The mission of the Media Studies Program is to enable students to become astute scholars, producers, and consumers of visual media. From film to TV to digital and social media, our worlds are saturated with and mediated by visual communications. Media Studies courses equip students with: 1) critical tools for critiquing visual media, 2) creative capabilities for producing digital art, and 3) practical communication skills for participating in globalized media networks.
Interdisciplinary by design, the Media Studies Program is supported by faculty from three divisions, Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Media courses stress several key components of a liberal arts education, with strong emphases on critical thinking, effective and engaging writing, informed research and analysis across disciplines, and an appreciation of diverse ideas and interpretive methodologies. Moreover, they provide students an expansive understanding of the human experience by encouraging cross-cultural explorations of media aesthetics and institutions.