Like Robert Bergman, Dr. Carl Zangerl of Northeastern University in Boston, MA also has over 20 years experience in the business world and is responsible for curriculum development at his institution. As Academic Director of the Master’s in Corporate and Organizational Communication degree at the College of Professional Studies, part of Dr. Zangerl’s responsibilities at the College “is to monitor trends in the business world and to make recommendations for courses and course material to address those trends,” he explains. “Clearly, social media is a ubiquitous trend that’s revolutionizing communications — not only in the business world but in society as a whole,” he says.

As a result, Northeastern now offers a social media concentration in both its Digital Media and Organizational Communication Master’s programs. Zangerl says “students in the post-graduate programs can select from eight courses, ranging in topics like legal, policy, and ethical issues in the digital era, to planning and design of social media channels and online communities.” Echoing a trend in the other universities we spoke with (and likely all over North America), these courses have proven to be immensely popular and highly in-demand. “Enrollment in the social media concentration within the organizational communication master’s program has quadrupled since it was introduced in 2011.”