More universities are offering degrees and courses to help students become influencers and content creators. The move comes as the influencer marketing industry — now valued at more than $21 billion — has become popular among a generation of heavily influenced young people.
In fact, more than half of Gen Zers believe they could easily make a lucrative career out of content creation and digital product pushing and many universities and experts are beginning to take them seriously.
The University of Texas has even partnered with the United Nations to create a class to teach influencers how to handle misinformation.
The free, online four-week course, is being offered in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Nearly 10,000 people from 170-plus countries have enrolled so far.Other universities have even gone as far as creating an entire major for influencing.
Arkansas Tech University recently began offering a “Bachelor of Arts in Social Media Influencing,” which incorporates classes in film production, journalism and public relations.