The Game Business & Esports bachelor's degree program culminates in a Project & Portfolio VI course that asks students to show what they've learned and encourages them to follow their passion. We talked with Game Business & Esports Program Director RaeLynn McAfee to find out what makes this course special.

The final portfolio allows the students to bring together all of their different classes and see how it can be put together for one project," says RaeLynn. In this bachelor's program, that means planning, creating, managing, and producing an esports event in a performance venue. Students have to synthesize everything they've learned from the degree program about hosting, streaming, producing, and marketing an event that drives revenue.

In the end, they will have developed an esports event, created a marketing plan and content to promote it, and collaborated with a production team to bring the event to life. Students walk away with real-life experience producing an esports event and a portfolio of work to demonstrate their skills to potential employers.

"It will allow for the students to work on each one of those different areas. They're planning, they're creating the marketing, they are a part of the distribution plan, they're actual event management ... they're going to have the opportunity to see how they all work together," she says.

The Project & Portfolio courses set the Game Business & Esports bachelor's apart from other, traditional business degrees, according to RaeLynn.

"Students are also going to get content-creation skillsets and knowledge. Not only is it a business degree, but they're also learning to create content for different media platforms," like marketing materials, video-sharing platforms, and social media, she says. "And that opens up a whole other realm of job opportunities after graduation."

But as RaeLynn explains, the Project & Portfolio VI course is also a great opportunity for students to flex their creativity and develop something that's meaningful to them.

"We're going to allow the student to follow their passion. That's what's really great about these portfolios," says RaeLynn. "They're not so predetermined, so that it really allows the student to showcase their passion, and allows them to build their own, personal portfolio to use after they graduate."

She says in the end, she hopes students gain an in-depth view of how the esports and games business works so that they can find where they best fit in the industry.

"I think it goes back to having the students understand how business operates, and how they can be a part of that business. They can provide their skills and their knowledge to any number of different areas within the industry, but they also understand the business as a whole, and can be a part of it, wherever they have that passion."