Requirements
The specialization requires at least 9 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Media History New and Old. Three (3) courses:
- MSCH-D 337 Digital Media and Society
- MSCH-D 413 Global Screen Cultures
- MSCH-F 311 History of Media and Culture
- MSCH-F 375 Race, Gender, and Representation (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-F 391 Media Audiences (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-F 392 Media Genres (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-F 420 Topics in Media History
- MSCH-J 360 Journalism Topics (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-J 460 Advanced Journalism Topics (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-M 411 Media Industries and Cultural Production (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-T 311 History of Electronic Media
- MSCH-T 427 International Media Networks
- MSCH-V 334 Current Topics in Media (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- GNDR-G 402 Problems in Gender Studies (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
MSCH-D 337 Digital Media and Society
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Develops frameworks for understanding new media technologies in social contexts. Compares computing, networked digital media, and social media to prior eras of technological change, focusing on interactions among technological, industrial, regulatory, social, and cultural forces.
MSCH-D 413 Global Screen Cultures
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Covers electronic media\'s role in altering perceptions of time, space, locality, and identity. Explores changing economic, political, and cultural relations in the global media environment. Topics vary and may include global media events, trans-border information flows, cultural differences in media forms and practices.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-F 311 History of Media and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Historical development of media forms, institutions, and technology, from the origins of writing to digital media. Attention to characteristics of media, changes in media's role as a cultural force, transformations to media institutions, and the role of media in the development of public discourse. Considers continuity and change over time.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-F 375 Race, Gender, and Representation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Construction of race and gender identities across a range of media. Emphasis on the power of sound/image representations to shape and contest ideas about race and gender. Topic varies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 412, JOUR-J 375, or MSCH-F 375.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-F 391 Media Audiences
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Studies audiences in the context of film, television, new media, and other media forms. Topic varies, but may include a focus on theories of spectatorship, historical reception studies, ethnographic and/or empirical audience studies, global or transnational audiences, Internet communities, performance theory, fan cultures, and subcultures.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 391 and MSCH-F 391.
- Fall 2026CASE AHcourseSummer 2026CASE AHcourseSpring 2026CASE AHcourse
MSCH-F 392 Media Genres
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Topic varies. Analysis of typical genres, such as westerns, situation comedies, documentaries, etc. Problems of generic description or definition: themes, conventions, iconography peculiar to given genres.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 392 and MSCH-F 392.
- Fall 2026CASE AHcourseSummer 2026CASE AHcourseSpring 2026CASE AHcourse
MSCH-F 420 Topics in Media History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Media historiography, topics in national media history, national and international movements and trends. Topic varies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in CMCL-C 420 and MSCH-F 420.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-J 360 Journalism Topics
- Credits
- 1–4 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on emerging trends in journalism. Topics vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 enrollments and 18 credit hours in JOUR-J 360 and MSCH-J 360.
MSCH-J 460 Advanced Journalism Topics
- Credits
- 1–4 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- At least junior standing; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Advanced seminar in journalism. Topics vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for credit up to 4 times.
MSCH-M 411 Media Industries and Cultural Production
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the social, economic, and cultural forces that influence the creation of programs and genres in the media industries. Topic varies, but may explore the role of networks, advertisers, studios, and independent producers.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CMCL-C 411 or MSCH-M 411.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-T 311 History of Electronic Media
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Discussion of how today's electronic media was shaped by past inventions, business innovations and regulatory decisions. Traces the development of mass communication from the telegraph to the telephone, radio, and television to the arrival of digital communication technologies.
MSCH-T 427 International Media Networks
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 101
- Description
- A comparative study of the development of broadband networks in different parts of the world. The interaction between national telecommunications policies and international arrangements, institutions, and structures.
- Fall 2026CASE SHcourseSummer 2026CASE SHcourseSpring 2026CASE SHcourse
MSCH-V 334 Current Topics in Media
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Analysis of selected problems in media studies. Topics vary each semester.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
GNDR-G 402 Problems in Gender Studies
- Credits
- 1–3 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Topical seminar in gender studies. Analysis of a particular issue or problem that has generated debate within gender-related scholarship in a particular discipline, or across several disciplines/fields of inquiry.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Specialization GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the specialization.
- A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the specialization—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Exceptions to specialization requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.