also exploring the ethical, social and sustainability issues shaping the sector today. Alongside this, you’ll broaden your understanding of the international esports landscape, gaining insight into global markets, cultures and industry trends. There’s also the chance to work with the latest tools and platforms driving innovation in esports production and content creation. Finally, your Final Year Project allows you to specialise in an area you’re passionate about, producing a major practical or research based piece of work that showcases your expertise. 

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.

Year 1 compulsory modules
Analytics For Industry 20 credits
Corporate Social Responsibility 20 credits
Emerging Media & Technologies 20 credits
Final Year Project 40 credits
Global Esports 20 credits

Entry requirements

112-120 UCAS Tariff points

  • GCE A Levels - grades BBC or equivalent
  • Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM
  • Access to HE Diploma - Pass Access with a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points. Applicants to Staffs who are taking the Access to HE Diploma receive a reduced tariff point offer as part of our access and participation plan activity
  • UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall
  • OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM
  • T Levels - Eligible T Level applications will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of P (A*-C) or Higher Pass as a condition of offer

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

Facilities

Esports Arena London

Get to grips with the modern world of digital technologies in our bespoke Esports Arena. Become familiar with the industry that's taking the world by storm, and hone your technical, events organisation and planning skills. Read more

Our setup includes:

  • 6v6 PC gaming
  • Six Seat Presenter Desk with integrated monitors for live monitoring of gaming feeds
  • Four ceiling suspended TV’s for audience viewing
  • Three Panasonic studio cameras with Autocue teleprompter’s
  • PTZ (Pan, tilt, zoom) remote controllable studio camera for arena coverage
  • Professional custom designed lighting rig
  • Portable green screen kit
Watch video

London campus

Our newest campus is based in the heart of the Capital on the site of the former Olympic Park. Specialising in games, computing and tech, it offers an exciting fusion of next-level learning, industry-recognised courses, and digital innovation.

Careers

The esports industry is growing rapidly, and the demand for skilled professionals continues to rise across coaching, marketing, events, data analytics and team operations. While professional players are the most visible within the industry, many of the most sought-after roles happen behind the scenes, including broadcast production, live event management, marketing, social media, league operations, coaching, analytics and content creation.

Career pathways include becoming an Esports Event Manager, Team Coach, Content Creator or Marketing Specialist, as well as working with major gaming brands and tournament organisers. With the hands-on experience and a professional portfolio, you’ll also be ready to take on freelance opportunities or secure positions with leading organisations.

The course also provides a strong foundation for postgraduate study or specialist professional development.

All students have access to Careers, Placements & Employability, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Assessment

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

  • study skills such as reading, note-taking and presentation skills
  • written English, including punctuation and grammatical accuracy
  • academic writing and how to reference
  • research skills
  • critical thinking and understanding arguments
  • revision, assessment and examination skills
  • time management

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Feedback

Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Staff

You will be taught by an expert teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics and professional practitioners with industry experience. 

Your tutors are experienced practitioners who will bring real-life experiences to your learning using the most up-to-date skills and technologies.

Please note, teaching team staff members may change during your studies.

Joshua Lindsey

Lecturer

Joshua is a lecturer in computer science, focusing on engagement, mentoring, and commercial opportunities. He also contributes to the Esports course at Stoke-on-Trent by leading modules on emerging technology, digital media, and governance.

Dr Ying-Ying Law

Course Director - Esports

Ying-Ying is a sociologist and an active researcher in digital cultures. Her main area of interest includes video gamer culture, communities, play, esports, research methods and gender studies from a sociological perspective.

Ying-Ying's profile

Dr Joshua Jarrett

Senior Lecturer

Josh is a Senior Lecturer specialising in Esports, who joined Staffordshire University in September 2019. Josh’s ongoing research interests include co-creative player relations, free-to-play monetisation, grassroots esports and platform governance.

Joshua's profile

Philip Cooke

Senior Lecturer

Phil is a Lecturer on the Esports course at Staffs. Specialising in Marketing, Broadcasting & Events, Phil has experience working on a variety of events globally before moving on to the lecturer team.

Philip's profile

Joshua Wales-Ferguson

Senior Lecturer

Josh is a project manager and final-year lead in the esports department. His main area of interest is business development, broadcast production and contemporary uses of marketing in the esports industry.

Joshua's profile

Ross Wilson

Lecturer

Ross is a Lecturer on the Esports course at Staffs. Specialising in broadcasting and analytics modules. He has experience working in event logistics and computer networking and is currently studying his PgCHPE.

Ross's profile

Thomas Evans

Lecturer

Tom is a lecturer specialising in Events Management/Tournament Operations, originally completing his undergraduate study in Game Design before completing a Masters degree in Esports, Tom is currently studying alongside lecturing to complete a PgCHPE.

Cameron Vanloo

Senior Lecturer

Cameron is a lecturer and a research in performance management in relation to sports and esports coaching and performance. His main area of interest is the development of physical fitness in relation to psychological and sociological.

Cameron's profile

Fees

For the course starting on 21 September 2026 the tuition fees are:

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £9,790 per year of study £17,085 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

Included in the fees:

Travel, and accommodation costs incurred by compulsory trips and visits away from the University that are directly linked to the learning requirements of a specific module.
Not included in the fees:

The estimated cost of text books over the duration of the course. All essential text books are available from the library, but some students chose to purchase their own copies.

Travel, subsistence, entrance fees etc. incurred by optional trips and visits away from the University related to the course.

Please budget for £500 for trips and visits. These visits are optional and you can choose how many and which you want to join in.
Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk.

Scholarships and additional funding

As an undergraduate student at Staffordshire, you may be eligible for additional financial support through one of our scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Our students

If you want to study esports, the resources and teaching staff at Staffordshire University will give the best possible university experience.

One of the best parts of my experience was the teaching staff. They were so kind and helpful. Whenever I got stuck during my assignments or just needed some help with something during a seminar they always helped to resolve the issue. 

My biggest bit of advice for anyone thinking about doing the course is to do it. I was not sure at first as its not a “traditional” subject to study at university, however it has been one of the best choices I have ever made. On top of this, if you want to study esports, the resources and teaching staff at Staffordshire University will give the best possible university experience.

Joshua Welling

BA (Hons) Esports

In my first semester here I have created a society around our course and helped at Esports taster events at the Uni.

In my first semester here I have created a society around our course, helped at Esports taster events at the Uni, met industry professionals, been invited to London for meetings and just genuinely been involved in as many things Esports related as I can.

Adam Fortune

BA (Hons) Esports

Staffordshire University is the real trend setter

Staffordshire University is the real trend setter by creating the first worldwide course focusing on the business and culture behind the scenes. Our course is about understanding the culture, developing businesses, planning and budgeting events, as well as learning about the technology and innovations required to create the premium experience that millions of viewers are already engaging in.

Kris Krastev

BA (Hons) Esports

Apply now to Esports

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus BA (Hons) Full-time, top-up 21 September 2026 Apply now

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

Have you considered?

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021