Taylor Swift has been a pop icon in fans’ eyes for several years and is now the inspiration behind multiple college courses.
At least five schools throughout the nation are offering upcoming courses inspired by the 34-year-old songstress, with one even requiring separate applications from students looking to take the class.
New York University was one of the first schools to introduce a Swift-themed course at the Clive Davis Institute in 2022 taught by Rolling Stone writer Brittany Spanos.
Berklee College of Music offered a two-hour course last month.
And in the South, the University of Texas, Austin had a Swift-themed class in fall 2022, and Texas Tech University offered an honors course that resulted in several emails to teacher Sarai Brinker from students wishing to enroll.
Several schools nationwide are offering college courses dedicated to singer and songwriter Taylor Swift, 34
New York University and Texas Tech University were two of the first schools to introduce Swift-themed courses for students
University of Texas, Austin, professor Elizabeth Scala created a course inspired by the singer that was highly publicized. She is known for her love and huge admiration for Swift
Harvard University
Harvard University is the first Ivy League school to give some lucky Swifties a chance to take a course dedicated to the singer.
Professor of English, Stephanie Burt, will be teaching a class called Taylor Swift and Her World during the school’s spring term next year.
According to the course description, students will be studying Swift’s songs, and learn abut fan and celebrity culture, adolescence, queer subtexts, and more.
The students will also be reading novels, memoirs, and poems that are important to the singer written by Willa Cather, James Weldon Johnson, and more.
Burt, a Harvard alumni, is a Swift fan who told NBC News that this is the ‘first time’ in her academic career the university that one of her favorite music artists was big that the school would use its resources and dedicate a course to their discography.
Nearly 300 students have enrolled in the course, and it is expected to have a long waitlist.
Harvard University professor Stephanie Burt will be teaching English 183ts. Taylor Swift and Her World on Mondays and Wednesdays during the 2024 spring term
University of Florida
A total of 15 lucky students at the University of Florida (UF) will have the chance to take the Musical Storytelling With Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists course that is part of the school’s honor program.
Professor Melina Jimenez, an associate instructional professor at the UF English Language Institute, is not a big Swiftie.
The teacher hardly listened to her music, but decided to create this course after participating in an online writing workshop last summer dedicated to Swift’s music and writing style.
The one-credit course, according to Billboard, will get students to ‘draw parallels between Swift’s enchanting lyrics and works by other famous female masterminds.’
Unfortunately, students at UF hoping to be put on a waitlist will have no luck since this Swift-inspired class only allowed 15 students to take the course.
Each student has already been selected by Jimenez.
Melina Jimenez was inspired to create a Swift-themed course at the University of Florida after participating in a writing workshop dedicated to Swift’s music and writing style
The honors course Jimenez will be teaching is called Musical Storytelling With Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists
University of California, Berkeley
Crystal Haryanto, Miaad Bushala, and Sofia Lendahl will be teaching Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version during the Spring 2024 term at Berkley.
Haryanto created the course after graduating from Berkley last spring, with current students Bushala and Lendahl facilitating the class.
The website created specifically for this course says that students will explore how ‘art and authenticity create enduring value and viable enterprise.’
Despite the course being led by current students and a recent school alumni, it will feature guests speakers like Berkeley professor Jean Johnstone and interactive producer Alexander Lindsay.
Crystal Haryanto, who graduated from University of California, Berkeley last spring, is the founder of the school’s upcoming course Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version
Students hoping to enroll must fill out a separate application before doing so that requires the applicant to write a short Swift-themed essay
The class may be more selective than others since students are required to fill out an application before signing up to take the class.
They are also required to write 250-350 words on what Swift song they would like to have a 10-minute version of and why.
The application deadline is January 19 and students will likely be selected shortly afterward.
Stanford University
Stanford University Sophomore Ava Jeffs will begin teaching The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling With Taylor Swift Through the Eras in April
Lucky Swifties at Stanford University had the chance to sign up for the winter quarter course named All Too Well (Ten Week Version).
The description says that students will be getting an ‘in-depth analysis’ of the lyrics of Swift’s song All Too Well.
Fans of the singer who may be sad to not take this class are in luck, as another one will be offered this April.
Stanford sophomore Ava Jeffs will be teaching a course called The Last Great American Songwriter: Storytelling With Taylor Swift Through the Eras.
Despite being a sophomore and computer science major, Jeffs is a huge Swiftie who wrote her college application essay about Swift’s song Clean.
She also wrote her first college essay as a freshman about Swift’s songwriting in relation to mental health, which was 13 pages long.
Arizona State University
ASU PhD student Alexandra Wormley and professor Margaretha Bentley are currently teaching courses dedicated to the singer, Bentley’s being offered online
Swifties at Arizona State University (ASU) may have been lucky to take the Psychology of Taylor Swift – Advanced Topics of Social Psychology class offered last fall.
ASU PhD student Alexandra Wormley taught the class that drew themes from Swift’s songs, and the course will be offered again next month.
The university will be offering another Swift-focused course in March taught by professor Margaretha Bentley,
The class description indicates that the course will investigate Taylor Swift’s Folklore (Public Policy Version) by examining the public impact of the Eras tour.’
It will also look into the Swift Ticketmaster incident during the Eras tour and property laws that led her to rerecord her albums.
All four classes that Bentley is teaching has open spots available and are offered on iCourse and ASU Online.