Curriculum
Required Coursework
Statistics Prerequisite - Social Sciences Track Only
Completion of a statistics course (typically Stats 160) is required for admission into the Media Studies coterm program. The department may occasionally admit a coterm student who has not yet completed this requirement. Such students should plan to take statistics during their first quarter in the program, as this constitutes an important foundation for much of the Master's coursework. Whether taken before or after admission in the coterm program, units from the statistics course cannot be counted toward the 45 units in Communication and related areas required for the MA in Media Studies. Students may enroll for the statistics course for either a letter grade or credit.
Program Requirements
Journalism track students may begin the program only in Spring Quarter of their senior year during which time one elective course is taken towards their master's program and any remaining requirements for the undergraduate degree are completed. In the following academic year, journalism track students follow the same curriculum as students in the Graduate Program in Journalism, less one elective course. Social Science track students need to satisfy the following four basic requirements:
1. Required Units and GPA: students must complete a minimum of 45 units in Communication and related areas, including items 2 and 3 below. Courses, except for COMM 290, Media Studies M.A. Project, must be taken for a letter grade if offered. Courses in related areas outside the department must be approved by the student's advisor. A minimum of 36 units must be in the Communication department. No more than two courses (not including the statistics prerequesite) may be below the 200 level. To remain in good academic standing, students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. Graduation requires a GPA of 3.0 or better.
2. Core Requirements: students must complete COMM 206, 208, and a statistics course. Typically, the statistics requirement is met with STATS 160. Other courses occasionally are approved as a substitute before the student is admitted to the program. The statistics course does not count toward the 45 units.
3. Six Media Studies Courses: students must complete a minimum of six additional Communication courses from the following list concerned with the study of media. Not all the listed courses are offered every year and the list may be updated from one year to the next. In addition to the core requirements and a minimum of six courses listed below, students may choose additional courses from the list and any related course approved by the student's advisor.
211. Media Technologies, People, and Society
216. Journalism Law
217. Digital Journalism
220. Digital Media in Society
225. Perspectives on American Journalism
226. Advanced Topics in Human Virtual Representation
231. Media Ethics and Responsibility
236. Democracy and the Communication of Consent
238. Democratic Theory
240. New Media Entrepreneurship
260. The Press and the Political Process
262. Analysis of Presidential Campaigns
266. Virtual People
268. Experimental Research in Advanced User Interfaces
269. Computers and Interfaces: Psychology and Design
270. Communication and Children
272. Psychological Processing of Media
277. Specialized Writing and Reporting
314. Doctoral Research Methods IIB*
318. Doctoral Research Methods II*
* These courses are designed for Ph.D. students. Master's students require consent of faculty.
4. The Media Studies M.A. Project: students following the Social Sciences track enroll in COMM 290 to complete a project over two consecutive quarters that must be pre-approved and supervised by the advisor. The completed MA project must be submitted to the advisor no later than the last day of classes of the second consecutive quarter.
The Media Studies Project is an original project guided by the student’s advisor. For example, it can be a thorough literature review, a write-up of an empirical or qualitative study, or a description of a novel methodology developed by the student. Most importantly, the advisor must pre-approve the content and format of the thesis. The student must work on the project with the advisor for a minimum of two quarters. The length of the thesis will vary according to project type. For example, exhaustive literature searches are often longer in terms of page length than write-ups of experiments. However, the amount of time and effort the student contributes to both types of projects are roughly equivalent. In sum, there is no length requirement, but typically theses are at least thirty pages and rarely more than 100 pages.
Additional courses are chosen in consultation with an academic advisor. A course in statistical methods is recommended.
Approved Coterminal Courses From Affiliated Departments
Eligible as Elective Credit only - advisor approval required
African Studies
AFRICAST 148/248: Media, Art and Social Changes in Africa
Computer Science
CS 105: Introduction to Program
CS 106A: Programming Methodology
CS 147: Introduction to HCI
CS 247A: Interaction Design Studio
CS 201/STS 215: Computers Ethics & Social Responsibility
CS 377: Topics in Human Computer Interaction
Science, Technology, and Society
STS 201: Science, Technology & Contemporary Society
Political Science
PolSci 123: Politics and Public Policy
PolSci 126: Issues of Representation in American Politics
Psychology
Psych 75: Cultural Psychology
Psych 167: Seminar on Aggression
Psych 245: Social Psychological Perspectives on Stereotyping and Prejudice
Public Policy
PubPol 104: Economic Policy Analysis
PubPol 194: Technology Policy