The Master of Arts in Media Studies is awarded for successful completion of 39 credits. The extensive curriculum and limited number of required courses offer you many ways to design your own path through the program and enable you to sample a wide variety
of subjects and approaches. Many students focus their studies in one or more subject areas, but you are not required to do so to earn the MA. The program is designed to be completed in two years
and must be completed within five years.
All students must take the core course Media Theory and select one media practices course and one research methods course. They must also take at least two additional production courses and a minimum of
four seminars. We offer a number of hybrid production/seminar courses that can count in either category. Electives can include selected courses offered by other graduate programs of The New School. Students in the MA program can also earn the graduate
certificate in Media Management throughout their course of study through consultation with an academic advisor.
Students can choose between the thesis and the non-thesis options to complete their degree.
Thesis Option
Writing or producing a thesis is an opportunity to crystallize, display, and extend ideas and skills that you have acquired in the program. The thesis project should be a synthesis of the knowledge you have acquired through the program. A thesis often
serves as a foundation for ongoing creative work or the basis for an article or articles to be submitted for publication. It can be used as evidence of serious scholarship and/or professional production skills in applying for PhD programs or professional
employment.
If you have an interest in pursuing a thesis, it is recommended that you attend an information session and complete your research methods course requirement in your first 18 credits of study. You may enroll in Thesis Proposal Lab (1 credit) only after
completing 18 credits. If you have questions about submitting a thesis proposal and/or registering for thesis courses, contact [email protected].
Non-Thesis Option
Students pursuing the non-thesis option complete a three-credit elective that is designated as their non-thesis culminating experience (capstone). As with all course selections, students should consult with their advisors to ensure that they are making
good progress toward their learning goals and degree completion.
STEM Eligibility
The MA in Media Studies is designated a STEM-eligible program under the CIP* code 09.0702 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia. All students in the program
must take six credits of Digital Technology coursework. These courses can be part of the existing seminar, production, and elective requirements.
This is a list of current courses we offer that count for the Digital Technology requirement; new courses can be added to it if they qualify.
| EligibleCourses |
|---|
| Seminar Courses |
| NMDS 5145 Theorizing Digital Media |
| NMDS 5302 Digital Dialogues |
| NMDS 5312 Software and Difference |
| NMDS 5573 Thinking Small: Compact Media |
| NMDS 5106 Mobile Media |
| NMDS 5246 Digital War |
| NMDS 5027 Interaction Design |
| NMDS 5316 Digital Feminisms |
| NMDS 5333 Technology and Power |
| NMDS 5302 Digital Dialogues |
| NMDS 5352 AI Deception and Manipulation |
| NMDS 5439 Carceral Media |
| NMDS 5446 Animating Resistance |
| NMDS 5555 Re/Lab: Re-emergent Media Research |
| NMDS 5569 Mashup Culture |
| NMDS 5282 Robots as Media |
| Production Courses |
| NMDS 5406 Media Practices: AI |
| NMDS 5426 Media Practices: Design Principles |
| NMDS 5427 Media Practices: User Experience Design and Prototyping |
| NMDS 5576 Media Practices: Audio |
| NMDS 5444 Media Practices: Programming |
| NMDS 5448 Developing a Digital Pilot |
| NMDS 5428 Media Practices: Digital Video Production |
| NMDS 5446 Animating Resistance: Experimental Animation |
| NMDS 5449 Radio and Podcasting from the Margins |
| NMDS 5450 Poetry Machines |
| NMDS 5523 Projects: Digital Video Editing |
| NMDS 5578 Projects: Sound Design |
| NMDS 5557 Projects: Motion Design |
| NMDS 5531 Projects: Digital Experience Design |
| NMDS 5556 Projects: Multisensorial Spaces |
| NMDS 5597 Immersive Narratives in VR/AR |
| NMDS 5432 Projects: Digital Film Production |
| NMDS 5577 Storytelling Across Media |
| NMDS 5540 Interactive Documentary |
| NMDS 5283 Co-lab: Robot Media Studio |
| NMDS 5517 Media Projects: Transforming Data |
| NMDS 5634 (Un)Coding Video |
| NMDS 5639 16mm Filmmaking: Experiments |
| NMDS 5555 Re/Lab: Re-emergent Media |
| NMDS 5447 Audio One: Location Sound Recording |
| NMDS 5581 Essential DSLR Techniques |
| NMDS 5582 Color Correction |
| NMDS 5585 Advanced DSLR Camera Techniques |
| NMDS 5598 Producing Podcasts |
Electives
You may take courses outside the School of Media Studies to fulfill your elective requirements with special permission. Please contact [email protected] for information on obtaining
approval to take elective courses at other colleges.
Graduate Minors
You can also use your elective courses to complete one of the university's graduate minors, which provide a structured, accessible way to complement your primary course of study with fresh ways of thinking. Your graduate
minor is officially recorded on your transcript.
Online Learning
Our online program of study allows you to complete some or all of the requirements for the MA in Media Studies from anywhere in the world. Online-only students are integrated into the Media Studies community through a Web version of our New Student Orientation
and online access to program advisors.
All the required courses for the MA—Media Theory, Media Design, and Research Methods—are offered online. Seminar courses in history, theory, criticism, and management are also offered online; these courses either are online only or mirror on-site courses.
Practice and project courses on the still and moving image, audio, multimedia, and Web-friendly video applications are offered online.
Online-only students can earn credit through internships and assistantships (maximum of 6 credits—3 in production and 3 in research).