B.S. in Emerging Media

Devan Rosen, Assistant Professor and Program Director

The emerging media degree, a partnership of the Department of Media Arts, Sciences, and Studies in the Roy H. Park School of Communications and the Department of Computer Science in the School of Humanities and Sciences, combines coursework in new media platforms and computer programming to provide students with a unique skill set in emerging media technologies: identifying market opportunities, designing concepts, employing storytelling structures, programming and using software tools, developing sound economic models, and promoting the kinds of organizational and consumer change that make new media products successful. The mission of this program is to produce graduates who will be leaders within the evolving discipline of emerging media whether as designers and creators of media and technology or as entrepreneurs creating media products. Because new media are inherently multidisciplinary, integrating artistic creativity with computational expertise, this program takes an integrative approach to the education of our graduates — while still maintaining a strong disciplinary focus.

Students entering through the Department of Computer Science take the media computation concentration, emphasizing computer systems design and programming. Students entering through the Department of Media Arts, Sciences, and Studies take either the media design and production concentration or the media entrepreneurship concentration, emphasizing the creative design and promotion of new genres and platforms for emerging media. All students share a substantive common core, then branch out into the concentrations to develop their specialties, and finally come back together in two upper-level project courses where they will work as teams to design, develop, and pitch a new media product, such as an “app” for an iPhone, a new form of gaming or entertainment genre, or an innovative educational simulation.

Requirements for Major in Emerging Media - B.S.

Students in the School of Humanities and Sciences enroll in the media computation concentration; students in the Roy H. Park School of Communications enroll in either the media design and production concentration or the media entrepreneurship concentration.

Core requirements

Media computation concentration

Select one of the following level-2 electives:

Select three of the following level-3 or level-4 courses:

Media design and production concentration

Select 8-10 credits from the following (at least one course must be at level 3 or above)

Media entrepreneurship concentration

Other requirements

Media computation concentration

• Students are required to complete general education requirements as detailed by the School of Humanities and Sciences

Media production and design concentration and media entrepreneurship concentration

• Students are required to complete a minor outside the Park School (in consultation with their adviser) that complements heir course of study.
• Students are required to fulfill current TV-R department general education requirements.
• Students are required to complete 60 credit hours of coursework outside the Park School.
• Students are encouraged to spend a semester off campus (e.g., study abroad or the IC Los Angeles Program).

All majors are required to complete 60 credits of liberal arts in order to complete the requirement of a B.S. degree.

All majors are required to maintain an overall 2.50 GPA to remain in the emerging media degree program. Students are required to earn a C- or better in all required courses in the emerging media curriculum in order for the course to be applied to the degree (not including general education or outside minor courses).