Looking to jump into the PlayStation business after you graduate? Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) gives you that chance with their new PlayStation-edu program, which will be available for qualified universities and colleges. The program gives access to PlayStation 2 and PSP development kits, the latter also available for European schools.

“We expect this program to be a great tool to teach students about the PlayStation platforms,” said Mark Danks, senior manager and developer support, on the PlayStation blog.

The program is not intended as a general game creation program, but to be used by computer science and engineering students to get an idea of how the PlayStation hardware works. Participants will get demo code and samples, together with necessary documentation about how things work. Students using the PlayStation-edu program will also have access to a support web site where they can talk to other students using the program.

But it doesn’t come for free! Schools will have to sign legal agreements with SCEA and of course, purchase the hardware. Hmm, purchase the hardware, you say? I don’t have any experience from the US, but aren’t usually schools in general quite good at not paying for these kinds of things? Regardless, it’s going to be interesting to see what the actual price will be.