"If you've earned it in-game, it can count toward your future," the University of Silicon Valley says, and for once, that's not just a motivational poster line. The university has launched the Max Achievement Scholarship, a merit-based program that awards up to $15,000 a year to students who can prove they've genuinely mastered one of 50+ listed games.
The scholarship runs on two tiers. The Legendary Tier pays up to $5,000 per school term, while the Mastery Tier awards up to $2,500 per term. Stack those across a full academic year and the top earners can pull in $15,000 annually, purely on the strength of their in-game accomplishments.
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What counts as proof of mastery
The game list covers serious ground. MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, soulslikes including Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, roguelikes like Hades, Dead Cells, and Spelunky 2, survival games like Valheim and No Man's Sky, and even Minecraft all qualify. The requirements attached to each game are not gentle.
Raising every skill to 99 in Old-School RuneScape qualifies. Earning every achievement across the entire Dark Souls trilogy qualifies. Completing all 115 advancements in Minecraft qualifies. Finishing an Ironman Legend run in XCOM 2 qualifies. These are the kinds of feats that most players never attempt, let alone finish.
For players who spread their time across multiple games rather than grinding one to completion, platform-based qualifications also apply. On PlayStation, unlocking 10 or more Platinum trophies, with at least 3 being Ultra-rare (sub-1% earner rate), hits the Legendary Tier. Xbox players can qualify with 100,000+ Gamerscore and 10 titles above 90% completion. Steam players need 100% achievements in 5 games where fewer than 5% of players globally have done the same. Nintendo Switch players can qualify for the Mastery Tier by achieving 100% map and shrine completion in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, though there is no Legendary Tier path for Switch currently.
The logic behind rewarding completionists
Every qualifying achievement on the list comes with what the university calls an "educational rationale," a direct mapping of the skill involved to real-world cognitive value. Earning an S-Rank on every Cuphead boss on Expert difficulty translates to "precision under pressure." A 100% run in Stardew Valley maps to "long-term planning and relationship management."
Here's the thing: this framing isn't just marketing. The skills that push someone to raise every OSRS stat to 99 or clear every Elden Ring achievement, things like patience, systems thinking, and the ability to break a massive goal into repeatable steps, are legitimately transferable. The university is making a structured argument that elite gaming mastery reflects the same cognitive profile as academic excellence.
For players who want to sharpen those skills further before applying, check out our NHL 26 Be a Pro career guide or our NBA 2K26 badge specialization guide for the kind of deep-system mastery thinking the scholarship is designed to reward.
How many scholarships are actually available
The inaugural year will award 10 to 15 scholarships total. That's a small number relative to how many players likely qualify on paper, which means the essay component carries real weight. The university has stated it plans to expand the program based on applicant quality and overall program success.
Players whose game of choice isn't on the existing list can submit a custom accomplishment for review, provided they include documentation of the achievement's rarity and a written explanation of the mastery it required. The door is open, but the bar is high.
If you're sitting on a completed achievement list that most players never touch, this scholarship is worth a serious look. Browse our full gaming guides for deep dives on the kinds of completion challenges that could put you in contention.
