Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada’s premier post-secondary entertainment arts institution, is pleased to present the third annual Women in Games Scholarship – the first scholarship of its kind in the world – to encourage greater opportunities for women pursuing a career in game design.

The Women in Games Scholarship, valued at up to $50,000, covers the full tuition for a female aspiring game designer to attend VFS’s acclaimed one-year Game Design program, named by the Los Angeles Times as a Top 10 school "favoured by industry recruiters."

Since the scholarship was introduced two years ago, the percentage of female VFS Game Design students has increased from 2% in 2008 to 8% in 2010, an encouraging trend for the future of the industry. Female VFS Game Design graduates have gone on to work successfully in the industry, including Tara Mustapha and Charmie Kim of Microsoft Game Studios, Pamela Livara of XMG Studio, and Melanie Genereux of Longtail Studios in PEI.

Along with the Women in Games Scholarship, VFS is partnering with Game Design Expo sponsors G4TechTV, Annex Pro and 3vis to celebrate the fifth year of Game Design Expo with an additional $50,000 in scholarships. The ten individual $5,000 awards are open to all aspiring game designers.
Full details of the Women in Games Scholarship will be announced at the free Sunday Open House as part of Game Design Expo 2011 on January 22-23, 2011. Application forms for the $5,000 VFS Game Design scholarships are currently available for download at gamedesignexpo.com.

Attendees of the Open House will also be able to hear about the program, meet students and faculty, take sample classes, and visit the Women in Games Vancouver (WIGeh) booth. Space is limited, so anyone interested in attending the always-popular Open House is strongly encouraged to register now. Event details and registration are available at gamedesignexpo.com.