Esports BA (Hons)

Your first unit pivots around playing and introduces concepts of health, well-being, nutrition, skills, strategies, and analysis through the lens of playing competitive games. This unit is also designed to introduce you to the world and culture of esports. The focus is on understanding the fundamentals of esports games and genres, dissecting professional playstyles, and reflecting on personal gameplay. Students will analyse games from multiple perspectives—player, spectator, and designer—and investigate esports athletes’ physical and mental demands through rules, gameplay analysis, strategy, tournaments and game types.

40 credits

This unit introduces the construct of The Player to shift students’ mindsets from passive gamers to critically engaged participants and content creators. Coaching and player management are provided context through course-led esports tournaments, composed of student teams, to provide the opportunity for each to act as player, coach and manager. Psychology has a big influence, and key concepts, including focus, determination, emotion, stress, etc., are unpacked throughout the unit to provide the foundation for future learning. Delivery in this unit is framed around collective understanding and experience of esports as an event to introduce marketing and business, events management, broadcasting, and video production. Critical studies are woven throughout the course to complement and inform all aspects of the student learning journey.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This unit provides the opportunity for students to transition from participant to organiser through The Event. Students will learn the intricacies of planning and executing an esports event, from local tournaments to large-scale national and international competitions, covering all aspects of the event, including event management, marketing, broadcasting, and audience engagement. Working in groups, students will take on different roles during each event—such as players and coaches, events organisers and analysts, and broadcasters and producers—to simulate a professional esports environment. This process will be explored through multiple cycles, culminating in a student-run live event. Through hands-on workshops and technical sessions, students will build an understanding of a broad range of areas, including health and safety, use of broadcast equipment, social media, community management, live streaming, and shoutcasting.

80 credits

This unit encourages students to Diversify their skills and explore the importance of teamwork and collaboration within broader creative industries, applying their unique skills to diverse disciplines.  Students will develop a critical understanding of contemporary issues arising within the esports industry through discussion and lectures. Through project work, students will rapidly develop their skills by applying their learning to one of three new contexts: broadcast and production within moving image and sound, brand identity and digital marketing within games, and events management within business management. The goal is to foster collaboration across disciplines, developing a holistic understanding of how skills developed within an esports context are transferable across creative industries.

40 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This is the first and shorter of the two units that make up your final year of undergraduate study. You will utilise the skills you have developed in event organisation, broadcasting, and business management and apply them to this new context, demonstrating the impact esports can have in raising awareness of global issues. Students will design the branding, manage the livestream production, and engage an audience to raise awareness for their chosen cause. You will also produce a research report to pursue specialist interests and enhance their knowledge of the esports sector, expanding on the research ideas developed in your second year. By the end of the unit, you should feel well prepared to work independently on your final project and have a clear trajectory towards launching your professional career as a graduate of Norwich.

40 credits

Your final unit allows you to research, conceptualise, and create a self-initiated final-year project(s), building on the skills, knowledge, and understanding you have gathered throughout your course that reflects your chosen career trajectory. Students will have a strong degree of autonomy over their project topic and the format they wish to use. Through detailed research and critical analysis, you will establish why your chosen topic matters and how it contributes to current conversations in your field. By the end of this project, you should have a well-defined proposal that reflects your artistic and academic journey and positions you to make a meaningful contribution to your chosen field.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.