Media Arts, BA

Program Description

The program in Media Arts focuses on allowing students to cultivate the creative and critical skills necessary to actively engage in the media industry in a variety of capacities. Media Arts majors select an emphasis in either Media Production or Media Studies to fulfill their coursework.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

  • Understand and apply production skills in the creation of audiovisual media
  • Understand and apply critical theories and research methods related to media studies through effective written communication
  • Demonstrate a general understanding of the media industry and paths to transition from academic coursework to industry positions or advanced degrees
  • Create advanced projects that demonstrate effective communication strategies in media production OR media studies

General Requirements

Requirements Credit Hours
Core Curriculum Program 42
First-Year Seminars (when applicable)1 0-2
Media Arts Major Requirements 39-45
Electives 33-27
Foreign Language Requirements 6
Total Credit Hours 120-122
1

First-Year Seminars or Electives

Full-time, first time in college students are required to take the first-year seminars.

Program Requirements

Full-time, First-year Students
UNIV 1101University Seminar I1
UNIV 1102University Seminar II1
Core Curriculum Program
University Core Curriculum42
Media Arts Core Courses
MEDA 1307Media and Society3
MEDA 1380Introduction to Media Production3
MEDA 2366Media Forms3
MEDA 2367Media Industries3
Emphasis
Select one of the following Emphasis:27-33
Electives
Select 27-33 hours of university electives.27-33
Foreign Language Requirements
See the College of Liberal Arts for the college language requirement.6
Total Hours122

Media Studies Emphasis

Media Studies Requirements
MEDA 3380New Media and Communication3
MEDA 4381Senior Seminar in Media Studies3
Select one of the following:3
Media Writing
Media Performance
Screenplay Writing
Select one of the following:3
Television Criticism
Film Criticism
Media Studies Electives
Select five of the following courses not already taken to fulfill other requirements:15
Editing
Media Writing
News Reporting
Media Performance
Television Criticism
Film Criticism
Documentary Studies
Media Theory and Research
Intermediate Production: Documentary
Intermediate Production: Narrative
Cross-Platform Editing & Layout
Photojournalism
Screen Comedy
Screenplay Writing
Media Promotion and Paratexts
Advertising Criticism
First Amendment and Ethical Issues in the Media
Global Media and International Communication
Topics in Media Arts
Directed Individual Study
Media Arts Internship
Total Hours27

Media Production Emphasis

Media Production Requirements
MEDA 1315Editing3
MEDA 2303Cinematography3
MEDA 3360Screenplay Writing3
Select one of the following:3
Intermediate Production: Documentary
Intermediate Production: Narrative
Intermediate Postproduction
Capstone
Select one of the following:3
Advanced Production: Documentary
Advanced Production: Narrative
Advanced Postproduction
Media Production Electives
Select four of the following courses not already taken to fulfill other requirements: 112
Media Writing
News Reporting
Media Performance
Television Criticism
Film Criticism
Documentary Studies
Intermediate Production: Documentary
Multimedia Journalism
Intermediate Production: Narrative
Intermediate Postproduction
Cross-Platform Editing & Layout
Photojournalism
Screen Comedy
Screenplay Writing
New Media and Communication
Media Promotion and Paratexts
Commercial Production
Advanced Production: Documentary
Advanced Production: Narrative
Advanced Postproduction
First Amendment and Ethical Issues in the Media
Global Media and International Communication
News Publication
Topics in Media Arts
Directed Individual Study
Media Arts Internship
Total Hours27
1

With the exception of MEDA 4310 Advanced Production: Documentary (3 sch), MEDA 4312 Advanced Production: Narrative (3 sch) and MEDA 3360 Screenplay Writing (3 sch) – which may each be repeated once for credit.

Course Sequencing

Media Studies

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
FallHours
UNIV 1101 University Seminar I 1
COMM 1311 Foundation of Communication 3
MEDA 1305 Film and Culture 3
MEDA 1380 Introduction to Media Production 3
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
 Hours16
Spring
UNIV 1102 University Seminar II 1
ENGL 1301 Writing and Rhetoric I 3
MEDA 1307 Media and Society 3
MATH 1332
Contemporary Mathematics
or Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
3
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
 Hours16
Second Year
Fall
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 2366 Media Forms 3
Foreign Language Requirements 3
 Hours15
Spring
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 2367 Media Industries 3
Foreign Language Requirements 3
 Hours15
Third Year
Fall
MEDA 3310 Media Theory and Research 3
MEDA 3301 Television Criticism 3
MEDA 4305 Media Promotion and Paratexts 3
Upper Division Electives 3
MEDA 3303 Documentary Studies 3
 Hours15
Spring
MEDA 3380 New Media and Communication 3
MEDA 3360 Screenplay Writing 3
MEDA 4342 Global Media and International Communication 3
Upper Division Electives 3
MEDA 3302 Film Criticism 3
 Hours15
Fourth Year
Fall
MEDA 3351 Screen Comedy 3
MEDA 4341 First Amendment and Ethical Issues in the Media 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
MEDA 3351 Screen Comedy 3
 Hours15
Spring
MEDA 4381 Senior Seminar in Media Studies 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Elective of choice 3
 Hours15
 Total Hours122

Media Production

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
FallHours
UNIV 1101 University Seminar I 1
COMM 1311 Foundation of Communication 3
MEDA 1305 Film and Culture 3
MEDA 1380 Introduction to Media Production 3
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
 Hours16
Spring
UNIV 1102 University Seminar II 1
ENGL 1301 Writing and Rhetoric I 3
MEDA 1307 Media and Society 3
MEDA 1315 Editing 3
MATH 1332
Contemporary Mathematics
or Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking
3
University Core Curriculum 3
 Hours16
Second Year
Fall
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 2303 Cinematography 3
MEDA 2366 Media Forms 3
Foreign Language Requirements 3
 Hours15
Spring
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 2367 Media Industries 3
MEDA 2350 Media Performance 3
Foreign Language Requirements 3
 Hours15
Third Year
Fall
University Core Curriculum 3
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 3313 Intermediate Production: Documentary 3
MEDA 3317 Intermediate Postproduction 3
MEDA 3351 Screen Comedy 3
MEDA 3301 Television Criticism 3
 Hours18
Spring
University Core Curriculum 3
MEDA 3316 Intermediate Production: Narrative 3
MEDA 3360 Screenplay Writing 3
MEDA 4317 Advanced Postproduction 3
Upper Division Electives 3
 Hours15
Fourth Year
Fall
MEDA 4310 Advanced Production: Documentary 3
MEDA 3303 Documentary Studies 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
 Hours15
Spring
MEDA 4312 Advanced Production: Narrative 3
MEDA 3340 Photojournalism 3
Upper Division Electives 3
Upper Division Electives 3
 Hours12
 Total Hours122

Courses

MEDA 1305  Film and Culture  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Introduction to film aesthetics, history, and criticism for non-communication majors. Establishes a vocabulary for examining films and their roles in American culture.

MEDA 1307  Media and Society  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

History and development of mass media in the United States as well as the organizational, institutional, and cultural dynamics of today's major commercial media. Included are substantial components on print media, radio, television, cinema, and computer Internet communication systems. Course themes include media production and consumption, globalization, cultural imperialism, race, class, gender in media and popular culture.

TCCNS: COMM 1307  
MEDA 1315  Editing  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Intensive instruction in postproduction software, postproduction workflows, and editing techniques for moving images.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 1380  Introduction to Media Production  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Overview of tools and skills necessary to produce digital media content such as editing, cinematography, sound recording, producing and directing for film, television and new media.

MEDA 2303  Cinematography  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course will examine the roles and responsibilities of the director of photography for film and visual media. Students will learn creative brainstorming and cinematic techniques for visual storytelling, including the basic principles of lighting for studio and natural environments.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 2311  Media Writing  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of writing for the mass media.  It includes instruction in professional methods and techniques for gathering, processing and delivering content.

TCCNS: COMM 2311  
MEDA 2315  News Reporting  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course focuses on advanced news-gathering and writing skills. It concentrates on the three-part process of producing news and features, which include discovering the news, reporting the news and writing news in different formats. This course will incorporate all forms of news writing, including: press release, print news, web news and TV and radio broadcast news.

Prerequisite: MEDA 2311.

MEDA 2350  Media Performance  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course is designed to teach students articulation, pronunciation, effective writing and on-air performance techniques for all kinds of media environments with videotaped and audio taped presentations.

MEDA 2366  Media Forms  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examination of the formal elements of media texts, including cinematography/videography, sound, and editing, across a variety of media platforms and styles.  Includes instruction in writing formal analysis.

TCCNS: COMM 2366  
MEDA 2367  Media Industries  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examination of the media industries, including how they have evolved and now operate, as well as broader theoretical and practical implications of changing media organizations and practices. Includes instruction in researching contemporary and historical modes of media production, distribution, and exhibition.

MEDA 3301  Television Criticism  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Exploration of how TV communicates through the study of programming content, production practices, and audiences. Includes a laboratory for screening assigned programs.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 3302  Film Criticism  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Exploration of the critical approaches to the study of film from a variety of historical and theoretical perspectives, with an emphasis on narrative film and some consideration of experimental cinema.  Includes a laboratory for screening assigned films.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 3303  Documentary Studies  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Historical and critical study of the non-fictional film with attention to changing technologies, to varying uses and styles of documentary, and to contemporary critical and theoretical issues.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 3310  Media Theory and Research  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course is intended to immerse students in the leading theoretical and methodological approaches employed within the field of media studies to gain understating of media texts, popular culture, and audiences. Readings and case studies will offer students insight into the way these media research theories and methods are being used in the field, including their limitations and strengths. A series of assignments will allow students to propose, design, and conduct research projects and analyze data in ways that engage with a variety of theories.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 3313  Intermediate Production: Documentary  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Principles and techniques of media production with a focus on non-fiction filmmaking.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 3314  Multimedia Journalism  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course is designed to strengthen students’ digital journalism skills, including field-based news gathering and reporting, on-air performance, interviewing techniques, live reporting, and podcasting. The course will prepare students for modern-based multimedia journalism outside of the studio.

MEDA 3316  Intermediate Production: Narrative  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Principles and techniques of media production with a focus on fictional narrative filmmaking.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 3317  Intermediate Postproduction  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Intensive instruction in advanced postproduction software, postproduction workflows and editing techniques for moving images.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1315.

MEDA 3318  Cross-Platform Editing & Layout  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course will teach the principles of copy editing, with an emphasis on accuracy and fairness, as well as the principles of layout and design for print and web publications.

Prerequisite: MEDA 2311.

MEDA 3340  Photojournalism  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course will instruct on photojournalism skills and methods for use in visual communication. It will examine ethical and legal limitations to photography and in editing. Student work in this class will be eligible for possible publication in the student newspaper or its accompanying website.

MEDA 3351  Screen Comedy  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examination of the varieties of screen comedy, from silent comedy to contemporary forms, with some attention to the history and theory of comic performance.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 3360  Screenplay Writing  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Writing and analysis of the screenplay for narrative fictional films. Writing projects include problem-solving exercises and work on an original screenplay. Course can be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 3361  Sports Writing  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course will teach the elements of sports writing and reporting to include interviewing and writing to cover different aspects of sports coverage. This course will address content for print, Internet, radio and television. Campus-related sports assignments will be eligible for publication in the student newspaper and its accompanying website.

MEDA 3380  New Media and Communication  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examines how new media technologies impact society and change communication practices. Particular emphasis placed on different modes of cultural expression and social interaction made possible through digital media and the Internet.

MEDA 4305  Media Promotion and Paratexts  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examination of how paratexts promote and support media texts such as movies and television programs, including advertising, generating revenue, and expanding the textual universe of those media. Students will learn and analyze how paratexts function from industry, storyteller, and fan perspectives, as well as learn and utilize basic design techniques to create their own paratexts such as movie posters and sequential art.

MEDA 4308  Commercial Production  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Advanced techniques in the creation of client based commercial media content with a focus on conceptualization, production, and delivery of a commercial, PSA, or corporate video project.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1380.

MEDA 4310  Advanced Production: Documentary  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Advanced techniques in the creation of documentary media content with a focus on conceptualization, production, and distribution of a short documentary film. Course can be repeated once for credit. This course serves as a capstone for the Media Production Track.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1315, 2303, 3313 and 3360.

MEDA 4312  Advanced Production: Narrative  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Advanced techniques in the creation of narrative media content with a focus on scripting, production, and distribution of a short narrative film. Course can be repeated once for credit. This course serves as a capstone for the Media Production Track. 

Prerequisite: MEDA 1315, 2303, 3316 and 3360.

MEDA 4317  Advanced Postproduction  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Conceptualization and execution of digital media projects using visual effects, motion graphics and composition through the creation of video, animation, special effects and more using Adobe's After Effects postproduction software. 

Prerequisite: MEDA 3317.

MEDA 4340  Advertising Criticism  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

The examination of advertising history through critical and cultural approaches.

MEDA 4341  First Amendment and Ethical Issues in the Media  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Study of legal and ethical issues in mediated communication, including the First Amendment and free speech, control, and regulation of broadcasting, obscenity in the media.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 4342  Global Media and International Communication  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Examines global media in the context of international communication, diversity of media and cultural production, styles of media practices abroad, including differences between U.S. news values and ethical and moral dimensions across differing societies of the world.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 4343  News Publication  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

This course will be a hands-on newsroom experience with the student newspaper the Island Waves  and its accompanying website. Individual assignments will be assigned by editors of the student media. Assignments may include writing, advertising, photography, cartooning and video production and editing. Students are required to work on the staff of the official college publication during prescribed hours under faculty supervision.

Prerequisite: MEDA 2311.

MEDA 4370  Advanced New Media Project  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

As the capstone course for the New Media Arts Certificate, this course guides students through the planning, development, and execution of new media-based project.

Prerequisite: ARTS 2356, MEDA 2313 and 1315.

MEDA 4381  Senior Seminar in Media Studies  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

The capstone course for seniors in the Media Studies offers opportunities to synthesize information learned in other Media Studies courses through in-depth study of a particular topic. Students will demonstrate their abilities to think and write critically, and to conduct independent research or produce media projects at an advanced level. Topics vary by instructor.

Prerequisite: MEDA 1307.

MEDA 4390  Topics in Media Arts  
3 Semester Credit Hours (3 Lecture Hours)  

Study of specialized topics and themes in media arts. May be repeated when topics vary.

MEDA 4396  Directed Individual Study  
1-3 Semester Credit Hours  

See College description. By application. Only 3 semester hours of Directed Individual Study credit may be counted toward the major.

MEDA 4399  Media Arts Internship  
3 Semester Credit Hours  

Practical experience in the field through placement in a media internship position. Students interested in applying for the internship course must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0; have at least junior standing at the university; be a media arts (media studies or media production emphasis) major or digital journalism minor; have completed at least 12 hours of coursework in the major or minor at TAMU-CC. Preferred applicants will have a minimum media arts or digital journalism GPA of 3.25. Course may be taken three times for credit; however only 3 semester hours of internship credit may be counted toward the major. A second internship may apply to the digital journalism minor; a third internship may be used as a free elective. Authorization to repeat the internship course is contingent on the students' successful completion of the previous internship experience.This course is graded Credit/No Credit.