EA and USC Team Up to Offer First Female Scholarship to USC Interactiv

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers/Education Writers

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2005--Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) and The University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering today announced that they are partnering to co-sponsor the first-ever scholarship opportunity to the USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp. Open to any female high school junior or senior, the scholarship will assure an aspiring female game designer a coveted spot in the unique summer program.
    The USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp is a 4-week program designed to help students pursue their dream of working in the video game industry. The single scholarship in the 2005 summer seasons will represent the first female registered student in the program, as the 2004 inaugural year featured an exclusively male student body. The scholarship includes free admission to the camp, room and board at USC, and three college credits for successfully completing the program.
    The USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp runs from July 3rd to July 30th. Deadline to apply for the scholarship is May 15th. It is open to any female high school junior or senior with a GPA of at least 3.5 and who submit both a written recommendation from a teacher and a 250-word essay on why they are passionate about video games. Applications should be sent to: ea-usc-scholarship@ea.com.
    "We hope this scholarship not only provides an exciting opportunity for an inspired girl, but sends a broader message. EA wants to encourage girls to aspire for a career building games...and we hope the best and brightest continue their studies and find a future home in the industry," said Steve Seabolt, Vice President at EA.
    Representing 39% of the gaming population, according to the Entertainment Software Association, women players are a growing force within the gaming community. EA is responding to this demand by encouraging and empowering young women to take the industry seriously and consider it for a future career. This scholarship is the first step in a larger program designed to encourage women to pursue their passion for gaming and enter the industry as professionals.
    EA and USC have been working together in a number of different ways to ensure students are ready to enter the games industry with the knowledge and power to make a difference. "EA continues to support our engineering program at USC," said Dr. Anthony Borquez, Director of the Information Technology Program, which offers numerous courses on gaming. "Not only does EA provide us with game resources and guest speakers for our classes, but we also staff animators and engineers from EALA who teach classes in my program."
    Applicants must have a cumulative B average, submit a letter of recommendation from a high school teacher and submit a 250 word essay "Why I want to grow up and make games." More information about the USC interactive entertainment summer camp program and EA scholarship can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/admissions/programs/summer/seminars.shtml.

    About Electronic Arts

    Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) (Nasdaq:ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA GAMES(TM) and EA SPORTS BIG(TM). In fiscal 2004, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

    Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, and EA GAMES are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    About the USC Viterbi School of Engineering

    The USC Viterbi School of Engineering is ranked the #7 graduate engineering school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report third among probate universities. It carries on more than $135 million in funded research, More than a third of its 165 faculty members are fellows in their respective professional societies, and 22 faculty members are members of the National Academy of Engineering, Currently 1900 undergraduates, and 3300 graduate students pursue degrees at the Viterbi School, and more than 500 have taken course in various aspects of video game design through the school's Information Technology Program.

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CONTACT: Electronic Arts Inc. Tammy Schachter, 650-628-7223 tschachter@ea.com or USC Anthony Bourquez, 213-740-4129 anthonyb@usc.edu

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE MANUFACTURING PRODUCT SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.

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