In May, The Atlantic published a piece called “How Comedians Became Public Intellectuals,” noting how of late, “Comedians are acting not just as joke-tellers, but as truth-tellers—as guides through our cultural debates,” and citing the likes of Amy Schumer, Louis C.K., Key and Peele, Sarah Silverman and John Oliver. The article, it turns out, was prophetic and also belonged to a lengthy catalytic discourse: the escalating, culturally critical angle much comedy has taken — and its ability to be at once intellectual, vital and entertaining — has led to the first 4 year BFA program for comedy.

The Boston Globe reports that Emerson College will begin their Bachelor of Comedic Arts program in September 2016. Though the decision to found this department is undoubtedly due to the increasing cultural import of comedians, the program isn’t solely theoretical or technical — its aim is to train students to leave college and be able to navigate the world of comedy, using a combination of both forms of pedagogy. The Globe quotes associate chairwoman of the visual and media arts department, Martie Cook, on the program:

This is going to be a hands-on program… 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.

And apart from courses teaching the art of the sketch and performance for stage and film, more academic approaches to the subject will also be offered, including comedy history and theory of laughter courses.

Consideration for the program began after the college tested “Comedy: Writing and Performance” as a minor concentration, which was a major success. Of the obvious appeal to her millennial students, Cook said:

They live in a world that’s comedy based. Look at how they get their news: They don’t turn on network news, they go to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, places like that. Everything is comedy driven. Comedy is just hotter than it’s ever been.

If you formerly worried it’d be hard to convince your parents that a liberal arts education was the best thing, this may make the whole swaying process a little harder.