Emerson College Adds Content Creation Major for Fall 2027

Emerson College will open enrollment in a new Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation in Fall 2027, placing creator-economy training inside its School of Communication.

What does Emerson launch in Fall 2027?

The degree combines storytelling, media production, marketing, business strategy and entrepreneurship. Its syllabus covers production, digital and financial literacy, ethics, audience connection and effective storytelling.

Brenna McCormick, MA ’06, senior executive-in-residence and chair of Strategic Marketing and Business, helped design the program. The department coordinates the major within Emerson’s School of Communication.

“Emerson has been preparing students to create extraordinary stories since 1880. Today we are helping students turn their creativity into a career across a rapidly changing media landscape. This new major combines our strengths in storytelling, technology, and entrepreneurship to prepare students to lead in the creator economy,” said President Jay Bernhardt.

Bernhardt said the college is not building the degree around a particular platform or trend. Students will learn to think creatively, engage audiences responsibly and build careers in a field that continues to evolve.

McCormick said the curriculum gives students the business and marketing tools to turn creative work into an entrepreneurial career. She described the design as structure without imposing a script.

Its deliberately flexible structure lets students identify their strongest interests, explore adjacent disciplines and shape a course path around the work they actually want to pursue.

What will students study?

The major adds three courses to Emerson’s catalog:

• Foundations of Content Creation
• Introduction to the Creator Economy
• Capstone in Content Creation

Students will pair those core classes with related courses from other disciplines, tailoring the major toward specific career ambitions rather than following one rigid sequence. Elective categories include:

• Business/Marketing
• Responsibility & Ethics
• Focus areas spanning entrepreneurship, web analytics, podcasting, sketch comedy writing, makeup design and media law

Classes will develop marketing savvy, brand voice and the ability to connect with an audience. They will also prepare students for popular platforms and marketing techniques that keep shifting.

Projects in Introduction to the Creator Economy will cover budgeting for uneven revenue streams, which Emerson describes as typical in the creator economy. For practitioners, budget planning and audience development sit alongside production from the start.

Which career paths can graduates pursue?

Three built-in focus areas will guide students’ elective choices:

• Manager: Working with or within organizations to create branded content.
• Producer: Crafting content around a specific topic as an entrepreneur.
• Talent: Appearing on camera and personally guiding an audience through themed videos.

The Capstone in Content Creation will require every student to use accumulated production and business skills to develop, launch and present an original content project.

“When students graduate, they’ll leave with a portfolio of their own original, creative work,” McCormick said. “That can be a huge advantage for anyone trying to stand out in the current media landscape.”

Emerson lists these possible roles for graduates:

• Content strategists, social media managers and creative directors
• Influencer marketing managers, digital/multimedia producers and podcast producers
• Audience development managers, community managers and brand content specialists
• Independent creators and entrepreneurs

McCormick said the program can refine what students are already experimenting with and provide a home among other creatives. The stated goal is to produce creators capable of making thoughtful, impactful content while nurturing their creativity and interests.

What should prospective students and practitioners weigh?\n

Emerson’s announcement contains only college-led claims. It provides no independent creator evidence, tuition figure, enrollment target, salary outcome or placement rate. The college also names no preferred platform.

For practitioners, the curriculum links content production to audience reach and revenue planning. It combines audience connection, web analytics, community management and brand voice with budgeting for uneven revenue streams.

Prospective students should weigh the program’s integrated approach against missing cost and outcome data before deciding whether it fits their individual career plans and finances. The announcement’s central promise remains untested until enrollment opens in Fall 2027 and the first capstone projects take shape.