A group of teenagers from low-income communities across New York City has earned $25 million in college scholarships this year, not solely through traditional academics, but with a dash of video games.
These students are not outliers. Urban Arts, the national nonprofit that teaches video game design as a pathway to college and career, announced that its Class of 2026 has achieved a 100% college acceptance rate. This year’s results bring Urban Arts’ cumulative scholarship total to more than $71 million since 2020. All instruction and college access services are provided free of charge to students and their families.
At the Urban Arts Game Academy, students build original games, creating narrative, music, animation; pitch their work to industry professionals for real-world feedback, learning entrepreneurship, iteration, teamwork; and graduate with portfolios, credentials, and career networks that most of their peers, at any income level, don’t have.
“This is a proud moment for Urban Arts. Every student in our Class of 2026 is heading to college, and they’re getting there with $25 million in scholarships earned this year alone,” says Urban Arts CEO Philip Courtney. “What thrills me most isn’t just that our students are college ready, it’s that they’re going on to study the STEM and creative fields they’re genuinely passionate about and have spent years preparing for through game design. That’s what economic mobility looks like. It starts with matriculating to college, with scholarships in hand, ready to pursue work you love and have been built to do.”
A Pathway Built on Play
Urban Arts operates on a straightforward premise: that the skills required to build a video game—narrative construction, systems thinking, animation, music composition, coding, iterative design, and public presentation—are the same skills that open doors to careers in technology, engineering, the arts, and beyond.
Tech is a multi-trillion dollar global industry. Urban Arts’ approach is built on the conviction that empowering students as creators, not just consumers, produces a technically expert and creatively confident future workforce. Students are majoring in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Game Design, Arts & Animation, Mathematics, Business, Finance, and others.
“I did so much more than I expected myself to do during the application process,” said one Urban Arts senior.
“What thrills me most isn’t just that our students are college ready, it’s that they’re going on to study the STEM and creative fields they’re genuinely passionate about and have spent years preparing for through game design.”
—Urban Arts CEO Philip Courtney
First-Generation Students, Full Scholarships
Many Urban Arts students are first-generation college applicants. Many have secured full scholarships. The Class of 2026 includes students with 10 full rides to Princeton University, Brown University, and Dartmouth College, among others.
“This program has made me feel more confident about the college application process as a first-generation college student who always felt many steps behind others whose parents attended college,” said another student.
This year’s class include recipients of the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, the WICK STERN Scholarship Award, the America on Tech NYCT Scholarship, QuestBridge, and the Dr. Juan Andrade Jr. Scholarship for Young Hispanic Leaders.
College Access: Free, Hands-On, and Open to Families
Urban Arts’ college access program provides one-on-one assistance with applications and financial aid to every student in its program, at no cost. The program also offers workshops for families, recognizing that the college process is dense terrain for the entire household, not just the applicant. Seniors share some advice here.
“Our college access program reframes students’ thinking, removing the barrier of asking ‘Can I do this?’ We are not in the business of questioning a student’s ability. The answer is always a resounding ‘yes’,” says Joelle Blackstock, Director of Post-Secondary Success at Urban Arts. The combination of academic preparation through game design, a professional portfolio, and dedicated college access support distinguishes Urban Arts and accounts for its impressive success.
Meet our CEO, staff and students.
Contact:
Jen Walter
Director of Marketing and Communications
jen@urbanarts.org
646-544-7790
