Dissertation Prospectus

Chapter 1 Introduction

This three article dissertation examines esports from the perspective of undergraduate students seeking to enegage in the realm of educational esports through taking esports courses as part of an undergraduate certificate. As esports grow in popularity there is a growing need for trained professionals with a broad understanding of the esports ecosystem (DeArmond & Shelton, 2022) to support a coming explosion of esports programs on the secondary and collegiate level.

The first chapter of this dissertation will provide an overview of how the research in chapters two through four can support the growing needs of esports programs. Chapters two through four will follow a macro, meso, and micro-analysis model, each examining a more detailed segment of undergraduate esports (see figure 1). Chapter two includes a review of esports literature looking at coverage of the esports ecosystem, examining the needs for literature that encompasses more of the roles within the ecosystem. Chapter three will contain a mixed methods study that examines existing esports programs within the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) to better understand how programs are situated within their respective universities and how their leaders judge their success. Chapter four will contian a qualitative case study that examines students enrolled in an undergraduate esports course to determine their motivations for pursuing and expectations from an undergraduate esports certification. Chapter five will provide a summary and conclusion linking the the findings into an overall significant research contribution to the field of univerity esports education.

Figure 1. Dissertation Structure for this Three-Article Dissertation.

In this chapter the evolving structure of the undergraduate certificate program in esports at Boise State University will be discussed as well as background information on its development. This program was developed beginning in 2021 and first deployed during the summer semester of 2022. The initial goal was to provide 10 one-credit courses covering topics such as esports coaching, detailed game analysis, and competitive esports culture. As the program developed a need to combine topics into cohesive three-credit emerged in order to recieve university support for the program. This research will impact the manner in which the courses are shaped by providing a deeper understaiding of available research, existing program strucutre, and student needs.

Chapter 2 Esports Literature Review

Esports are growing as a viable academic endeavor. As part of an undergraduate credential, literature was collected and reviewed for use as part of a new certificate program in esports at Boise State University. This review focuses on topics of research available for reading assignments in an online program based on the esports ecosystem as defined by Anderson et al. (2018). It contains an examination of current major trends in research as considered for inclusion in an undergraduate esports program. Gaps in literature and directions for future study are discussed as well as adding a new category to the esports ecosystem titled scholars.

AECT 2022 - Esports

Esports Program Oranization and Funding

Chapter 3 Esports Program Organization, Funding and Goals

As esports continue to spread across the university landscape there is little understanding of where these programs are situated within their respective universities. Some programs are found as a part of the athletics department while others are found in departments of education, media, computer science, or even informatics. The purpose of this concurrent nested mixed-method study is to increase understanding of how esports programs define success, where they are situated within their university’s structure, and what elements of structure might lead to program success as defined by esports coaches and directors. A survey is used to gather program information from member teams of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) to provide insight into the structures of esports programs and the goals they aim to achieve. Qualitative methods are used to assess how programs define success and if their definitions are moderated by program attributes. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine what attributes contribute to success as defined by program leaders.

Chapter 4 Student Motivations and Expectations

As universities are developing courses to develop esports professionals, there is a growing need to understand the students who choose to enroll in these programs. This qualitative exploratory case study examines the motivation and expectations of students enrolling in a beginning course as part of a esports certification program at a major pacific northwest university. Interviews will be performed with students recently enrolled in an introduction to esports course to understand their motivations for pursuing esports as well as their expectations of what an undergraduate certificate may provide. This research will provide universities interested in developing esports certificates, degrees, or individual courses with a greater understanding of what their students bring with them to, and what they hope to gain from, esports coursework.

Student Motivations and Expectations in Esports - Revised

Chapter 5 Conclusions

The conclusions chapter will be written after the research from chapters two through four have been completed and will cover how the research provides a meaningful contribution to the field of undergraduate esports education. It will include an call for additional research as determined by the research chapters two through four and detail how the information gained can shape undergraduate esports courses at Boise State University as well as other colleges offering undergraduate studies in esports.