The Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies emphasizes the creative and analytical skills needed to make sense of current and future trends in media, and to gain a deep understanding of the history and development of various means and forms of communication.
Explorations of media theory, history, criticism, practices, popular culture, technology and emerging cultures are enhanced by practical training in media design, storytelling, digital art, online community engagement, documentary filmmaking and social media.
Requirements
Required Courses and Credits
Students pursuing the BA in media studies complete 12 courses, for 36 credit hours. MDST requires an internship (3 credit hours; MDST 4931) in a field of the student's choice, and a capstone course (3 credit hours; MDST 4221 or MDST 4401), both usually completed in the senior year.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MDST Core | ||
| Required Courses | ||
| MDST 1001 | Foundations of Media Studies | 3 |
| MDST 1002 | Introduction to Social Media | 3 |
| MDST 2002 | Media and Communication History | 3 |
| MDST 3001 | Media Research | 3 |
| MDST 3002 | Digital Culture and Politics | 3 |
| MDST 4221 | Media Technology and Cultural Change | 3 |
| or MDST 4401 | Fan and Audience Studies | |
| MDST 4931 | Internship | 3 |
| Students would then take six hours of Media Practice courses offered by MDST, other departments or programs in CMCI or departments outside CMCI. Courses meeting this requirement include: MDST 1003, MDST 2010, MDST 2011, MDST 2012, MDST 2031, MDST 2032, MDST 3341, MDST 4003, MDST 4071, MDST 4220, MDST 4331, MDST 4402, ATLS 1300, ATLS 2000, ATLS 2100, ATLS 2200, ATLS 2300, CMDP 2500, CMDP 2860, CMDP 2870, CMDP 3510, CMDP 3600, CMDP 3610, CMDP 3620, CMDP 3700, CMDP 3720, CMDP 3810, CMDP 3820, CMDP 3830, CMDP 3840, CMDP 3860, CMDP 4610, CMDP 4620, CMDP 4640, CMDP 4900, INFO 1111, INFO 1121, INFO 4602, JRNL 2001, JRNL 3102, JRNL 3552, JRNL 3614 and JRNL 3644. | 6 | |
| Electives/Areas of Concentration | ||
| Select three courses from any of the following (at least one must be upper division): 1 | 9 | |
| Media, Technology & Society | ||
| Media and Social Movements 2 | ||
| Disruptive Entrepreneurship in the Internet's New Economies 2 | ||
| Hacker Culture 2 | ||
| Visual Literacies & Design 2 | ||
| Future Histories of Technology | ||
| Comic Books: Culture and Industry | ||
| History of Computing and Information | ||
| Social Media Cultures | ||
| Sports-Media Complex | ||
| Designing Alternative Media Platforms 2 | ||
| Media, Food and Culture | ||
| Media and Popular Culture | ||
| Crime, Media and Contemporary Culture | ||
| Deconstructing Disney: Mediated American Mythology | ||
| Media Technology and Cultural Change | ||
| Mass Communication Criticism 2 | ||
| Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Popular Culture | ||
| TV and the Family in American Culture and Society | ||
| Media and Religion | ||
| Islam, Pop Culture and Media | ||
| Fan and Audience Studies | ||
| Transmedia Worldbuilding 2 | ||
| Media Law, Policy and Ethics | ||
| Undergraduate Independent Study | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Global Media Industries & Culture | ||
| Introduction to Global Media | ||
| Media and Social Movements 2 | ||
| Media, Culture and Globalization | ||
| Media Industries and Economics | ||
| Sports-Media Complex | ||
| Media, Food and Culture | ||
| Asian Media and Culture | ||
| Visual Culture and Human Rights | ||
| International Media and Global Crises | ||
| Media and Religion | ||
| Islam, Pop Culture and Media | ||
| Media Law, Policy and Ethics | ||
| Undergraduate Independent Study | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Advocacy, Entrepreneurship & Social Change | ||
| Critical Media Literacies 2 | ||
| Truth, Beauty, and Conspiracy | ||
| Media and Social Movements 2 | ||
| Disruptive Entrepreneurship in the Internet's New Economies 2 | ||
| Hacker Culture 2 | ||
| Documentary and Social Change 2 | ||
| Media Industries and Economics | ||
| Designing Alternative Media Platforms 2 | ||
| Media, Food and Culture | ||
| Media and Popular Culture | ||
| Media and the Public | ||
| Digital Media Production and Design 2 | ||
| Screenwriting 2 | ||
| Viral Video & Media 2 | ||
| Youth Media: Culture and Politics | ||
| Queer & Trans Identities in Popular Culture | ||
| Media Law, Policy and Ethics | ||
| Undergraduate Independent Study | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Self-Designed Concentration | ||
| Undergraduate Independent Study | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
| 1 | The concentrations represent the priorities and specialities of the MDST curriculum, but students work with faculty to develop their own concentrated emphasis from available electives (to help determine which courses may or may not need to be available). |
| 2 | Meets Practice Course Requirement. |
Secondary Area of Study
In addition to coursework required for the major, all students in MDST must complete a secondary area of study outside of MDST. This secondary area of study can be met by any of the following: a minor, a second major within CMCI, a double degree or any credit-based certificate program of at least 12 credit hours.
Sample Four-Year Plan of Study
This sample plan of study is one possible approach to completing degree requirements and that students should use their degree audit and work with their academic advisors to plan classes.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| CMCI 1040: Foundational Concepts and Creativity in Media, Communication, and Information (4) or CMCI Elective (3) | ||
| MDST 1001 | Foundations of Media Studies | 3 |
| Quantitative Thinking | 3 | |
| WRTG 1160 or other first year writing course | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| CMCI Elective (3) or CMCI 1040: Foundational Concepts and Creativity in Media, Communication, and Information (4) | 3 | |
| MDST 1002 | Introduction to Social Media | 3 |
| CMCI Core Computing | 3 | |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| MDST 2002 | Media and Communication History | 3 |
| CMCI Core (Natural World) | 3 | |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 7 | |
| Secondary Area | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Media Practice course | 3 | |
| CMCI Core (Natural World w/Lab) | 4 | |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 6 | |
| Secondary Area | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| MDST 3001 | Media Research | 3 |
| Media Practice course. Courses meeting this requirement include: MDST 1003, MDST 2010, MDST 2011, MDST 2012, MDST 2031, MDST 2032, MDST 3341, MDST 4003, MDST 4071, MDST 4220, MDST 4402, MDST 4311, ATLS 1300, ATLS 2000, ATLS 2100, ATLS 2200, ATLS 2300, CMDP 2500, CMDP 2860, CMDP 2870, CMDP 3510, CMDP 3600, CMDP 3610, CMDP 3620, CMDP 3700, CMDP 3720, CMDP 3810, CMDP 3820, CMDP 3830, CMDP 3840, CMDP 3860, CMDP 4610, CMDP 4620, CMDP 4640, CMDP 4900, INFO 1111, INFO 1121, INFO 4602, JRNL 2001, JRNL 3102, JRNL 3552, JRNL 3614 and JRNL 3644 | 3 | |
| CMCI core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 6 | |
| Secondary Area | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| MDST 3002 | Digital Culture and Politics | 3 |
| MDST Electives | 6 | |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 3 | |
| Secondary Area | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| MDST 4221 or MDST 4401 capstone course | 3 | |
| Area of Media Concentration | 3 | |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 3 | |
| Secondary Area | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| MDST 4931 | Internship | 3 |
| CMCI Core or elective (P/S; H & A; Hist V; Div & Global) | 9 | |
| Secondary Area | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 116 | |
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing the program, students will have:
- Awareness of communication and power within and across networks.
- An understanding of the historic and contemporary systems of inequity across social identities, nationalities, socioeconomic class and the role of media, communication and information in both creating and addressing them.
- Competence to conduct research using at least one method appropriate to media research.
- The ability to produce compelling and effective problem-solving in their given fields.