Trending on campus: Influencer classes

When she launched a blog about nine years ago, fashion content creator Lindsay Perrault didn’t know much about curating a personal brand, developing an audience, and invoicing clients. Those skills, she said, “are not initially what people think about when they go into content creation.”

Perrault began teaching a class on content creation at Purdue University in spring 2024 to help provide students with the business savvy they would need if they became full-time influencers. “You are essentially a small-business entrepreneur,” Perrault said.

Several colleges across the United States have launched similar courses, or even full-fledged degree programs, aimed at preparing students to become content creators or work within the influencer economy. Some conservative commentators question the usefulness of degrees that teach young people to become influencers. But professors teaching these courses say they prepare students for a rapidly changing media landscape and provide a reality check for students who want to become the next Mr. Beast.

At the University of Texas at San Antonio, students can get a bachelor’s degree in digital media influence. Syracuse University now offers a creator economy minor. Classes for Arizona State University’s new bachelor’s degree in content creation will begin this fall, with instruction in subjects like multimedia journalism, communications ethics, and media writing, and a class called “How To Become an Influencer.” Some college-level content creation courses also teach students about taxes, contracts, and insurance.

Over half of Gen Zers say they would become an influencer if given the opportunity. Goldman Sachs estimates the industry will be worth $480 billion next year.

Some commentators have criticized schools’ move into content creation or influencing courses. “This is the clearest evidence you could ask for that the university system is a giant scam,” The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh said in a YouTube video about ASU’s content creation degree.

But others say that influencing can have merit. Vocational psychologist and author Bryan Dik says Christian believers can aspire to become social media influencers, although he cautions that the decision requires discernment. “There’s an opportunity to engage in a redemptive project here,” he said. “And if Christians aren’t involved, then who’s going to be?”

With social media now so saturated with influencers, content creators struggle to stand out. Many people may go viral, but very few creators enjoy long-term success. According to a report from influencer marketing agency NeoReach, half of influencers make less than $15,000 yearly.

“There is definitely an erosion of what we could call the creator middle class,” Perrault said. “For the vast majority of creators, it is a big grind before you’re able to develop a stable income.” It took more than a year for Perrault to see any earnings from her social media and blog content.

Some of the students who take content creation courses don’t actually aspire to become influencers, says Jessica Maddox, associate professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia. “That’s one of the big misconceptions about these college classes,” she said.

Maddox teaches a course in content creation at UGA. One of her former students planned to manage social media for a tech company while another wanted to learn how to make content to promote her Etsy business. Leveraging social media is a skill that many different kinds of businesses now require, Maddox argues, and students want to prepare for that.

That focus marks a change from media and communications classes traditionally focused on equipping students to work in Hollywood and newsrooms. “Those careers still exist, but they’re not the only types of careers that exist anymore,” Maddox said.

Even if a degree program doesn’t explicitly mention influencing or content creation, many college programs still have a focus on content creation. “The influencer economy is the modern strategic communication economy,” said Guy Golan, professor of strategic communication at Texas Christian University.

New courses in content creation reflect changing consumer media habits. According to a recent study from marketing intelligence company Mintel, roughly 56% of Americans use social media as their primary source for researching which products to buy. About half of Americans get their news on social media at least some of the time, per a 2025 Pew Research Center poll. “Advertising is no longer as effective as it used to be 20 years ago,” Golan said. “They’re shifting their marketing dollars towards partnerships with content creators.”

Golan sees enormous value in teaching students to work within the creator economy. But he thinks degrees that only focus on training students to become influencers are too narrow. “Influencer degrees are very sexy, and it’s a marketing scheme,” he said.

Ryan Schram, executive director of Syracuse University’s Center for the Creator Economy, says the new minor program does not intend to “mint influencers” but to teach students about the business of being a creator. “If you just want to be an influencer who is looking to get rich quick, probably a four-year education anywhere is not the best investment of your money or time,” Schram said. “Some [students] may go on to be the next Alix Earle, but they’ll also be an Alix Earle who understands the entire business consequence of the industry that they’re participating in.”

As a content creator and a parent, Lindsay Perrault can sympathize with concerns about the net value of content creation degree programs and classes. She argues many of these courses mimic traditional journalism courses and teach communication concepts that can apply to all kinds of career paths beyond social media influencing.

While Perrault doesn’t view content creation programs as a waste of money, she does worry that aspiring influencers will quit their day jobs in the hopes of becoming successful overnight. “That is not the reality in this field,” she said. “It is so hyper-competitive.”