- A university in Ireland is offering a course for wannabe influencers, starting in 2024.
- Southeast Technical University's Content Creation degree will train a new generation of influencers.
A degree at an Irish university will teach students how to become online influencers, with a mandatory course outlining how to avoid being canceled.
Southeast Technical University in Carlow will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation and Social Media, which is set to launch in September 2024, BBC News reported.
The course, which will be the first of its kind in Ireland, will open for applications in November.
The curriculum is designed to equip students with a comprehensive set of skills needed for success in content creation. Modules cover topics such as writing in the digital age, creative digital media, and social media marketing.
Students will also need to take a mandatory module on crisis management as part of their studies.
The "Crisis Management" module will delve into various social-media-crisis case studies. with students analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the crisis-management responses, according to the module overview on the university's website.
Students will then be assessed on a project in which they write a crisis management plan for a pretend crisis, which will involve writing a press statement and organizing a mock press conference, it said.
According to Forbes, one in four Gen Z Americans want to become an influencer, with a HigherVisibility survey showing that 16% of respondents would even pay money to become one.
The degree program at Southeast Technical University in Carlow will cost non-EU students €10,250 annually, or about $10,859.
The university said the program will be an opportunity for wannabe influencers to "put all that screen time to good use" and prove to family and friends that a career can be made using digital devices.
It also cited experts saying that the global influencer market is worth around $21 billion, which proves that the "employment opportunities in the digital media industry are endless," it said.
The program is not the first of its kind globally. An Ohio community college also offers a two-semester "Media Influencer Certificate," as Insider previously reported.
There are also several degrees in digital marketing and social media in the UK, and Arizona State University offers an online Bachelor of Science in Technical Communication - Social Media Management.