Programs by Campus

Bloomington

Media Arts and Sciences

Media School
College of Arts and Sciences

School E-mail: mschgrad@indiana.edu

School URL: http://mediaschool.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Faculty
Courses

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts (M.A. in Media Arts & Sciences), Master of Science (M.S. in Media), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences), Joint Master of Arts or Master of Science and Doctor of Jurisprudence (jointly with the Maurer School of Law).

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Master of Arts Degree

The M.A. in Media Arts & Sciences is designed to train students for academic careers in media, communications, film studies and related fields. Graduates will be prepared to enter a Ph.D. program, teach at small colleges, or accept analytical and research positions in media and creative industries.

Admission Requirements

  1. Four year Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent
  2. Statement of purpose;
  3. Three letters of recommendation;
  4. An academic writing sample; and
  5. Internet-based TOEFL score greater that 100 for international students.
  6. A curriculum vita
  7. At least a B (3.0) GPA average in the major over the last two years of an undergraduate program, or professional equivalency.

Applications from students who have not majored in communication at the bachelor’s level are welcomed. If admitted, these students may be required to take supplementary courses.

Grades

B (3.0) average or above. Any semester’s work averaging less than B will result in the student’s being placed on academic probation. The school evaluates each student’s progress toward the degree every year.

Advisory Committee

By April 15th of their first year, each student will select an Advisor and nominate a three-member Advisory Committee. At least two members of the Advisory Committee must be from the Media School. Students who fail to select an Advisory Committee or construct a Program of Study before the start of Fall semester in the second year of their studies will be considered out of good academic standing.

Degree Requirements

  1. M503 Media Theories with a grade of B (3.0) or above;
  2. Thesis (up to cr. 6 of M699 taken after an approved thesis proposal) including an oral defense administered by the student’s Advisory Committee OR comprehensive examination (written and oral, administered by the student’s Advisory Committee) ;
  3. Program of Study listing all courses toward the degree, approved by the student’s Advisory Committee;
  4. No more than 3 credits of independent study (J804).
  5. A total of 30 credit hours, with at least 21 credit hours must be taken within the Media School. 
Master of Science Degree

The M.S. in Media is designed to prepare students for professional careers in media design, production, and management.

Admission Requirements

  1. Four year Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent.
  2. At least a B(3.0) average in the major over the last two years of an undergraduate program, or professional equivalency;
  3. Statement of purpose;
  4. Three letters of recommendation;
  5. An academic writing sample or creative portfolio; and
  6. Internet based TOEFL score greater than 100 for international students.

Applications from students who have not majored in communication at the bachelor’s level are welcomed. If admitted, these students may be required to take supplementary courses.

Grades

B (3.0) average or above. Any semester’s work averaging less than B will result in the student’s being placed on academic probation. The school evaluates each student’s progress toward the degree every year.

Advisory Committee

By April 15th of their first year, each student will select a three-member Advisory Committee. At least two members of the Advisory Committee must be from the Media School. Students who fail to select an Advisory Committee or construct a Program of Study by the end of the second semester in the program will be considered as making inadequate progress toward the degree.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours, including

  1. Core course(s) corresponding to a chosen concentration area, with a grade of B (3.0) or above:
    • Documentary/Nonfiction Production: T583 Introduction to Documentary Practice, T584 Documentary Filmmaking, T522 Managing the Creative Process, T532 Media Law OR C606 Media Criticism VT: Documentary Studies, 12 credit hours in the Production Practicum. (If C606 is not offered, one of the documentary studies electives may be substituted with approval of the student’s advisory committee).
    • Management Concentration: T505 Media Organizations and two of the following: T502 Introduction to Research Methods in Telecommunications, T504 Introduction to Telecommunications Policy Studies, T522 Managing the Creative Process, T532 Media Law, T571 Cognitive and Emotional Psychology, T610 The Networked Society;
    • Journalism Concentration: J505 Intensive Reporting, Writing and Editing Workshop, J510 Media and Society, at least 9 credit hours in the Arnolt Center Practicum.
    • Data Journalism Concentration: J501 Public Affairs Reporting, J510 Media and Society, INFO I505 Social Media Informatics, INFO I590 Topics in Informatics: Data Science On-Ramp
    • Strategic Communication Concentration: J560 Principles of Strategic Communication, T511 Research Methods in Audience Analysis.
  2. Program of Study listing all courses toward the degree, approved by the student’s Advisory Committee;
  3. At least 21 credit hours must be taken within the Media School, with no more than 3 credits of independent study (J804).
  4. Thesis (up to cr. 6 of M699 taken after an approved thesis proposal) including an oral defense administered by the student’s Advisory Committee OR comprehensive examination (written and oral, administered by the student’s Advisory Committee) OR capstone project (up to cr. 6 of T540 taken after an approved project proposal) including an oral defense administered by the student’s Advisory Committee
Graduate Certificate in Data Journalism

Admissions requirements

See requirements for M.S. program.

Grades

Completion of the certificate will require a B (3.0) average or above. The school evaluates each student’s progress toward the certificate each semester.

Advisor(s)

Certificate students do not require a committee, but will be required to work with one or two faculty members, who will help supervise their progress

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 12 credit hours, which will be chosen in coordination between the participant and faculty.

Students will take four courses that are available online in the Media School or Luddy and which are approved by their advisor(s). The course load will be driven by participants' existing skills, tailored to meet professional aspirations and arranged so it could build towards a data journalism concentration in the Media School's M.S. program.

Doctor of Philosophy in Media Arts and Sciences
Admissions Requirements
  1. Four year Bachelor’s and two year Master’s or comparable degree from a recognized institution, with a minimum 5 Master’s GPA (or equivalent)
  2. Statement of purpose
  3. Three letters of recommendation
  4. Internet-based TOEFL score greater than 100 for international students
  5. A writing sample
  6. A curriculum vitae

Grades

B (3.0) average or above. Any semester’s work averaging less than B will result in the student’s being placed on academic probation. The school evaluates each student’s  progress toward the degree every year.

Advisory Committee

By April 15 of their first year, each student will select an adviser and nominate an advisory committee, the latter consisting of two additional members from The Media School and one member from outside The Media School. Students who fail to file an approved Program of Study by Oct. 15 of their second year will be considered out of good academic standing.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 90 credits hours, including:

  1. The core consisting of Epistemologies of Media (M500 or C792), M503 Media Theories, and M555 Media Pedagogy with a grade of at least a B in each course;
  2. M600 Media Arts and Sciences Colloquium for three semesters;
  3. Six to 12 credits of methods/foreign language courses, as approved by the student’s advisory  committee;
  4. Completion of a minor as required by the minor department;
  5. No more than six credit hours in independent study (J804);
  6. No more than 15 credit hours in the dissertation (M899);
  7. A minimum of 24 credit hours must be taken within The Media School (M899 does not count toward these credits);
  8. A program of study listing all courses toward the degree, approved by the student’s committee.

Minor

Consistent with University Graduate School policy, each  student must have at least one minor subject. Course work in the minor must be approved by the student’s advisory committee and must meet the requirements of the minor department.

Research Skill Rquirement

Six to 12 credits of research skills, methods, or foreign language courses, as approved by the student’s advisory committee.

Qualifying Examination

Written and oral; may be taken twice only.

Final Examination

Oral, primarily a defense of the dissertation

Joint Degree: Master of Arts or Master of Science in Media and Doctor of Jurisprudence in the Maurer School of Law

To be eligible to receive the degrees of Doctor of Jurisprudence and Master of Arts or Master of Science in Media, which must be received simultaneously, a student  must:

  1. Complete 79 credit hours in the Maurer School of Law including all of the required course work;
  2. Complete 27 credit hours in the Media School, including all of the required coursework;
  3. Earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.3 on all work taken in the Maurer School of Law and at least 3.0 on all work taken in the Media School. 
Ph.D. Minor in Media Arts and Sciences 

Doctoral students from other departments and schools may choose Media Arts and Sciences as an outside minor. 

Requirements 

A minimum of 12 credit hours of coursework in The Media School at the 500 level or above, including at least one of the following courses: M503, T505, T522, J510, J560. 

A grad average no lower than a B (3.0) in minor coursework. No more than six credit hours will be accepted by transfer of graduate credit from another university. 

To arrange for the minor in Media Arts and Sciences, you must first have a Media School faculty mejber serve as the minor advisor.  In consultation with the advisor, you will outline a course plan that best contributes to your goals and then file a copy with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Academic Bulletins

PDF Version

Click here for the PDF version.