WILMINGTON – Goldey-Beacom College announced the addition of three new undergraduate degree programs to meet industry demands in marketing, esports, and cybersecurity.
The August approval by the Delaware Department of Education will allow the 120-credit bachelor’s degrees in digital marketing and two degrees in business administration with a concentration in esports & gaming administration and a concentration in cybersecurity to be available for students this fall.
“These three new degree programs are but three more examples of GBC continuing to address what employers are telling us they’d like to see and what they need. I recently found a newspaper article from June 1987 in which a former GBC trustee and respected Wilmington business leader, James Horty, said that he thinks the ‘big thing [Goldey-Beacom] is doing that other people aren’t doing – they’re reading the market.’ Mr. Horty was right then and he’s still right today,” Goldey-Beacom College President Colleen Perry Keith told Delaware Business Times.
According to Perry Keith, potential students for the new degrees may enjoy working with technology and safeguarding, developing strategic thinking skills and gaming.
The new Bachelor of Science in digital marketing will combine business marketing skills and digital strategies. The digital marketing program will prepare students with brand management, communication, and data analytics skills within digital media.
In line with a 2021 Pew Research Center report revealing 85% of Americans are online on a daily basis, concludes there is a growing demand for marketing targeted toward digital platforms.
“We continue to focus on sharpening our tech offerings, recognizing that the speed with which technology advances means our classrooms need to help students develop skills, but more importantly, these courses will challenge students to think and understand deeply,” Joel Worden, vice president for academic affairs and provost, said in a statement.
The growing trend of esports in education is swiping across the country and the First State. Game study programs are now at least at three universities and colleges in Delaware.
The new Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in esports & gaming administration will offer students foundational management, marketing, and economic abilities for the gaming industry. The program will provide students with an understanding of esports management, gaming convention planning, and game distribution.
Goldey-Beacom College consulted developers at Capcom, Riot and other video game companies to create the curriculum that includes four courses in gaming administration.
Meanwhile, the rise of cybercrime has become a costly, billion-dollar dilemma that damages and breaches personal and financial data, causes financial loss, and disrupts business activity. To combat cybercrime, cybersecurity safeguards data from cyber attacks.
The new Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in cybersecurity will allow students to analyze cybersecurity challenges, and gain theoretical and practical skills to protect digital assets from cybercriminals employing advanced tactics.
“Adding cybersecurity and esports management and gaming administration at the undergraduate level aligns with the goal of ensuring our students have the knowledge and skills they need,” Worden said.
