GDC Student Scholarships

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Past Recipients • Student Reports

The IGDA has awarded 25 scholarships to send qualified students to the 2009 Game Developers Conference. GDC is where game development professionals gather to share ideas and build the skills that the industry needs. Located in San Francisco, California, this year's GDC will be held March 23-27, 2009.

"Attending GDC was everything I had expected. What the IGDA provided through the mentor program, introductory luncheon, and [studio site] trip set this conference experience apart from all of the other huge conferences I have ever attended." - Eric Webster Brown, 2006 Scholarship Recipient

2009 GDC Student Scholarship Recipients

Ricardo A Arango Slingsby - University of Aalborg Conpenhagen (Denmark)
Tobias Baumann - Zurich University of the Arts (Switzerland)
Isik Baris Fidaner - Bogazici University (Turkey)
Sarah Brown - Cornell University
Theresa Chen - Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center
Kerry Wayne Enfinger - DeVry University
Zack Freedman - Stevens Institute of Technology
Rachel Larsen - Art Institute of California - Orange County
Christopher Jordan Lynn - University of Georgia
Doug Macdonald - DigiPen Institute of Technology
Brittnay Muckenmuller - University of South Alabama
Alexander Mulder - Utrecht School of the Arts (The Netherlands)
Gwendolyn Murray - Savannah College of Art & Design
Andrew Papadopoulos - University Of Wollongong (Australia)
Michelle Parent - Great Northern Way Campus (Canada)
Lukasz Pasek - University of Derby (UK)
Aylwin Po Villanueva - University of California- Irvine
John Richardson - Emerson College
Dan Rosenthal - American University, Washington College of Law
Nicholas Rudzicz - McGill University (Canada)
Karen Schrier - Columbia University
Florian Schwarzer - University of Technology Ilmenau (Germany)
Joseph Serra - International Academy of Design & Technology, Troy
Daniel Starck - Blekinge Institute of Technology (Sweden)
Matthew M. White - Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada)

Qualifications & Scholarship Details

Scholarship applications must be submitted on or before Thursday, January 15th, 2009.
Only full-time university (or similar) students are eligible, and must be 18 years of age or older as of March 23, 2009.
Applicant must be an IGDA Student Member in good standing. If you are not currently a Student Member, you must join the IGDA before applying for the scholarship. All applications will be verified.
Past scholarship recipients are not eligible.
Recipients will be awarded one Main Conference Pass, with access to all sessions, roundtables, and keynotes. Breakfast and lunch included.
Students are responsible for all travel arrangements and related costs.
Scholarship applications will be judged by a panel of professional game developers.
Each scholarship recipient will be paired with an industry mentor.
Scholarship recipients will participate in a local studio visit and orientation session on March 24th.
Recipients will be announced before February 12th, 2009 (the early rate pricing deadline).

Judging Criteria

To help students hone their applications and to better understand what the judges are looking for, here's the basic criteria that judges will use to rate applicants:

Relevance - Will attending GDC help the student achieve his or her specific educational and/or career goals?
Initiative - Has the student demonstrated continued dedication to game development and effort to educate themselves?
Special Circumstances - Has the student overcome any unusual challenges or obstacles?
Communication - Are the ideas expressed in the essays communicated effectively and efficiently?
Tilt Factor - Overall, does it seem like this student would be fun and interesting to have around at GDC?
Bonus: Veteran judge Dave Weinstein has shared his personal guidance/insight for judging

Scholarship Application

The scholarship application ended on Thursday, January 15th.

"I highly recommend that anyone who is working towards breaking into the game industry attempt to attend as many GDCs as possible – the networking alone is worth the trip, and the diversity of sessions will keep all flavors of game developer interested well past the conference's end date." - Matthew Raymond Billock, 2006 Scholarship Recipient

GDC Volunteer Program

As the IGDA has a limited number of scholarships to award, we'd like to point students to the GDC's "Conference Associates" program. The CA program is an excellent way for students to experience GDC as a volunteer/attendee, with free entry to the conference. The CA program is managed directly by GDC. Please visit their site for details or to contact them directly with your questions.