Bachelor's degree · 100% online

Digital Content Creation

Produce digital media, grow an audience, and build a business online, with integrity. An interdisciplinary major taught by SVU's own faculty, entirely online.

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120Credit hours

34Credit hours in the major

Spring 2027First semester begins

$348Per credit hour

About the degree

Create with skill, and with integrity.

The Digital Content Creation major is an interdisciplinary degree that teaches you how to produce digital media, grow audiences, and monetize online platforms. It draws on courses in video and audio production, writing, design, performance, marketing, and psychology.

It goes beyond posting to social media: you build skills that carry across public relations, marketing, corporate communications, journalism, video and audio production, podcasting, audience psychology, data and analytics, personal branding, and media law. And you learn to do it truthfully, grounded in SVU's mission.

At a glance

Degree: Bachelor's degree with a major in Digital Content Creation
Delivery: Asynchronous online through Canvas, with no required meeting times
Major: 34 credit hours: 19 in the major core, a 3-credit senior capstone, and 12 in major electives
Tracks: Visual Production, Writing & Storytelling, Editing & Publishing, Performance, or Strategy & Analytics, or design your own
Capstone: A multi-platform content campaign or brand channel, with a professional portfolio
Graduation GPA: 2.00 minimum
Financial aid: Federal financial aid and VA education benefits can be used to pay for this program

Program features

What you'll study

120 credit hours in three parts. The major combines new courses with existing SVU courses across business, English, writing, art, theater, music, and psychology.

SVU Core

The shared foundation of an SVU education: a first-year seminar, writing, philosophy and literature, the American republic, civilizations, mathematics, life and physical science with a lab, language and culture, fine arts, social science, and health.

Digital Content Creation major

A major core of production, marketing, communication, performance, and design, a senior capstone, and four elective courses from the tracks below.

Electives

Open credits to explore other interests, or to add a minor or a second major.

The major core · 22 hours

Required courses · 19 hours

Take all seven, including the senior capstone.

DIG 101 Ethical Content Creation · 1 creditNew course
This course introduces students to the breadth of studies they can undertake as a Content Creation major: visual production, writing, editing, performance, and strategy & analytics. The second half of this course focuses on the ethics of content creation, including integrity, fair use, attribution, authenticity and use of generative A.I.
DIG 201 Video and Audio Production · 3 creditsNew course
This hands-on production course builds foundational media concepts to explore the integrated craft of digital video and field audio storytelling. Students use basic camera and recorder operations to master aesthetic framing, multi-track field audio capture, lighting setups, and editing workflows. Through collaborative short-form projects students gain practical experience with industry-standard hardware and software. Emphasis is placed on technical precision, creative decision-making, script-to-screen planning, and constructive peer critique.
BUS 334 Digital Marketing · 3 creditsNew course
In this course, we focus on understanding current digital marketing platforms and how brands can use them effectively, including social media, video, audio and AI. We pull from a variety of resources, including videos, articles, case studies and several real-world class projects. We will also focus on understanding how to measure digital marketing results, as well as examining the broader cultural and ethical issues that arise as a result of digital media.
BUS 337 Marketing Yourself · 3 creditsNew course
In this course, we will work to understand the ins-and-outs of marketing as a creative and entrepreneur. This goes all the way from discovering your audience to turning whatever it is that you do into a product or service to marketing and launching your business online. Along the way, we will also examine industry trends, business and copyright law, Fair Use requirements, and best practices for sales, pricing and advertising.
WRC 210 Communications, Writing, and Rhetoric · 3 credits
ART 365 Identity Design · 3 credits
DIG 498 Senior Capstone · 3 creditsNew course
A semester-long project where senior majors design, launch, and analyze a multi-platform content campaign or brand channel, producing a professional portfolio evaluated by faculty and external creative professionals. Students with an existing channel or platform meet the same requirements by enhancing their existing presence. The capstone is taken alongside a 300- or 400-level course in your track, with a faculty mentor guiding your project.

On camera or at the podium · 3 hours

Take one of these two.

THE 312 Acting for the Camera · 3 creditsNew course
This course introduces the fundamental techniques required for performing in film, television, and commercial media. Students explore the physiological, vocal, and emotional adjustments necessary to transition from stage acting to screen acting, emphasizing smaller, more intimate expressions, truthfulness, and spontaneity. Practical work includes script and character analysis, on-set etiquette, camera angles, framing, matching action, and working in collaboration with a director. Students practice on-camera exercises and audit their work through video playback and critique. Prerequisite: THE 110 Intro to Acting, or demonstrated competency submitted through a video audition.
WRC 217 Public Speaking · 3 credits

Select a course to read its description. Courses marked New course are new to SVU and not yet in the catalog. BUS 334, 335, and 337 are now offered as BUS 375R topics.

Major electives · 12 hours

Choose four courses (12 credit hours). The suggested tracks below group courses by focus, or design your own track from any of the courses listed.

Visual Production

ART 264 Digital Painting and ART 260 Graphic Design I are alternatives: take one.

DIG 301 Filmmaking · 3 creditsNew course
In this intensive, hands-on production course, students transition from short exercises to creating sophisticated, character-driven narrative short films. The curriculum emphasizes the crucial relationship between a director's creative vision and the technical execution of the crew.
ART 246 Digital Photography I · 3 credits
ART 264 Digital Painting I · 3 credits
ART 260 Graphic Design I · 3 credits
THE 206 Introduction to Production Design · 3 credits
CSC 110 Authoring for the Web · 3 credits

Writing & Storytelling

ENG 325R Screenwriting and THE 341 Playwriting are alternatives: take one.

ENG 325R Topics in Creative Writing: Screenwriting · variable credits
THE 341 Playwriting · 3 credits
ENG 220 Fundamentals of Creative Writing · 3 credits
ENG 320R Intermediate Creative Writing · 3 credits
ENG 420R Advanced Creative Writing · 3 credits
ENG 175R Writing Popular Fiction · variable credits

Editing & Publishing

ENG 176R Publishing · 3 creditsNew course
WRI 219R Journalism · 2 credits
WRI 399R Editing & Publishing Internship · variable credits
ENG 220 Fundamentals of Creative Writing · 3 credits
ENG 310 Modern Usage and Grammar · 3 credits

Performance

THE 110 Introduction to Acting is the prerequisite for THE 312 Acting for the Camera.

THE 110 Introduction to Acting · 3 credits
THE 210 Intermediate Acting · 3 credits
THE 315 Voice Acting · 3 creditsNew course
Explore the world of voice-over acting in this foundational, hands-on course. You will learn essential performance techniques for commercial scripts, character voices, and long-form narration. The curriculum bridges classic acting fundamentals with modern studio technology. You will practice script and character analysis, vocal variety, pacing, and emotional range, while also exploring the technical basics of microphone technique, acoustics, and home studio recording.
MUS 275R Songwriting · variable credits
MUS 149R Applied Music II · 4 credits
THE 330 Theater Practicum · variable credits

Strategy & Analytics

BUS 333 Principles of Marketing and BUS 335 Content Marketing are alternatives: take one.

PSY 290 Research Methods · 3 credits
BUS 333 Principles of Marketing · 3 credits
BUS 335 Content Marketing · 3 creditsNew course
In this course, we work to understand content creation as a product of marketing needs. We will examine the most effective forms of content that support marketing priorities (written, video and audio), and we will learn how to plan, execute, promote and evaluate content marketing efforts, culminating in earning your Google Advertising Certification. While this is not an official writing/composition course, know that our focus will favor written content, which is the backbone of any effective content marketing plan.
BUS 435 Advertising · 3 credits
BUS 375R Consumer Behavior (also PSY 375R) · 3 credits
PSY 320 Social Psychology · 3 credits

Select a course to read its description. Courses marked New course are new to SVU and not yet in the catalog.

SVU Core requirements

SVU Core requirements
Requirement	Course options	Credits	When
Knight Academy	SVU 101	1	Freshman year
Freshman Writing	WRI 120	3	Freshman year
Philosophy	LIB 110	3	By sophomore year
American Republic	LIB 120	3	By sophomore year
Literature	LIB 130	3	By sophomore year
Civilization I	ART 210, HIS 210, HIS 260, HUM 210, PHI 210, or POL 210	3	By sophomore year
Civilization II	ART 215, HIS 215, HUM 215, MUS 215, PHI 215, POL 215, or THE 215	3	By sophomore year
Mathematics	MAT 106, 114, 115, 221, 241, or 242; CSC 120; or PHI 223	3–4	By sophomore year
Life Science	BIO 114, 126, 201, or 212	3–4	By sophomore year
Physical Science	CHE 114 or 201; PHY 114, 117, 126, or 201	3–4	By sophomore year
Culture and Language 1	HUM 235R or a foreign language course (or an approved equivalency exam)	3	By sophomore year
Culture and Language 2	HUM 235R or a foreign language course (or an approved equivalency exam)	3	Any year
Fine Arts	ART 120, 121, or 263; ENG 220; MUS 108, 129R, 139R, 221, 256R, 259R, 275R, or 350R; THE 110, 206, or 230R/330R	3	Any year
Social Sciences	ECN 210; EDU 200 or 250; FHD 210 or 250; POL 203 or 223; or PSY 105	3	Any year
Health and Wellness	PER 143, or 2 credits of activity courses	2	Any year
Advanced Writing	WRI 320	3	By the end of junior year

One of the two science courses must include a lab; BIO 126, PHY 117, and PHY 126 have no lab. The ensemble courses MUS 221, 256R, 259R, 275R, 350R and THE 230R/330R need two semesters of the same ensemble to fill Fine Arts. PER 203 First Aid doesn't count as an activity course.

Getting started

How your first semesters work

Every bachelor's student starts with the same core classes in the first few semesters, along with a few introductory classes related to their major.

Apply and enroll

Once you're admitted and enrolled, we place you in your first semester of classes, so you don't have to build a schedule on your own.

Make changes if you need to

Look over the classes you've been assigned. If something doesn't work for you, you can make changes.

Keep building your foundation

Your first few semesters are mostly the same core classes every SVU student takes, plus a few introductory classes in your major.

Transferring in credit?

If you're a transfer student, you'll choose the classes that make sense for you, and you'll work with an advisor to plan the rest of your degree.

Graduation requirements

To earn a bachelor's degree in Digital Content Creation, you must:

Complete at least 120 credit hours, with at least 60 credits, or your last 30 credits before graduation, at Southern Virginia University. No more than 9 credits of internship courses count.
Complete all requirements of the SVU Core.
Complete all requirements of at least one major.
Earn a minimum 2.00 GPA on all coursework taken at the university.
Comply with all university standards, regulations, and procedures from matriculation through graduation.

How you'll learn

Your professor, personally.

SVU courses are taught through the Asynchronous Video Learning Model, designed to keep the teacher at the center of the experience.

Watch how it works

Lessons, presentations, and feedback are all recorded and submitted, so everyone takes part on their own schedule.

Read the video transcript

How SVU Online works: online, but never anonymous.
The professor creates videos to teach and demonstrate the subject matter.
You watch it on your own schedule.
You record your own video presentation and submit it.
Your professor watches when it suits them.
Your professor records personalized video feedback.
You watch feedback made just for you.
Teaching assistants record personalized video posts, too.
They keep in touch with you throughout the course.
You record a video post for your classmates.
They watch and respond on their own time.
Your classmate records a reply.
You get to know each other through video.
SVU Online, Southern Virginia University.

Watch

Your professor teaches through recorded, highly structured lessons.

Present

You record and submit video presentations, practicing what you are learning out loud.

Be seen

Your professor often responds to critical work with personalized, learning-centered feedback in video format. Teaching assistants also send personalized video posts to continually stay in touch with students.

Learn together

You exchange video responses with classmates, so discussion stays human.

Your first semester includes SVU 101, where you learn the tools and habits of successful online study: the Canvas learning platform, the online library, and the assessment tools your courses use.

What you'll need

The basics for learning on video.

Your courses are recorded and submitted online, so you will need a few basics.

A computer

A laptop or desktop computer. At a minimum, a tablet.

A camera

An embedded camera or an external webcam, for recording video assignments and video feedback to other students.

Screen recording

The ability to record your screen (a screencast) for some assignments.

Support

You won't be doing this alone.

Library

Online students have the same access as on-campus students to the Von Canon Library: electronic databases, interlibrary loan, and reference services through SVU single sign-on.

A team behind every course

The Office of Online Operations supports students and faculty, and every course has teaching assistants and instructional support staff working alongside your professor.

Accessibility

Students with disabilities can request accommodations through SVU's Accommodation Request Form, and the same accommodation process applies to online courses.

Enrollment

From application to your first class

The steps from applying to starting your first semester.

Apply
Receive access to submit forms for the application process
Receive acceptance confirmation
Pay deposit
Receive registration confirmation
Select classes for the semester
Start learning as the semester starts

Admissions

Who can apply

First-year applicants are expected to have a 2.5 grade point average at any high school previously attended.
Homeschooled students can submit homeschool transcripts or a portfolio of schoolwork showing variety and depth of study.
Students who begin before finishing high school show evidence of readiness in writing and mathematics.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum academic standard may be considered for provisional admission following further review and an interview.
Students with prior college credit have it evaluated under SVU's standard transfer credit policy.

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Cost

Tuition

$348 per credit hour.

Federal financial aid and VA benefits can be used

Eligible students can use federal financial aid, such as Federal Pell Grants and Federal Direct Loans, to pay for tuition in this program. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to see what you qualify for.

Eligible veterans, service members, and family members can also use VA education benefits, such as the GI Bill, to help pay for this program.

Questions? Talk with an Admissions Counselor.

Start your application, or talk with our team about whether this program is the right fit.