ASU’s New “Influencer Degree” Costs Up To $60,000 A Year. Will It Pay Off?

Arizona State University has launched a Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation through its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, available at its downtown Phoenix campus, online, and through ASU Local. Coursework covers video and podcast production, audience analytics, brand voice, monetization, copyright, plus hands-on work through a Los Angeles Content Studio and brand content projects.

Critics immediately branded it the “influencer degree,” reviving the debate over whether college is worth the investment at all.

According to reporting from the Associated Press, the curriculum overlaps heavily with ASU’s existing mass communication degree, with the main difference being specialized electives in podcasting, studio production, and on-camera presence.

ASU isn’t first, either: St. Bonaventure University announced a content creation major last winter, and Syracuse, Quinnipiac, and Colorado State offer minors. It’s part of a broader push by schools to add career-coded majors as more students choose work over college.