Beyoncé Knowles Carter is taking "Schoolin' Life" to the classroom.
The superstar is the latest Knowles family member inspiring students at the University of Southern California, where a new business course centered on her career adds another chapter to the university's love affair with the famous family.
USC's Marshall School of Business has announced a new academic course, "The Business of Beyoncé," where MBA students will study the Grammy-winning singer's empire and many business ventures.
Shaun Harper, USC's provost professor of education, business, and public policy, spent the last year designing the course. He tells USA TODAY, "I'll be their professor, but Beyoncé will be their teacher."
Harper says he was inspired to launch the course due
to the lack of diversity in the business and academic world.
"I have been a huge Beyoncé fan my entire adult life. But my love for her music isn’t what inspired me to create this course," he says. "For years, I’ve been troubled by how overwhelmingly white and male the business case studies are in most top MBA programs. Students spend lots of time learning from successful businessmen, but far too little from women, especially Black women. Beyoncé is one of the most successful musicians and entrepreneurs on the planet."
The course is set to begin in January 2027, and students will be expected to meet every Monday for a total of 15 weeks.
"This is definitely not a Beyoncé fan club disguised as an MBA course. We’ll listen to her music and watch clips from her performances, but students will spend much more time analyzing financial reports, business strategies, industry trends and other evidence that helps explain her extraordinary success," Harper says.
Specifically, Harper says students will examine her strategic decisions about ownership, partnerships, marketing, innovation and the long-term management of her career. The course will look at her business ventures over the years, including Parkwood Entertainment, Ivy Park, Cécred, SirDavis, House of Deréon and more.
"Those are business lessons worth studying. Beyoncé, therefore, belongs in the same serious business conversations as the executives and entrepreneurs who have traditionally dominated MBA case studies," Harper tells USA TODAY, adding that he hopes students "leave the course with practical strategies they can apply in their own careers, especially those who aspire to become executives, entrepreneurs and leaders in the entertainment industry."
Of course, Beyoncé isn't the only Knowles to school students at USC. Her sister and Grammy-winning singer Solange Knowles was named as the university's inaugural scholar-in-residence and visiting professor at the USC Thornton School of Music in October 2025.
The "Binz" singer will complete a three-year residency. Her course, titled "Records of Discovery: Methodologies for Music and Cultural Curatorial Practices," will begin in fall 2027.
"My goal is to advance the educational frameworks that reflect the expansiveness of the landscapes—sonic, visual, spiritual, and psychological—that surround musical expression," she said when announcing the venture.
Harper sees the Knowles family as an example of success beyond music.
"What makes the Knowles family so fascinating is that their success extends far beyond extraordinary musical talent. There are powerful lessons about entrepreneurship, family business, brand development, creative independence, strategic management and generational influence," he says. "And given USC's location in the entertainment capital of the world, it makes perfect sense for our students to study their remarkable accomplishments."
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Beyoncé and Solange will have new courses at USC this fall
