The Bachelor of Science in Digital Media and Storytelling is a fully online degree offered by
IU Northwest collaboratively with the other regional IU campuses. Students will have the opportunity to develop career-ready skills in digital media and communication by taking a wide range of
courses in addition to completing a capstone.
Learning Outcomes
1. Apply theories of mass and mediated communication in the use and presentation
of images and information.
2. Critically evaluate and assess information in its credibility, use, and effectiveness
in public communication messages.
3. Use digital tools creatively to develop stories, images, and messages.
4. Engage and inform audiences in multiple contexts.
5. Analyze the historical, legal, and ethical dimensions of professional practices.
6. Use a range of skills to work effectively both independently and collaboratively to
accomplish goals.
7. Conduct and apply research using methods appropriate to media professions.
To earn the B.S. in Digital Media and Storytelling, students must complete the standard campus-and school-specific degree requirements, including general education, of their campus of enrollment, and the 40 hours B.S. in Digital Media and Storytelling major.
Degree requirements are as follows:
I. Digital Media Storytelling—Core (22cr)
1. Writing (2 courses/6 cr)
i. Complete one of:
ENG-W 203 Creative Writing
ii. Complete one of:
ENG-W 231 Professional Writing
ENG-W 234 Technical Report Writing
ENG-W 270 Argumentative
JOUR-J 200 Reporting, Writing, Editing
NEWM-N 260 Scriptwriting
2. Visual Literacy (3 cr)
Complete one of:
JOUR-J 210 Visual Communication
COMM-M 215 Media Literacy
3. Digital Tools (3 cr)
Complete one of:
FINA-D 210 Digital Art: Survey and Practice
COMM-M 210 Media Message Design
NEWM-N 202 Digital Storytelling
4. Gateway to the Digital Media Storytelling Major (3 cr)
Complete:
JOUR-J 205 Sophomore Seminar Digital Media Storytelling
5. Career Preparation (1cr) (existing courses to be used until new class developed)
Complete one of:
JOUR-J 307 Media Career Planning
JOUR-J 400 Careers in Public Relations
6. One Media Law class (3cr)
Complete one of:
JOUR-J 300 Communications Law
CMCL-C 328 Digital Responsibilities and Rights
7. One Media History class (3 cr)
Complete one of:
COMM-M 370 History of Television
COMM-M 373 Film and Video Documentary
FINA-A 477 History of Photography
FILM-C393 History of European & American Film I
FILM-C394 History of European & American Film II
FILM-C 395 History of American Film
II. Digital Media and Storytelling Specializations (15cr)
Complete of the following five course specializations:
A) Public Relations (15cr)
1. Public Relations Core
Complete the following 4 classes:
COMM-J 321/JOUR-J 321/SPCH-S 233 Introduction to Public Relations
JOUR-J 349/JOUR-J 390/SPCH-S 333/COMM-C 349 Public Relations Writing
COMM-C 429/JOUR-J 429 Public Relations Campaigns
JOUR-J 403 Public Relations Research
2. Theories of Public Relations and Media Culture
Complete one of:
CMCL-C 315 Advertising and Consumer Culture
CMCL-C 324 /COMM-R 321 Persuasion
COMM-C 462 Media Theory & Criticism
COMM-M 462 Television Aesthetics/Criticism
SPCH-S 303 Propaganda and Persuasion
JOUR-J 410 Media as Social Institutions
B) Digital Storytelling (15cr)
1. Advanced Making courses (9cr)
Complete courses selected from each of the following three categories.
i. Writing as Making
Complete one of:
ENG-W 301 Writing Fiction
ENG-W 302 Introduction to Screen Writing
NEWM-N 260 Script Writing
ENG-W 303 Writing Poetry
ENG-W 305/W311 Writing Creative Non-Fiction
ENG-W 315 Writing for the Web
ENG-W 318 Finding Your E-Voice
ENG-W 323 Digital Writing
ii. Digital, Photography, and Video—Lens-Based Image Construction
Complete:
FINA-S 303 Lens-Based Narrative Construction
iii. Interactive/Emergent Media
Complete one of:
JOUR-J 301 Social Media Strategies
JOUR-J 303 Online Journalism
NEWM-N 485 Social Media Content, Analytic
2. Media Critique and Analysis Course (3cr)
Complete one
CMCL-C 315 Advertising and Consumer Culture
CMCL-C 324 Persuasion
COMM-C 462 Media Theory & Criticism
COMM-M 462 Television Aesthetics/Criticism
COMM-R 321 Rhetoric, Culture & Society
SPCH-S 303 Propaganda and Persuasion
JOUR-J 410 Media as Social Institutions
3. Media Audiences and Platforms
Choose one of:
COMM-C 316 Human Communication in the Digital Age
SPCH-S 333/JOUR-J 390/JOUR-J 349 Public Relations Writing
ENG-W 315 Writing for the Web
ENG-W 318 Finding Your E-Voice
ENG-W 323 Digital Writing
III. Digital Media Storytelling Capstone
JOUR-J 495 Digital Media and Storytelling Capstone
