Major in Media Studies. Television, cinema, newspapers and the Internet all profoundly influence our lives. CUA's Department of Media Studies provides students with tools to analyze critically the forms and contents of mass media. An interdisciplinary field, media studies at Catholic is rooted in traditions of rhetorical and historical criticism across the humanities. Core program courses promote understanding of film, television and related media in their varied aesthetic, social, historical and cultural contexts. After completing the core, majors anchor their elective courses with either a critical studies course (344: Critical Approaches to Media) or a production course (402: Media Composition). Students may take both. Majors in the program also have opportunities to gain professional experience through internships while earning credit. With a liberal arts commitment, media studies emphasizes writing and critical thinking skills. By requiring rigorous study in the humanities while providing access to state-of-the-art digital production equipment, Media Studies engages students as both critics and creators--learning how to read cultural texts critically, and gaining firsthand knowledge of how such texts are produced. CUA students develop a relationship to mass media that is both critically aware and socially responsible, one that prepares them for a wide variety of careers in fields as diverse as film and video, broadcasting, journalism, public relations, advertising, law, or teaching and scholarship in the humanities. Majors take MDIA 201, 202, 303, 304, 401 and 499; and seven additional courses in critical studies and/or production. See the adviser for specific information. To be accepted as a major, a student must complete both MDIA 201 and 202 with a a minimum C+ (2.3) average in those two courses.  Students may take up to two to elective courses in other departments (e.g., ART329, Intro to Digital Photography)for credit in the major.

Minor in Media Studies.  The minor in media studies consists of MDIA201 (Introduction to Media Studies), MDIA202 (Media and History) plus four more MDIA courses.  HSCT101 and 102 may substitute for MDIA201 and 202.  Cognate crosslisted courses count towards the minor (e.g. ENG430 for MDIA303, ENG 524 for MDIA524), but interdisciplinary courses available as major electives (such as PHIL331) may not be credited towards the minor.

Minor in Rhetoric and Writing: This interdisciplinary minor is supervised by the Department of Media Studies.  Requirements are: MDIA 303/ENG 430; two advanced writing courses chosen from ENG 301 or 302 (but not both), ENG 326, 327, MDIA 330; three additional courses chosen from PHIL 301, 313, 315; ENG 324, 520, 635, 636; MDIA 333, 335, 336, 394, 401, 519, 524, 530. Other courses may be accepted with permission of the adviser, Dr. Stephen McKenna.