While the US economy may be slipping towards recession, there has never been a better time to get involved in the game development field. Today the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation announced it would be making available fifteen $3,000 scholarships for female and minority students interested in pursuing a career in game development.

“Positions in our industry are high-paying jobs with a remarkable potential to inspire and entertain millions of Americans. We hope these scholarships will encourage students to pursue careers in this growing and lucrative field,” said Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. “We offer this program to help create our industry’s next generation who will boost the industry’s creative capital with new and unique approaches.”

The scholarships are available to those pursuing an education in fields such as graphic design, computer science, animation or programming, digital entertainment or software engineering. Thus far, the scholarships are applicable for only one year, and nothing has been announced concerning expanding the program in the future. One thing is for sure though; such scholarships make the dreams of becoming a developer a little closer to coming true for the fifteen lucky recipients.