Acknowledging its ever-growing importance, SUNY Fredonia has launched a new minor in Social Media.
A theoretical and practical exploration of the field of social media have been combined in the new minor, which explores the cultural implications and communication strategies within social media while developing skills in related fields of study in writing, video, audio and graphic design, among other disciplines, according to the department website.
“The creation of the Social Media Minor is the result of Fredonia’s continual examination of marketplace needs to ensure that our students are optimally prepared for the ever-changing professional landscape,” said Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Andy Karafa.
Housed in the Department of Communication, the Social Media minor is truly interdisciplinary – incorporating courses in Arts, Business, Communication, Writing, Sport Management and Computer and Information Sciences.
One of the reasons we decided to create the minor was we definitely saw a need for it. Social media is such a big part of communication in general, and every part of society, so it just makes sense to have a minor in Social Media.” – Elmer Ploetz
Associate Professor Elmer Ploetz said making social media interdisciplinary was a goal of his department. “It uses a lot of different disciplines,” Mr. Ploetz said. “For example, photography is one thing that’s useful – you use a lot of images; video is useful, understanding analytics is useful, so all of it is useful, and a little bit of web programming doesn’t hurt,” he explained.
“One of the reasons we decided to create the minor was we definitely saw a need for it. Social media is such a big part of communication in general, and every part of society, so it just makes sense to have a minor in Social Media,” Ploetz said.
Ploetz suggested SUNY Fredonia may be the only university in New York state to offer a minor in Social Media, based on his search.
A credit-bearing internship is required, “so that way, people can actually put their skills to use, test out what they’re learning in a real-world context,” Ploetz said.
“Given the growing importance of understanding and applying social media methods and technologies, this is a great option for students to enhance any major. The Department of Communication has been a leader in transforming curricula as it regularly examines the evolving demands facing our graduates,” Dean Karafa said.
Students have already begun registering for the minor, so interest is expected to be strong.
“I teach a course, Social Media Practicum, which is part of the minor, and every semester that course fills up; there’s never an empty seat to start, so I knew there was interest in it,” Ploetz said.
