Irish University to Teach Course on How to Be an Influencer – Including Course on How to Not Get Canceled
South East Technological University in Carlow, Ireland, will offer a bachelor of arts degree in content creation and social media beginning next year
Do you want to be a social media influencer? A university in Ireland will soon offer a degree for that!
Beginning next September, South East Technological University (SETU) in Carlow, Ireland, will offer a bachelor of arts degree in content creation and social media, according to the BBC.
Among the courses in the program are creative video, celebrity studies, psychology, data analytics, podcasting and work experience, per a description on the university’s website.
“The choice is comprehensive and will enable you to take on the digital world,” read the description
Related: 86 Percent of Young Americans Aspire to Become a Social Media Influencer, Study Says
The school aims to prepare students with the tools to maximize their screen time in an age when the global influencer market is growing at a rapid pace, it said.
“Experts tell us that the global influencer market is currently worth around $21 billion,” according to SETU. “We know that influencing; social media marketing; digital content writing and digital strategising are important business activities and socially vital in connecting people and ideas.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
It continued, “The employment opportunities in the digital media industry are endless. The best way to become an executive part of this huge enterprise is to transform yourself into an industry professional.”
Eleanor O’Leary, the program's director, said that students and employers are increasingly interested in the field.
Related: Bipartisan Group of Attorneys General Announce Investigation into TikTok's Impact on Children
“It’s an area that has a specific set of skills," she told Irish broadcaster RTÉ, per the BBC. “It draws on existing media and PR and marketing skills but it’s a new area in and of itself as well."
One of the courses offered is crisis management, which will teach students about critical and unexpected situations.
"Crises involve critical and unexpected situations and they will always happen in workplaces and communities," according to the school. "However, since the advent of social media, bad news travels faster than ever. In this module, we will examine the importance of a social media strategy incorporating a crisis management plan. The crisis management lifecycle will be examined. The crisis management toolkit used by managers when organisations and communities face crises will be identified. Learners will develop a crisis management plan implementing recommended responses and mitigation strategies as well as creating communications strategies to address public relations issues."
Related: Instagram Will No Longer Allow Adults to Message Minors Who Don't Already Follow Them
Once students obtain the degree, they will be qualified for jobs in content creation, writing, journalism, communications and more, per the university.
Applications for the program will open in November, the BBC reported.
Established in May 2022, SETU consists of 18,000 students and over 1,600 staff members with campuses in Carlow, Waterford and Wexford, said Veronica Campbell, the school’s president, via SETU’s website.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.