It looks like the craft beer degree is poised to become one of the most popular on college campuses.

We recently noted that the University of California – San Diego had scholarships available for their beer program.  Now, three North Carolina community colleges  have created”stackable” degree tracks for the fast-growing craft beer industry — and students are camping overnight to register for the innovative program.  Inside Higher Ed’s Paul Fain has this report:

People began setting up tents on campus here the night before registration opened for a new academic program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Campus security officers made the wannabe students leave. But many in the crowd just got in their cars and started circling the surrounding parking lots.

The next morning it took all of 20 minutes to fill the 24 slots of the Craft Beverage Institute of the Southeast’s inaugural class. That day last June was less than 10 months after a college administrator first pitched the idea for a two-year associate of applied science degree in brewing, distillation and fermentation.

The two-year degree program may be the first of its kind, at least in this United States. And Asheville, which has held the title “Beer City U.S.A.,” is an appropriate place for it.

The small Appalachian city is home to more than 15 breweries, many of them new. And a few large craft brewers are building regional plants here as well.

Beer dominates the city’s nightlife, with brewpubs that range from rustic to ritzy. And a growing number of beer tourists are coming to town to sample the high-end suds.

The burgeoning industry is also creating plenty of jobs. But until now Asheville’s breweries, restaurants and distribution facilities have handled the training of their new employees.

A small group of administrators at AB Tech and at two other North Carolina community colleges recognized the unmet need. They moved fast to create the new degree, working closely with breweries and their peers in the state’s community college system.

The result is three “stackable” degree paths for students, which allow them to specialize across institutional boundaries. The state and a regional accreditor gave green lights to all three programs.

AB Tech, Blue Ridge Community College and Rockingham Community College will have their hands full trying to meet the work force needs of North Carolina’s craft beer explosion.

“The potential market is massive,” said Scott Adams, director of AB Tech’s new institute.