I paid 30,000 pounds to study for an "Internet celebrity" degree. Why?
Author, Megan Lawton
Role, BBC business reporter
Published 5 minutes ago
Reading time: 4 minutes
It may come as a surprise for a college course, but Destiny McGowan has no doubt that the course she’s taking is very practical.
In July this year, the 21-year-old graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in content creation.
In addition to teaching how to create the best videos and posts for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, the course also focuses on building audiences, working with brands, and monetizing content.
“I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so for me the focus of this program is on the transferable skills that I believe I can gain,” Destiny said, referring to the social media and business-related skills taught in the program.
She is still in the early stages of her career and would not reveal her exact income, but said she has already started making money.
In addition to posting fashion content on his own social media accounts, Destiny also produces videos for others and has been hired as a TikTok live broadcast host to introduce products for sale in front of the camera.
She said the course gave her exposure to equipment, technology and people in the industry.
She explained: "The seminars held by the university allowed me to meet some very powerful people. If I had to explore on my own, it would take me 5 to 10 years to reach that level."
Nottingham Trent University said it will offer a content creation degree in 2022 that will provide "practical experience".
Many universities in the UK currently offer similar courses. The University of Brighton says it teaches students how to create content that "cuts through the information noise".
Meanwhile, Arizona State University in the US said its similar courses allow students to "turn your ideas into content that connects with your audience."
But taking these courses comes with a hefty price tag. The current three-year courses at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Brighton have annual tuition fees for British students of 9,790 pounds (US$13,000; 86,900 yuan; NT$412,400), while the standard annual tuition for Arizona State University residents is US$14,724 (98,800 yuan; NT$468,900).
So, is it worth pursuing this type of degree?
Knightenator, who is engaged in full-time content creation in the UK, is not sure.
"I don't think I will take this course," she said. The 31-year-old woman declined to give her real name. She has been posting videos about games and travel on social media since 2015. She currently has 65,000 followers on Twitch and more than 100,000 followers on TikTok.
However, another content creator Aiesha Beasley disagreed. She is from Phoenix, Arizona.
Beasley, 36, mainly publishes food, fashion and lifestyle content. She said if such courses had been available when she started blogging on Tumblr in the early 2010s, she would have signed up.
She believes the degree would have provided her with a "clearer path", especially on how to make a living from content creation.
"You really need to think like a business: How can I turn this from a hobby into something that can make me money?" Aisha said.
She added that these courses are "ahead of the times" in recognizing that content creation is increasingly becoming an important part of marketing.
"You have to have a digital presence now, whether you're a business owner, an entrepreneur, or you're building a personal brand," she explains.
The introduction of these degrees by institutions such as Nottingham Trent University and Arizona State University comes at a time when the economy for content creators is booming in both the UK and the US. According to a report last year, YouTube content creators alone contributed £2.2 billion to the UK economy.
At the same time, a 2024 survey showed that one in every three people in the United States aged 18 to 30 hopes to become an Internet celebrity.
However, Jacky Gurr, director of the content creation course and senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, points out that most students on the course are not actually aiming to become internet celebrities.
For Geer, content creation is a professional skill that is increasingly in demand across agencies.
