Program Spotlight: Syracuse University鈥檚 New Center for the Creator Economy
October 31, 2025
A new statistic has been making the rounds over the past year: 42% of teens are now actively earning income online. While this number鈥�2 in 5!鈥� makes for a snappy and shocking headline, the that this stat originates from had a fairly small sample size, compared to the entirety of the population of teenagers (12-18) in the US. Even still, the report does point to a larger shift in focus and attention, if not opportunity. The social media landscape, and its attendant digital economy, dominates how teens (and adults) think, create, act, and interact with themselves and their communities. As these teens graduate high school and prepare for their next steps in their education and their career, online content creation is and will likely continue to be an alluring and, in some cases, necessary skillset.
Higher education as a whole does not seem entirely prepared to support鈥攐r, more cynically, take advantage of鈥攖his shift in student focus and needs. But one university is now making a large step in that direction.
This fall, Syracuse University announced the launch of its new , an initiative that aims to directly address this evolving digital economy and support the young people who will continue to drive its evolution. The Center for the Creator Economy is the first academic initiative of its kind on a US college campus, one geared specifically towards the skills, technology, art, and business of digital creation and entrepreneurship. Syracuse鈥檚 stated intention for the Center is to position the University 鈥渁t the forefront of research, education and thought leadership within the rapidly expanding creator-driven economic landscape.鈥�
How will the Center work?
While details about the have been limited as of yet, Syracuse has announced that it will function as a collaboration between several established schools at the University, primarily the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The Center will also work directly with the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Falk College of Sport.
This interdisciplinary approach has the potential to serve students interested in a wide range of online content creation, from artists, musicians, and athletes building a digital audience, to podcasters, streamers, and influencers, whose livelihood is inextricably linked with online content platforms.
While the Center for the Creator Economy is still in its planning stages, Syracuse has outlined some of the resources they anticipate the Center will offer, including:
- Tailored course offerings: In addition to existing courses from Whitman鈥檚 entrepreneurship program and media and communications classes through the Newhouse School, the University plans to offer new classes (at both the undergraduate and graduate level) in subjects such as creative content, audience engagement, and digital strategy.
- Workshops: Outside the classroom, the Center also plans to offer one-off workshops and other experiential opportunities, for both students and business professionals, in topics such as personal branding and influencer law.
- Speaker series: The Center anticipates hosting a speaker series to showcase new ideas in the field, bringing relevant thinkers to campus, including content creators, entrepreneurs, and social media executives.
- On-campus incubators: The Center also plans to support the early-career or scaling efforts of student-creators through mentorship and funding. The University already has a track record of providing commercialization grants for student research and innovation projects through the , although it is unclear if the Center currently has a direct line of funding for new creator grants.
- Research opportunities: The University also hopes to become a 鈥渢hought leader鈥� in this emerging field by sponsoring and publishing research on creator economy trends.
Syracuse bills itself as 鈥渢he nation鈥檚 most digitally connected campus,鈥� which they believe uniquely positions the University to lead this transition into academic support for content creation. As part of this move towards further 鈥渄igital connection,鈥� the University 聽to be one of the first college campuses to provide every student, faculty, and staff member with Anthropic鈥檚 Claude for Education, an AI program designed specifically for use in educational settings.
Both of these moves鈥攖he launch of the Center for the Creator Economy and the rollout of Claude for Education鈥攄emonstrate Syracuse鈥檚 desire to be at the forefront of academia鈥檚 embrace of and assimilation to a digital economy. But this shift of priorities isn鈥檛 happening in a vacuum. It is already having an impact on the rest of the University, for better or for worse.
Syracuse’s Shifting Resources and Priorities
The Center for the Creator Economy isn鈥檛 the only change moving through the University this fall. Syracuse is also currently in the midst of a , which consists of an intensive semester-long review process of each school and college, and their various program, degree, and major offerings.
In a schoolwide letter sent to all Syracuse faculty, staff, and students in August, Interim Provost Lois Agnew explained that the goal of the academic portfolio review process is to 鈥渟trengthen our academic profile, invest in high-quality, high-demand programs and ensure that our offerings remain relevant, competitive and aligned with our mission.鈥�
Unfortunately, there has been some contention around this process. Alongside the ongoing review, the University鈥檚 administration has also to a number of majors in the College of Arts & Sciences, a decision that was made without faculty input. Department chairs were informed of the pauses at September鈥檚 University Senate meeting, and reported feeling 鈥渆ntirely blindsided.鈥�
The following 18 majors will be impacted by the admissions pause:
- African American Studies
- Applied Mathematics B.A.
- Chemistry B.A.
- Classical Civilization
- Classics (Greek and Latin)
- Digital Humanities
- Fine Arts
- French and Francophone Studies
- German Language, Literature, and Culture B.A.
- History of Architecture
- Italian Language, Literature, and Culture B.A.
- Latino-Latin American Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Modern Jewish Studies
- Music History and Cultures
- Religion
- Russian Language, Literature, and Culture B.A.
- Statistics B.A.
While classes will still be offered in the majors during the pause, Syracuse will not be admitting any new students to these major tracks for the 2026-2027 academic year. During this time, the administration will consult with the department chairs on the viability of the programs and decide whether to revise or rebrand, merge programs, or phase out majors entirely. Dean of Arts & Sciences, Behzad Mortazavi, clarified that the affected majors each have 鈥渧ery low鈥� and declining enrollments, according to nine years of data. Each of the paused majors currently has 10 or fewer students enrolled, accounting for less than 2.5% of Arts & Sciences students.
What each of these programs, and the College of Arts & Sciences as a whole, will look like after the review process remains to be seen. But the dual priorities of this transition seem to be around investing more heavily in high-demand programs and reimagining or rebuilding lower-yield programs to better fit with student interest and institutional trajectory.
Where will Syracuse go from here?
Both the introduction of the Center for the Creator Economy and the current schoolwide academic audit show a shift in the University鈥檚 priorities, as well as a strong bet on more high-demand and increasingly relevant skills and focus areas. As the Center rolls out its offerings over the next year, we will get a better idea of what students respond to, and how scalable the University鈥檚 efforts really are.
We may very well see other colleges and universities follow suit over the next several years, in both committing resources to the newer, younger, high-potential fields of content creation and the digital economy, and pulling back from or phasing out more traditional or niche academic programs.
Regarding the launch of the Center for the Creator Economy, Syracuse鈥檚 vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, Mike Haynie, said: 鈥淪yracuse is seizing the opportunity to lead鈥攏ot follow鈥攊n preparing students to thrive at the intersection of creativity, commerce and digital innovation.鈥� But 鈥渇ollowing鈥� is an integral part of the digital landscape. And following鈥攖he young people, the trends, and most critically, the money鈥攎ay be exactly what Syracuse is doing. If there is another viable path forward for higher education, those leaders have not yet appeared.
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