But there are perhaps not plenty of college degrees that help prepare them for that world. University of Kansas officials this week won approval to create a new degree that indeed is targeted to potential social media influencers, plus other performers ranging from athletes to musicians.

KU on Wednesday won approval from the Kansas Board of Regents to create a new Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Professional Performance that will begin offering classes in fall 2024.

It is not uncommon for one of the state’s universities to add a new degree program, but it is not every day that the university uses as a selling point the fact the “industry” of social media influencers has doubled since 2019 and is now a nearly $17 billion per year enterprise.

“We are just trying to innovate,” KU Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer said about KU’s decision to pursue the unusual degree program.

The degree program does appear innovative. KU believes it will be the first state university in the country to offer such a degree, according to materials provided to the Regents.

Bichelmeyer told the Lawrence Journal-World in a brief interview that KU regularly evaluates new degree possibilities, and those ideas often are spurred by what needs it is hearing from industry partners. However, there are also times when trends within the student population itself create the ideas for a new degree.

Bichelmeyer said KU leaders have seen that many students have a strong desire to be independent in their careers.

“They want to be individual entrepreneurs and sell their services without going into a large company,” Bichelmeyer said.

For social media influencers, those services might be the creation of short and outrageous videos that draw attention to some other company’s product. The new degree will teach those aspiring Kim Kardashians the “strategic aspects of self-promotion, entrepreneurship and creating a personal and professional brand,” according to information provided to the Regents.

KU officials have been clear that the degree isn’t focused only on students who want to become social media influencers. It also is geared toward athletes, musicians, artists and others who anticipate making a career around their own name or brand.

There are indications that KU believes the degree could be particularly attractive as the college sports world enters the era of name, image and likeness deals for college athletes.

“KU Athletics indicates a strong interest in the Professional Performance major for student-athletes,” KU leaders said in information provided to the Regents.

The degree program will be based in the School of Professional Studies, which is at the KU Edwards Campus in Johnson County. However, KU said the program would be designed so that incoming freshmen on the Lawrence campus could also pursue the major here. The degree can be completed entirely online, but also will offer in-person classes for students who prefer that path.

KU intends to particularly target community college students in the Kansas City metro area. KU intends to create specific transfer agreements with Johnson County Community College, Kansas City Kansas Community College and Metropolitan Community College to ensure that students who have graduated from those colleges can seamlessly transfer into the new KU degree program.

“Each of these local community colleges has strong enrollment in their Art, Film & Media Studies and Music programs, as well as other disciplines that could serve as pipelines into the program …” Regents were told in materials from KU.

KU expects to have about a dozen students enrolled in the degree during its first year and about 40 students by its third year, according to projections provided to the Regents. KU plans to hire two new faculty members with expertise in sports management, public relations, marketing, communication, entrepreneurship or other similar fields to staff the new degree. The proposed coursework for the degree also involves existing classes in other schools or departments at KU.

Classes will range from ethics to marketing to personal finance, among others, according to information provided to the Regents.

KU has not found any similar degree programs at large state universities across the country. Instead, the most similar program appears to be a Sports Performance major at the University of the Pacific, a private California school, and a Health and Human Performance degree at Cumberland University in Tennessee.

Whether more will be developed remains to be seen, but Bichelmeyer said the trends of students being interested in becoming self-employed and promoting themselves seemed to be a solid one.

“We know the internet has created a new ecosystem for creators and entrepreneurs,” she said.