College Now Lets Students Major In Comedy

emerson college major in comedy

Emerson College, an acclaimed performing arts college in Boston, Mass, has announced that starting in 2016, students can earn a degree in comedy.

The major will give students a Bachelor’s in “Comedic Arts.”

“This is going to be a hands-on program,” Martie Cook, Emerson’s associate chairwoman of visual and media arts department told the Boston Globe. “If you want to be a sitcom writer, we are going to take you through sitcom writing, and you will walk out of here with several scripts in your hand that you can then show to agents and producers, so you actually have a portfolio.”

Emerson has already helped cultivate huge names in comedy, with past attendees including Jay Leno, Denis Leary, Bill Burr, Harris Wittels, Joe Mande, David Cross, Mario Cantone, and more. The college hopes that the focused major will help draw more guest lecturers, including their distinguished alumni.

Emerson, which has a campus in Los Angeles as well as Boston, will use both campuses for their new program.

Doug Herzog, President of Viacom, which runs Comedy Central, is also an Emerson alum. He proudly endorsed the new major, telling the Globe, ““This is a great moment for Emerson to bring what has become one of our distinctive strengths to the forefront. Some schools develop NFL quarterbacks. We develop great comedic talent.”

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