Worlds for Change Challenge
ASU XRts Worldbuilding Contest
Application has closed
Imagine the immersive world you want to see and compete for the chance to build it — with a grand prize of a scholarship valued at $60,000 to attend one of ASU’s new transdisciplinary XRts graduate degree programs.
Here’s how it works
Dream of a future to envision in XR or immersive media.
Follow the prompt and begin developing your idea for an immersive world to inspire change.
Hone your skills and explore resources.
Sharpen your creator skills and get help crafting your entry with events throughout the semester and available resources.
Submit your pitch for the immersive world you want to see.
Submit by Jan. 31, 2024 for the chance to win a grand prize XRts graduate degree scholarship, along with other prizes.
Prize Awards
The grand prize, an XRts scholarship to attend one of four XRts graduate programs at the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona, or at the ASU California Center Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, will be awarded to two eligible creators. The scholarship is valued at $60,000. XRts scholarship winners unable to enroll in a program for Fall 2024 will remain eligible to receive the scholarship through Fall 2026.
Additional cash prizes up to $1,000 each will be awarded for top entires, so those who are not yet eligible for graduate programs are encouraged to apply.
Winners will be announced at SXSW in March 2024, where ASU XRts is the presenting sponsor of the XR Experience.
Eligibility
The Worlds for Change Challenge is open to any current or recently-completed undergraduate student and early-career professionals interested in pursuing “future-of-media” careers. We encourage applicants who are currently enrolled or have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in media arts, engineering, design, film, journalism, animation, gaming, art, architecture, digital art, humanities or a related field, and early-career professionals. All applicants 18 years of age and older, including international students, DACA applicants and U.S. citizens and permanent residents, are eligible to be considered for the grand prize award.
Partners
Sponsors
Presenting sponsors
ASU Events
Learn skills to develop your entry and grow as an XRts storyteller with Worlds for Change events, information sessions and resources hosted and created by ASU faculty and staff and industry guests. Events will be held at the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona, and at ASU California Center Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. For some events, there will be opportunities to participate virtually.
Immersive worlds. Inclusive futures.
See how immersive media and extended reality arts are already helping us understand the world differently.
Body of Mine
Body of Mine is a full-body immersive experience that allows you to inhabit the body of another gender, interact with your skin and discover stories and interviews of trans people. Created by Narrative and Emerging Media student Cameron Kostopoulos.
Learn moreEarthLight
ASU XRts Immersive Media Fellow Sian Proctor, the first woman commercial astronaut and the only African-American female to pilot a spaceship, brings the “EarthLight” perspective down to planet Earth through immersive art, poetry and storytelling with the EarthLight VR Experience.
Learn morePachuco XR
PachucoXR, a project of the social enterprise TecnoLatinx and ASU XRts Immersive Media Fellow Martha Mendizabal, commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots in 2023, masterfully intertwining a historic American narrative with state-of-the-art technology.
Learn more
Apply by Jan 31, 2024
Application has closed
Create the future.
Change the world.
Prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. Get a graduate degree in Extended Reality Technologies, Experience Design, and Narrative and Emerging Media.
Instagram @asuxrts