Social media major now offered at South Carolina colleges

Here's a tidbit for future higher education students looking for tips for college enrollment that will allow them to hone their skills in new media and technology - Newberry College in Newberry South Carolina will begin offering social media as a major and minor as the fall of 2013.

“Newberry has something that very few colleges have to offer," said the associate professor of graphic design and founder of the social media program, Tania Sosiak. "[It's] an exciting major that will prepare graduates to be pioneers in a cutting edge industry that will create critical thinkers and innovators."

According to the university, the major will combine aspects of Newberry's graphic design, communications, business administration, psychology and statistics programs. Currently, four classes will be specifically geared toward students specializing in social media.

Sosiak went on to say that social media majors will learn data analysis, design, broadcast and creativity. Speaking to a Fox News affiliate, she speculated that advertising on social media sites will become more profitable than marketing on television by 2017.

Social media major causes a few eyes to roll
While it's indisputable that the popularity of social media sites - like Facebook and Twitter - has exploded in recent years, not every commentator is convinced that studying social media makes worthwhile use of students' money for college.

An opinion writer on Uproxx.com seemed skeptical of Sosiak's claims that social media advertising will surpass television advertising so soon. The article points out that Sosiak used statistics from a social media marketing agency to support her theory. However, the Uproxx scribe admitted that jobs in social media do exist. It follows that at least one college should offer social media as a specialization, wrote the source.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Editor of Upstart Business Journal said she was "on the fence" about the program. She wrote that depending on how the program is implemented, it could prove that social media savvy is necessary to succeed in today's world of business and marketing. If its not executed well, she wrote, social media majors could wind up learning the same skills their classmates are picking up for free by updating their Facebook status everyday.

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