Media Arts The Graduate Program in Media Arts
Combined Bachelor's and Master's Program
Gwendolyn P. Tandy Memorial Film Library
Graduate Assistantships
Prerequisites
Graduate Program
Courses of Instruction

Overview

Available on the Master of Arts degree. The program is administered by the Department of Radio-Television-Film.

The Graduate Program in Media Arts

The Graduate Program in Media Arts represents a progressive, integrated approach to the study of media as an art in an industry of communication. The graduate program seeks to develop literate scholar-professionals who are well-rounded consumers and practitioners of media. Specifically, the Media Arts masters program produces graduates who have: (1) advanced knowledge about the structure and practices of the media industries; (2) increased skills and sophistication about the production of content; and (3) the analytic ability to communicate how media represent and influence social, cultural, aesthetic, and historical contexts. The program benefits those who will start/continue their professional careers, those interested in expanding their knowledge base about the role, function, and responsibility of the media, and those who will seek to educate others as teachers and media scholars.

Combined Bachelor's and Master's Program

A combined Bachelors and Masters program in Media Arts is available allowing a student the opportunity to obtain both a Bachelors degree in Radio-Television-Film and a Master of Arts degree in only five years. Degree plans and suggested courses to take each year are available on request. Students may apply to the MEDA program at any time before the second semester of their junior year. Academic progress is evaluated after the first semester of their junior year. Students admitted to the Media Arts program will begin taking MEDA courses their senior year. At the end of their senior year, students will have completed the 124 hours for their undergraduate degree with up to 20 hours going toward their Master of Arts degree. They will complete the M.A. in their academic fifth year. Students must meet all other requirements for admission into the program.

Gwendolyn P. Tandy Memorial Film Library

A primary research resource is the Gwendolyn P. Tandy Memorial Film Library, housed in the Department of Radio-Television-Film. Rapidly becoming one of the outstanding collections of its kind in the nation, the library is comprised of over 10,000 films and television programs in all formats (video, DVD, laserdisc, 16 MM), representing virtually every major national cinema and narrative genre. Excellent facilities for close analysis of these texts, including an auditorium equipped with state-of-the-art video and film projection systems, are available for graduate student research. In addition, the library contains basic reference works in film and television history, theory and criticism and a collection of master scene scripts. The library also subscribes to over 100 academic and professional journals.

Graduate Assistantships

The Graduate Program in Media Arts has a number of graduate assistantships available. These awards, which provide remission for tuition or remission for tuition plus a stipend, are typically made for a full academic year.

Prerequisites

In addition to the minimum requirements for admission as established by the University, the Graduate Program in Media Arts requires completion of an undergraduate degree in Radio-Television-Film or a media-related program. The Department of Radio-TV-Film will consider applications from qualified students who have a Bachelor's degree in other areas and possess substantial professional experience in media as determined by the Media Arts graduate faculty. An applicant who does not meet the admission requirements will have to take up to 24 semester hours of undergraduate courses in the Department of Radio-TV-Film that will not count toward the graduate degree. The number of hours and specific courses needed to make up deficiencies will be determined by the MEDA graduate faculty. All applicants must present a writing sample, portfolio, or example of creative work, satisfactory GRE scores, three letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to their potential for success in graduate work, and a statement of purpose outlining why they want to pursue graduate work in Media Arts.

Graduate Program

The Master of Arts degree requires 40 hours, including MEDA 60143 and 60513, 18 additional hours of Media Arts courses (6 hours each in the emphasis areas of "industry", "production", and "analysis"), 6 hours of approved graduate courses from other academic units of the University, 6 hours of thesis/project, and 4 one-hour graduate seminars. Students must complete a thesis paper or a production project as approved by a three-member graduate faculty committee. A student electing the thesis option must successfully complete a paper that demonstrates advanced research skills. The student must also satisfactorily pass an oral defense of the thesis. The project will be a creative capstone experience, such as the production of a feature-length screenplay, a documentary, or other project that requires extensive preparation and execution.

Courses of Instruction

Core

MEDA 60143 Theory and Practice of Media Literacy. Historical and theoretical development of "media literacy" as a practice of educating the public about the process, techniques, and impact of various media. Focuses on the knowledge base needed to continuously interact with media through understanding of how media work, how they produce meaning, and how they construct reality.

MEDA 60513 Research Methods in Media Arts and Communication. Seminar designed to introduce the various methods of media research. Focus on quantitative and qualitative approaches, including surveys, experiments, naturalistic inquiry, critical/cultural, historical and legal research.

Industry

MEDA 50113 Producing for Film and Video. Seminar assesses the role of the producer in the film and video industry. All phases of production will be examined, including budgeting, financing, rights acquisition, and managing the production.

MEDA 60443 Globalization of the Media Industries. Examines the increasingly international nature of the media industries. Investigates how films, television programs, music, and interactive media are distributed and marketed globally. Examines the perception that "globalization" equals "Americanization."

MEDA 60523 Advanced Media Management. Seminar provides in-depth analysis of four important aspects of media management theory and practice: (1) operations management, (2) decision-making processes, (3) objective evaluation techniques, and (4) communication, language, and persuasive speech.

MEDA 60903 Advanced Topics: Media Industries Studies. Seminar offering the opportunity to study various media industries in depth.

Production

MEDA 50223 Advanced Videography and Cinematography. This course examines the theory and practice of Cinematography and Videography. Students will explore advanced methods in image control, and have the opportunity to improve their skills in this hands-on class.

MEDA 50333 Advanced Techniques in Post-Production. Examines both hardware and software considerations in the post-production environment, including emerging technologies in the production industry. Includes advanced non-linear editing, and working with the department's Avid system (which includes Adobe After Effects).

MEDA 50553 The Full-Length Screenplay. Opportunity to develop, write, and revise a full-length original script. Includes theoretical models of scriptwriting, development of rough scenarios, beat outlines, first drafts, and revisions.

MEDA 50613 Directing. This course explores video and film directing on an advanced level. Combines the examination of techniques used by feature film directors. All phases of the directing process are examined from selecting a script, rehearsal, principal photography, and post-production.

Analysis

MEDA 60433 Technology and Culture. Seminar analyzes the ways media technologies have affected and represented their socio-cultural contexts. Course emphasizes the relationship between technological development and ideology.

MEDA 60503 Script Analysis. Incorporates theory and criticism to enable students to dissect and critique scripts written for the visual media. Students will develop the ability to analyze the basic structure of screenplay plots and their relation to character, thought, language, sound and spectacle.

MEDA 60803 Media Industries and the Production of Culture. Explores the function of media institutions in the generation and circulation of meanings in society. Course addresses general theoretical issues relating to the production of culture, professional ideologies and work practices within media industries, and interaction of media institutions with the socio-political environment. Includes case studies of various media.

MEDA 60913 Advanced Topics: Media and Culture. Seminar offering the opportunity for in-depth study of various significant aspects of the relationship between media and culture.

MEDA 60923 Advanced Topics in Production. Seminars offering the opportunity to study various significant production topics in depth.

MEDA 70001 Graduate Seminar. Seminars that analyze and discuss significant issues and developments in media and communication. Allows both faculty and students to present work, attend guest presentations, collaborate, and prepare thesis project.

MEDA 70980 Thesis. Thesis.

MEDA 70990 Thesis. Thesis.