The Digital Communication and Media Arts program will teach students how digital technology has affected communication and artistic practices, and how to effect change in communication and artistic practices through the integration of digital technology. The learning goals for the MA in Digital Communication and Media Arts are grounded in both practice and theory. By taking advantage of the wealth of courses that focus on digital communication and digital technology in the College of Communication and the College of Computing and Digital Media, the degree program provides students an opportunity to experience and apply digital technology in multiple professions.
The Master of Arts in Digital Communication and Media Arts integrates multiple topics all centered on the way contemporary technology is changing communication practices, for a truly interdisciplinary degree program. This is a practical degree, in that it teaches students skills utilizing technology, while giving them the critical tools to become better communicators in a digital environment.
Students choose between two tracks: The Digital Communication track is offered through the College of Communication, while the Media Arts track is offered through the College of Computing and Digital Media.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Competency Course | 0-8 |
| Degree Requirements | 52 |
| Total hours required | 52-60 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Explain how digital technology has affected communication practices across a range of subjects and disciplines.
- Articulate relationships between multiple fields of technological practice.
- Demonstrate key competencies in video production, audio production, graphic design, and other technologies within digital media arts.
- Identify the underlying ethical issues that the advent of digital technology has brought to contemporary society.
Degree Requirements
Course Requirements
Specific course requirements are determined by the concentration chosen. Please see each concentration page for detailed information.
Degree Requirements
Students in this degree program must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 52 graduate credit hours in addition to any required competency courses of the designated degree program.
- Complete all graduate courses and requirements listed in the designated degree program.
- Earn a grade of C- or better in all courses of the designated degree program.
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher.
Optional Latino Media & Communication Concentration
The graduate concentration in Latino Media & Communication is comprised of at least three graduate courses drawn from the areas of advertising, journalism, media and cinema studies, multicultural communication, organizational communication and public relations. Graduate students in any of the College of Communication Master of Arts programs can elect to complete the Latino Media & Communication concentration. Students may need to use outside electives to complete this concentration.
Students who complete the concentration will:
- Develop an understanding of the heterogeneous and rapidly changing Latino communities locally, nationally and globally
- Ground their knowledge of intercultural studies within a more extensive and concrete knowledge of a particular (even though diverse), rapidly growing, and increasingly important population within the U.S.
- Increase their cross-cultural competence (understanding and ability to dialogue across difference, develop cultural sensitivity and awareness) with Latino communities
- Enhance their capacity to communicate with and learn from Latino populations in the workplace, in community situations and other sites of engagement
- Recognize the impact of the movement of Latinos across the globe and develop the skills to critically consume and produce media, public relations and advertisement representations that communicate to and about Latino communities
- Develop field-specific knowledge of Latino media and communication along with an understanding of how Latino studies shapes other fields of communication
Courses
Students are required to take three courses (12 credits) from the following list:
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION 1 | ||
| MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN JOURNALISM 1 | ||
| TOPICS IN CINEMA STUDIES 1 | ||
| LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA/MEDIA | ||
| CONSUMER INSIGHTS | ||
| ENGAGING LATINX COMMUNITIES | ||
| CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING 1 | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS & ADVERTISING 1 | ||
| INTERNSHIP 1 | ||
| STUDY ABROAD 1 |
- 1
Topic must be related to Latino Media and Communication.