The Media School
Concentration in Media Technologies, Games and Culture (Bachelor of Arts in Media)
Students on Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Spring 2024 requirements MDAC06
Requirements
The major requires at least 36 credit hours (12 in the Media Core and 24 in the Concentration), including the requirements listed below.
- Media School Core.
- Introduction to Media. One (1) course:
- MSCH-C 101 Media
MSCH-C 101 Media
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines the role media play in our lives-at work, at school, among family members, friends, and lovers-and analyzes pressing issues in media and society today, such as privacy, globalization, and convergence.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Making Media.
- MSCH-C 241 Watching Film
MSCH-C 241 Watching Film
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the power, pleasure, politics, and possibilities of cinema. Opportunity to develop film literacy through a better understanding of how film is and has been constructed and experienced. Provides critical techniques for analyzing and appreciating the many forms film has taken.
- Managing Media. One (1) course:
- MSCH-C 200 The Videogame Industry: Systems and Management
- MSCH-C 207 Introduction to Media Industry and Management
MSCH-C 200 The Videogame Industry: Systems and Management
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines what games are and how they are made. Topics include the games industry: its creative dimensions and economic structures; its history and future; the organization of game development teams; the methods and tools used in game production. Students will gain a deeper and more detailed appreciation for this rapidly evolving, fascinating, and sometimes baffling industry.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-C 200 or TEL-T 260.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-C 207 Introduction to Media Industry and Management
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introductory analysis, using a case-study method, of how media industries such as broadcasting, cable, and telephone are structured, funded, and regulated; how media organizations create and market programs and products, and how they manage their operations.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-C 207 or TEL-T 207.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Thinking Media. One (1) course:
- MSCH-C 249 Media Technologies and Culture
MSCH-C 249 Media Technologies and Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explores how our understandings and experiences of culture and everyday life are transformed as media technology re-design, re-shape, re-administer, and re-organize our daily routines, habitats, habits, identities, and modes of communication.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Introduction to Media. One (1) course:
- Concentration.
- Thinking about Cultures. One (1) course:
- MSCH-C 215 History of Videogames
- MSCH-C 247 Screen Cultures
MSCH-C 215 History of Videogames
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Covers the origin and development of the videogame. Topics include the location and platforms for gaming (arcades, home game consoles, personal computers); social and cultural impacts (stereotypes, gender roles, media effects, violence, regulation and intellectual property); new gaming trends (mobile and social gaming, free-to-play, and cloud gaming).
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-C 215 or TEL-T 160.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-C 247 Screen Cultures
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Draws on theories of screen-based spectatorship and the spatial, material, and performative aspects of screens to present a historically-grounded comparative analysis of the relationship between screen technologies and cultural screen practices. Focuses on public and urban screens, mobile screens, touch screens, and interactive screen-based installations.
- Required Courses. Seven (7) courses:
- MSCH-A 315 Advertising and Consumer Culture
- MSCH-D 301 Media Technologies and Culture II
- MSCH-D 302 Games, Culture, and Society
- MSCH-D 331 Social Media Cultures
- MSCH-D 332 Media Technology and Difference
- MSCH-D 337 Digital Media
- MSCH-D 413 Global Screen Cultures
- MSCH-G 320 Game Art and Sound
- MSCH-H 300 Honors Media Law in the Digital Age
- MSCH-H 310 Honors Media Topics (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-H 410 Honors Media as Social Institutions
- MSCH-J 300 Communications Law
- MSCH-M 310 Disruptors: Internet Industries
- MSCH-M 322 Internet Ecosystems
- MSCH-T 311 History of Electronic Media
- MSCH-V 334 Current Topics in Media (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
- MSCH-X 360 The Media School in Los Angeles
- MSCH-X 373 Media Internship in Los Angeles
- MSCH-X 478 Field Experience in Media (approved topics only; see academic advisor)
MSCH-A 315 Advertising and Consumer Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Critical examination of advertising's role in modern societies. Focuses on marketing and consumption as central activities in shaping personal identity and social relations.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-D 301 Media Technologies and Culture II
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 215, MSCH-C 247, or MSCH-C 249
- Description
- Critically examines media technologies and their design, production, consumption and regulation. Explores historical and contemporary media technologies to make sense of their impact on politics, power, and meaning.
MSCH-D 302 Games, Culture, and Society
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 215, MSCH-C 247, or MSCH-C 249; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Interrogates digital and analog game play as a rich cultural practice and as a means of identity formation, performance, and representation as well as the role game design plays in structuring social and political relations.
MSCH-D 331 Social Media Cultures
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 101; or consent of instructor
- Description
- None
- Repeatability
- Social media technologies are an integral part of social life. This course helps students develop a vocabulary for understanding social media critically and analytically. Content includes a history of social media technologies, examinations of how people construct identities and relationships on social media, and how misinformation affects online experiences.
MSCH-D 332 Media Technology and Difference
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 101; or consent of instructor
- Description
- From algorithmic biases to gendered work cultures in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, issues of race, gender, sexuality, ability, and class come with media technologies\' design, production, and use. This course explores a wide array of technological politics in concert with some of today\'s most pressing issues.
MSCH-D 337 Digital Media
- 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.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
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 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-G 320 Game Art and Sound
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A general introduction to concepts, techniques, and tools for creating audio, visual, and narrative assets used in computer games and digitally mediated environments, including sound editing and synthesis, frame-based and procedural animation, and non-linear story writing. Students will create original sounds, write and edit computer code, and author multiform narratives while studying their roles in emerging and complex systems.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-G 320 or TEL-T 284.
MSCH-H 300 Honors Media Law in the Digital Age
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- C- or better in MSCH-C101 and MSCH-C250; Must be a current MSCH honors student
- Description
- History and philosophy of laws pertaining to media, including free press, free speech, right of privacy, copyright, government regulation, and business law affecting media operations. Stresses responsibilities and freedoms in a democratic media system.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-H 310 Honors Media Topics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- Must be a current Ernie Pyle Scholar (EPS), Media Scholar (MS), Media School Academic Honors Scholar, or Hutton Honors College student
- Description
- Covers a variety of topics from various media disciplines, including advertising, game design, journalism, law and public policy, media criticism, media production, and public relations. Develops advanced understanding of media topics and how media systems connect with culture, politics, and society. Evaluates and critically analyzes the underlying assumptions of media.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
MSCH-H 410 Honors Media as Social Institutions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- C- or higher in MSCH-H 300 or MSCH-J 300; must be a current MSCH honors student
- Description
- Examines functions and impact of mass media in society with primary focus on the United States. Discusses values of media organizations and professional and ethical values of journalists. Includes critical analysis of the relationship between media and society and the effect of political, economic, and cultural factors on media operation.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-H 410, MSCH-J 410, JOUR-H 410 or JOUR-J 410
- Fall 2024CASE AHcourse
MSCH-J 300 Communications Law
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 101 or consent of instructor
- Description
- Explores history and philosophy of laws pertaining to free press and free speech. Covers censorship, libel, contempt, obscenity, right of privacy, copyright, government regulations, and laws affecting the Internet and social media. Stresses responsibilities and freedoms in a democratic communications systems.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of MSCH-H 300 or MSCH-J 300.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-M 310 Disruptors: Internet Industries
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 101
- Description
- What is the cultural mindset of technology entrepreneurs? How and why did the rise of Silicon Valley occur? This course considers the economic, social, financial, and legal forces present in the disruption industry, and how entrepreneurs leverage digital technologies and change the rules of how societies think and interact.
MSCH-M 322 Internet Ecosystems
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- A grade of C- or higher in MSCH-C 207; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Covers the evolution of media network technology, policy economics, and industries from the 1870s to the present. Explores basic telecommunication transmission and switching, general operational concepts, and societal and cultural effects of telephony and the internet in the United States.
- Fall 2024CASE SHcourse
MSCH-T 311 History of Electronic Media
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- C- or higher in MSCH-C 207 or MSCH-C 213, or consent of instructor
- 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-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.
MSCH-X 360 The Media School in Los Angeles
- Credits
- 1–4 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- Must be accepted into the Media School's Semester in Los Angeles program
- Description
- Focuses on topics relevant to the Media School's Semester in Los Angeles program. Explores various aspects of the entertainment and media industries under the instruction of industry professionals.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 15 credit hours.
MSCH-X 373 Media Internship in Los Angeles
- Credits
- 1–6 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- At least sophomore standing; at least 12 credit hours completed in the school; and application for internship credit approved by the school. Application is available on the Media School website
- Description
- Faculty-supervised work in a media field related to student's academic interests. Credits based on at least 45 work hours per credit hour with a maximum of 6 credit hours applied toward any MSCH degree or concentration. Student must write a critical analysis paper and be evaluated by a workplace supervisor.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated up to 6 times for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Grading
- S/F grading
MSCH-X 478 Field Experience in Media
- Credits
- 4
- Prerequisites
- Application for internship credit approved by the school
- Notes
- Application is available on the Media School website
- Description
- Topical course integrating classroom and field experience. Includes 10-day field experience during or after term offered. Field experience will change based on topic.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated for credit with different topics in JOUR-J 418, MSCH-J 418, and MSCH-X 478.
- Additional Requirements.
- At least nine (9) credit hours in the concentration must be at the 300–499 level.
- Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the concentration.
- A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the concentration—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Thinking about Cultures. One (1) course:
- Major GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Major GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Major Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
- Major Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Major Residency. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
- College Breadth. At least 58 credit hours must be completed in courses from College of Arts and Sciences disciplines outside of the major area.
Major Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course at the 100–499 level with the
MSCH
prefix—as well as any other subject areas that are deemed functionally equivalent - Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
- Any course, consistent with the policies herein, that is part of a concentration, track, and/or specialization being pursued as part of this academic program
- Any course at the 100–499 level with the
Exclusions
The following courses cannot be applied toward major requirements or the College Breadth requirement:
This program of study cannot be combined with the following:
- Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (JOURBAJ)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinematic Arts (CINEARTBFA)
- Bachelor of Science in Game Design (GAMEDSGNBS)
- Certificate in New Media and Interactive Storytelling (NMISTACRT1)
- Minor in Black Cinema and Media Studies (BLKCNMDMIN)
- Minor in Cinema and Media Studies (CNMDASTMIN)
- Minor in Fashion Media (FAMEDIAMIN)
- Minor in Film Production (FILMPRDMIN)
- Minor in Game Design (GAMEDSNMIN)
- Minor in Global Media (GLVMDIAMIN)
- Minor in Media and Creative Advertising (MDCRADMIN)
- Minor in Media and Diversity (MDIADIVMIN)
- Minor in Media Law and Ethics (MDLWETMIN)
- Minor in Media Persuasion (MDIAPRSMIN)
- Minor in Media, Sex and Gender (MDGNDRMIN)
- Minor in Public Relations (PBLCRELMIN)
- Minor in Sports Media (SPORTMDMIN)
- [Name unavailable] (NMISTACRT)
Exceptions to and substitutions for major requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Bachelor of Arts degree requires at least 120 credit hours, to include the following:
- College of Arts and Sciences Credit Hours. At least 100 credit hours must come from College of Arts and Sciences disciplines.
- Upper Division Courses. At least 42 credit hours (of the 120) must be at the 300–499 level.
- College Residency. Following completion of the 60th credit hour toward degree, at least 36 credit hours of College of Arts and Sciences coursework must be completed through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
- College GPA. A College grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.000 is required.
- CASE Requirements. The following College of Arts and Sciences Education (CASE) requirements must be completed:
- CASE Foundations
- CASE Breadth of Inquiry
- CASE Culture Studies
- CASE Critical Approaches: 1 course
- CASE Foreign Language: Proficiency in a single foreign language through the second semester of the second year of college-level coursework
- CASE Intensive Writing: 1 course
- CASE Public Oral Communication: 1 course
- Major. Completion of the major as outlined in the Major Requirements section above.
Most students must also successfully complete the Indiana University Bloomington General Education program.
Students will:
- Become familiar with a wide range of social, technological, digital, material, visual, auditory, and screen media cultures;
- Acquire critical and analytical tools necessary to investigate the dynamics (power, politics, identities, etc.) in the spectrum of media technologies;
- Develop historical perspectives about the particular impacts and operations of specific technologies in distinct periods;
- Recognize the diverse cultural contexts in which media technologies develop and operate;
- Practice a range of critical-cultural research tools (including but not limited to media theory, philosophy, history, and ethnography) that equip students to understand, critique, and intervene in the technologically mediated productions, politics, debates, and power relations that construct our everyday, public, and popular lives.