Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest — it’s no secret that college students are very familiar with these social media platforms, but starting in the fall of 2013, students at Newberry College in South Carolina will have the option to make them a part of their coursework.
Recognizing the growing professional use of these sites, the school is offering a new major and minor in social media.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, 72 percent of companies use social technologies in some way, and these technologies could potentially contribute $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value to the economy.
Social media is not going anywhere, and that is one of the reasons Tania Sosiak, an associate professor of graphic design at Newberry College, decided a social media curriculum was necessary.
“More and more businesses are using it,” she said. “I think even small businesses are starting to see how social media can benefit their daily business. You’re going to see more and more small businesses utilize social media in a way that maybe they weren’t able to do before.”
Along with four new social media courses, students will study graphic design, communications, business administration, psychology and statistics.
“With social media, it’s not just learning how to use Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn,” Sosiak said. “You have to know how to look at data and research and analyze it. You have to also be a creative person and be able to design and develop. That’s why I felt like it really needed to be cross-disciplined. You have to be able to do a little bit of everything.”
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