At E-junkie we have talked of validity of some educational degrees such as an MBA program, Marketing degrees so and so forth in the past.

Now a degree in Social Media, really? What could that possibly include? A master in Facebooking, Twitter and Instagram?

Well actually yes. We are not kidding here by any means.

Every kid on the block is born with some staple knowledge of social media today. It is practically the backbone of business operations and the nedd for trained social media managers is the need of the hour.

True to this tradition and evolving industry demands, the varsities across the U.S are beginning to offer a statutory degree in Social Media as an interdisciplinary study. The intriguing fact is, the current breed of SEOs, webmasters and self acclaimed social media experts come from varied fields. So in a way, a streamlined formal degree in social media does sound like a good move. But should this become a essential requirement for jobs in this industry is something we still need to figure out.

On a personal level, it does sound promising to have a additional recognized degree for the skills that you have. However, I still feel that the industry is a complex whole of various specializations and a single degree may not do justice to those with aptitude for the marketing or content writing if a Social Media degree is formalized at an industrial level like an MBA.

FYI, the degree is available as a regular course and in offline mode as well. Some colleges like Newberry in South Carolina has an entire honors program designed for this, while others like Central Michigan University's Global Campus, State University of New York (Purchase), Cleveland State University, Ball State University, University of California (Irvine) and Florida also have designed curriculums for the same.

Wondering what do students actually study about this vast domain called social media in classrooms? So, let's break down the parameters today.

To sum the course in a nutshell, a Social Media student is being trained to marketing and branding techniques suitable for industry specific jobs. "An original interdisciplinary program that would capitalize on the strengths of existing courses in Graphic Design, Communications, Business Administration, Psychology and Statistics", the online program has some add-on subjects like social media history, legal and ethical issues, analyzing business plans.

Here are some positives of the a formal education in Social media discipline.

1. Networking while studying

The latest trend in modern education is a focus on preparing the student in the practical industry standards through internships, trainee and exchange programs. For a niche that thrives on practical exchanges with the consumer market, it is all the more important to have a prior social web. The social media programs at the colleges focus on hosting influential guest speakers and interactive sessions so as to help the students get insights into the field of work they are entering into. With LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook trending, communicating with industry top guns is never an issue.

2. Technical Skills Sets

The curriculum of a social media degree should be designed so as to acquaint the students with the most basic technical and strategic aspects of various social media platforms, not just their usability. The idea is not to go into absolute finites, but teaching something that helps them analyze and operate independently a social media platform.

3. Practice and Theory

Social media is a very holistic discipline of study that goes beyond the classroom. The real work is in the field where business theory is put to live action like making connections, understanding public relations, marketing, social media governance etc. No study can be more practically oriented than this.

4. Professional Edge

As mentioned above, the current line of industry experts do not have a recognized degree in the field but hail from diverse disciplines. But as a futuristic move, the employers will start seeking out talent that is formally ingrained in the nuances of the social media industry. It developed as a annexe to the Commerce discpline. However, the very interdisciplinary nature of the degree gives a student of the same a professional edge since they are well versed in diverse aspects of social media on the whole.


No doubt a degree in this discpline is the need of the hour. However not everyone can afford to pursue it due to the large financial stipulations it involves. In addition, organizations too can take up training their personnel professionally by financing the study of employees. The business of formal education comes with its own pros and cons but needs to cater to the evolving industry patterns.

Merodie Hancock, CMU's Vice President says that "As social networks continue to evolve, organizations will also continue to explore new ways to utilize those networks to achieve business goals and objectives. The need for trained professionals in social media communications, marketing, and management at these organizations may dictate the need for formalized degrees of study surrounding the varying challenges of social media."

Let us know your thoughts about formalizing social media education by leaving a comment in the section below.

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