As public health major Ally Perez scrolled through the list of electives she had to choose from this semester, topics covered everything from integrative medicine to sustainability, but there was one class that really stood out. It certainly wasn't a subject you'd have previously expected at a prestigious school like Berkeley—and the lifelong Swiftie couldn't believe her eyes when she spotted Artistry and Entrepreneurship: Taylor's Version.
Perez, 21, might have known that Swift would become one of her all-time favorite artists after first discovering her as a child, but she never imagined that she'd be studying everything from her lyrics to her business brain at a top college years later.
The senior at the University of California, Berkeley—who hopes to become a physician's assistant—told Newsweek that she believes she "can learn a lot from the career that Taylor Swift's had, and also the kind of steps you need to take to progress in life."
Why Sign Up for Taylor Swift Courses?
She is far from alone. In December, Ivy League university Harvard added a course on the star. Stanford, Arizona State and the University of Texas at Austin all already offer courses covering topics including the singer's social importance and rise as a feminist icon.
Academic fascination with Swift is not just a U.S. phenomenon. Queen Mary University of London offers its very own Swiftie summer school, and Belgium's University of Ghent has created a new English literature module comparing her lyrics to classic prose. Some students are even willing to take matters into their own hands, like Bristol University's Evie Chiles from the U.K, who wrote a 32-page dissertation about Taylor Swift encountering misogyny in the music industry.
I wrote my dissertation about Taylor Swift lol pic.twitter.com/MMtvjOf1UD
— Evie (@eviechiles) May 8, 2021
In 2023, the pop star's career reached stratospheric new heights, as her sellout Eras Tour grossed over $1 billion. She was crowned Time magazine's Person of The Year and was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her concert film.
And with more than 15.4 million undergraduates enrolling in university courses across the country in fall 2021, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, students have got to make their resume stand out somehow if they want to get noticed.
Enter Crystal Haryanto, who spent months putting together Berkeley's Taylor Swift elective and will be taught by the Haas Business School later this month.
Perez, from California, continued: "When I saw the class, I thought it would be more of an interdisciplinary study. It will be taught from a business perspective, which I'm really interested in. When I graduate, I want to have a better understanding of the economy, so looking at one of my favorite pop stars from a business or economic perspective is going to help me understand it so much better.
"I'm most excited to cover her journey too, including the financial side of it and how she had to manage the industry. In some of her songs she emphasizes how she realized the industry is so much harder for women because she's met with scrutiny and criticism all the time. I'm so keen to find out about the adversity she's faced and how she advanced despite all of that."
Needless to say, university is by no means easy, and Perez has had to work tirelessly for her major in public health and minor in Chicano studies. But now that she's in her final year, she wants to enjoy her studies more. With the average four-year attendance at an in-state college costing more than $24,000 a year, perhaps students want a little more ingenuity (read: fun) from the degree that they might spend a lifetime paying off.
Perez has three elective classes to take in her last year before graduating, so when she saw that Berkeley was offering the Taylor Swift course, it was the "perfect opportunity" for her to finish on a high.
I had hoped a course like this would open up and it did."
"I purposely made my junior year the hardest year that I've had in academia so that my last year could be more enjoyable. That's exactly why I had hoped a course like this would open up and it did," she told Newsweek.
Obviously the haters are going to hate, and Perez has seen some negative reaction from people questioning what their "tax dollars are being used for." But she hopes that in time, courses like this will be normalized, and people from all backgrounds and intellects will believe that college is right for them too.
Why Is Taylor Swift Worth Studying?
When enrollment for the Berkeley course opened at midnight on December 13 (if you know, you know), Haryanto was inundated with applications from the school's student body.
The 21-year-old economics major who recently graduated from Berkeley never imagined that one day she would return to her old stomping ground to teach a class about the artist she's loved since the age of 8, but when the idea came to her in the summer of 2023, she knew she had to do it.
People may compare this new crop of Swift courses to previous ones which looked at pop culture figures including Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé or Lady Gaga, but these newer modules feel more significant—and Haryanto is keen to illustrate that.
Haryanto, who is an analyst at an economic consulting firm by day, told Newsweek that Swift is more than worth studying "due to her multidimensional roles" in society.
"Given her commercial success and evolution as an artist, she's the perfect subject to bridge traditional academic learning and relevant pop culture," Haryanto continued. "Unearthing the techniques that go into making such a momentous figure of our time is not only fascinating, but meaningful. Students can adopt her marketing and business strategies, as well as her ability to foster connections both intimate and worldwide, into their own fields of work."
Whether it's analyzing Swift's legal battles to have ownership over her full music catalog, or her stroke of genius to turn the Eras Tour into a worldwide party that everyone could attend, the course is to offer improved analysis and critical thinking skills which can be carried into any career. "Any course that encourages one to think outside the box adds to their CV," Haryanto added.
Let's not forget, this course is an elective and is designed to develop new skills and knowledge outside of a student's major.
For Haryanto, this can only be a positive for their overall understanding, and not to mention their final GPA: "Our increasingly complex workplace demands individuals to have multiple perspectives, something that can be gained through a rich curriculum."
Why Is Taylor Swift Popular Across All Generations?
Swift seems to be one of the very few artists who is beloved by Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and even some particularly trendy Baby Boomers alike. Ask your daughter, niece, cousin, sibling, neighbor, or grandparent who Taylor Swift is, and they'll likely know the answer.
After starting out as a little-known country singer to becoming world famous, it's easy to wonder how she's become such a prolific figure with over 137.5 million single digital sales in the U.S. (as of October 2023). But it's all about the momentum, according to Annalisa Nash Fernandez, from New York City, who specializes in world cultures across technology and business strategy.
"Americans are fascinated by celebrities and athletes, so anyone that we've seen build this kind of star power is a candidate to be woven into the curricula," Fernandez, an intercultural strategist for Because Culture, told Newsweek. "She's moved from a true niche fanbase to a massification, as she strategically adapted her country music roots to evolving trends and genres, much like the Beatles did previously."
Part of what connects her to so many generations is her relatability, Fernandez explains, as she connects with her fans about everything from the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated world, her struggles with body image, and the highs and lows of relationships. This helps people of any age, background and gender feel connected to her, as Fernandez says that people love having "shared narratives of their challenges and triumphs."
Fernandez believes that these interdisciplinary courses are hugely positive, telling Newsweek "it's a repackaging of contemporary history for maximization of engagement." The themes of the various courses could include sociology, anthropology, gender studies, media studies, business, and more. "She's the perfect case study," Fernandez added.
Will Taking a Taylor Swift Course Help Your Career?
Some people may consider a Taylor Swift course to be a waste of education. Others argue that every graduate finishing college with the same black-and-white portfolio might not be the best idea.
Take Eric Eng's word for it, who, as a college admissions expert knows exactly what it takes to get noticed. He highlights that the landscape of what colleges and post-grad employers are looking for has become far more current.
"It's now easier than ever for students to explore unique, non-traditional subjects that align with their interests. Courses focusing on pop culture icons, such as Taylor Swift, might seem frivolous at first glance. However, it's essential to consider the broader implications they can have," Eng told Newsweek.
Elective courses such as this one might not aid a student's career choice directly, but they can undeniably elevate a student's CV by showing additional interests and a willingness to explore other areas of cultural significance.
If, after all that you're still wondering what students can gain by studying a musician who will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most prominent artists of her time, Haryanto asks: "What won't they gain?"
In the words of Swift, "I think it's time to teach some lessons," don't you?
Newsweek reached out to UC Berkeley via email for comment.
