Is an Influencer Degree Worth It?

As undergraduate programs continue to see flat enrollment rates, public schools (and schools outside the top 50 in the nation) are looking for new ways to attract students. You may have seen the news that Arizona State is offering a bachelor's degree in content creation. Most of the headlines make it seem like students will just be learning how to take selfies, but after looking through the curriculum, it's really more of a modernized communications and media degree. Obviously, given my involvement in the creator world over the last decade, I have some thoughts.

Do creators need to attend a university to learn how to create content and go viral? At first glance, I was pretty skeptical. Just think about how many successful creators have built their careers without a college degree. Before I jump on the bandwagon and dunk on Arizona State University (for anything other than its football program), I do think there are some signs that universities are heading in the right direction.

We’re fresh off Kai’s Streamer U, where he opened the door for 120 creators to attend a private university while taking classes taught by more than 20 of the biggest live streamers. One class in particular, taught by Ludwig, has been making the rounds online. While his session was mostly focused on live streaming, it offered incredible value for anyone starting their creator journey. Better yet, the entire class is available for free on YouTube and was taught by someone who has spent the last decade in the industry and found enormous success.

I've been fortunate enough to speak at a few universities, most notably Oxford and Stanford, and I inevitably get questions about what advice I'd give to aspiring creators who are just getting started. Earning a college degree in content creation definitely isn't on my list, at least not yet.

After taking a closer look at the ASU curriculum, here are the classes I actually think could provide real value.

⚖️ Media Law

Creators often overlook all of the legal compliance that goes into this industry. You also hear plenty of stories about artists signing bad contracts and putting themselves in terrible situations early in their careers. This class would be valuable for students who want to work in and around the creator ecosystem, whether that's in talent management or influencer marketing.

📚 Media Entrepreneurship

When I started Night in 2015, I had to learn everything on the fly. Not only did I have to figure out how to hire people and build an organization, but I also had no idea about the challenges other companies had already faced, the problems that would emerge as we grew, or many of the fundamentals an entrepreneurship class could prepare students for. Not to mention, I didn't even know how to set up my LLC.

I also think ASU should consider adding a few classes to their current list:

📈 Social Media Growth Hacking: I read the descriptions for ASU's Social Media Foundations and Digital Audience courses, but I think there's room for a third class focused entirely on growth. Every platform has its own algorithm, trends, and best practices that evolve constantly. What's the current meta? What formats are outperforming everything else? How do you actually grow an audience in today's environment? A class dedicated to answering those questions would be incredibly valuable.

👨‍💻 Everything You Need to Know About the Creator Industry: This idea comes from one of my favorite books, Everything You Need to Know About the Music Business by Don Passman. It's essentially a 600-page crash course that's updated every year with everything someone in the music industry needs to know. I'd love to see a creator economy version covering questions like: When should you hire a manager? When should you hire an editor? How do brand deals actually work? What should you charge? It would give students a practical foundation for navigating the industry.

What I don’t want is for students to think that earning a specialized degree like this will automatically get them a job in the creator economy or that they’ll become successful overnight. At the end of the day, as someone who has hired over 300 people in the creator business, I’ve never once looked at where someone went to school. I care about how chronically online they are, whether they’re coachable, and if they’re genuinely passionate about the internet. If your goal is to become a creator, you don’t need a degree for that.

The upside to choosing a degree that offers classes like these is that it’s more aligned with the modern version of a marketing or advertising degree. No matter what job you have in the future, being able to create great content around your niche will always be valuable. The people who understand the internet and content creation better than others will bring incredible value to whatever company they work for.

I’m not convinced that universities need to teach students how to become influencers. The individuals who are successful in this industry learn how to capture attention, communicate effectively, and create content that resonates with an audience. Whether you become a creator, work at a brand, or build your own company, these skills are becoming more valuable every year.

In case you missed it, Streamer Games took place over the weekend. Now in its third year, the two-day event brought together top creators in Los Angeles, California, to go head-to-head in an Olympic-style tournament.

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