Media Studies

The Department of Film and Media Studies major in Media Studies combines critical media analysis with creative practice using a mix of contemporary media forms (video, animation, digital imaging and graphics, web and interactive production). Students are encouraged to develop a creative voice that is socially aware and engaged and can find expression across a range of contemporary media technologies.  Leading scholars in history, aesthetics, media policy, critical theory and alternative and international practices provide students with a broad base in analytical thinking. Courses deal with subjects such as the history and aesthetics of film, video, television and new media; genre studies; the history, production and distribution of print and broadcast news; media representations of race, class and gender; and the intricate relationships among the mass media, popular culture and society. The department’s production courses encourage students to work creatively in a variety of existing and emerging media forms. Courses include narrative film production (including screenwriting and directing), documentary production, television production, journalism and emerging media (including web design, animation, physical computing and game programming). The department is distinguished by award-winning faculty who are active in their respective fields.

The major is composed of required and elective courses in media analysis and production for a total of 36 credits. The Department offers a General Media Studies Major or students may elect to major in an area of concentration. The concentrations are Media Analysis and Criticism, Documentary and Television Production, Journalism, and Emerging Media. Just as with the General Media Studies Major each concentration is 36 credits, however the curriculum has been tailored to help the student develop greater specialization in the area of concentration.

The media analysis concentration develops critical thinking in students and offers students an in-depth understanding of the field of media studies. It includes the study of Media Representations and Media Industries, Technologies and Politics.

The Documentary and Television Production concentration is intended to give students foundational knowledge in the theory and practice of linear non-fiction video and related digital media skills. Students in this concentration will also specialize in one of three advanced areas: Documentary Production, Experimental Media Production or Studio Television Production .

The journalism concentration offers a liberal arts approach to the study and production of multimedia news. Students will learn to gather information through observation, interviews, and research and to communicate it through clear and compelling writing enhanced by photography, video, audio, and interactive features. In addition to a toolkit for newsgathering and story production, students will learn how to be more critical news consumers and their own fact checkers through courses that offer a critical analysis of news and media.

The Emerging Media concentration gives students foundational knowledge in the theory and practice of digital media as a creative and investigative form of production. Students in this concentration may elect to specialize in various areas of production including Web Production, Interactive Media Production and 3D Imaging Production or may elect a broad curriculum of study from the Emerging Media courses. The curriculum interweaves technical instruction with aesthetic, communicative and cultural production and research to help a student establish a cohesive portfolio in new media.