M.S. in Media Studies
Program Description
The M.S. in Media Studies Program in the Department of Television, Radio & Emerging Media gives students a solid understanding of the ways communication media operate on many levels: socially, culturally, legally, and as businesses. We approach media understanding from a range of perspectives and consider this range of media knowledge essential to living and working in our rapidly evolving, digitally connected world. Small classes, seminar-style teaching, and excellent, accomplished, and experienced full-time faculty provide a variety of courses spanning the range of media theory, media law, media management, digital environments, media research methods, and many others. A unique feature of the program is its specialized track in media literacy, a rapidly growing area of interest among community leaders, educators, and the nonprofit sector.
The M.S. in media studies prepares students to reach a number of career goals. For those already working in, or hoping to work in the media industry, the M.S. degree offers a broad perspective on where the industry is going. The degree also provides a solid scholarly foundation for students interested in continuing their study in communication and media doctoral programs.
We make the M.S. in Media Studies Program amenable to the working student. Students may take courses as full- or part-time students. Classes are scheduled in the evening. Some of the courses are taught on the beautiful Brooklyn College campus; many others are held at our location in downtown Manhattan at 25 Broadway. NOTE: Due to the pandemic, we anticipate that instruction will continue online for the Spring, 2021 semester.
Admission Requirements
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended (3.00 minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA required)
- Professional résumé or CV
- Two letters of recommendation
- Statement of purpose (1,000–1,200 words):
- How will the M.S. in media studies further your personal, professional, and intellectual goals?
- What unique experiences, interests, and enthusiasms will you bring to our program?
Keep in mind: We are assessing your institutional fit—how you will benefit from our program and how and what you will contribute to our learning community. We strongly suggest that you review the descriptions of our program, curriculum, and faculty, and encourage you to use this content in your statement. The strongest statements of purpose will integrate the answers to the above questions into a well-written coherent personal essay (rather than treating them like a questionnaire).
- Writing sample: We request writing samples to assess your readiness for graduate work and your ability/potential to engage rigorously with graduate-level curricula. Please supply one or more of the following. If you are unsure about what to submit, contact Dr. MJ Robinson, Graduate Deputy for the M.S. in Media Studies. Note: If you would like to submit both, you are certainly welcome to do so.
- Academic paper: If your undergraduate degree is in media studies or a related field and your bachelor's is no more than three years old, you may submit a media-related academic paper from your undergraduate work as a writing sample. Include a cover sheet on which you indicate:
- your name,
- the title of the course for which the paper was written (including course number),
- the professor for whom you wrote the paper, and
- the term in which you took the course.
- Academic paper: If your undergraduate degree is in media studies or a related field and your bachelor's is no more than three years old, you may submit a media-related academic paper from your undergraduate work as a writing sample. Include a cover sheet on which you indicate:
- If you do not have a media-related academic paper or your bachelor's degree was granted prior to 2013, write a 1,500–2,000-word essay in which you respond to one of the following issues. Your essay should use a minimum of five outside sources that should be cited correctly according to MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Write in the third person and in a formal academic voice. (Treat this like an assignment for a class.)
- The digital age has created challenges for all media industries—requiring traditional media industries such as music, journalism, film, television, video games, and radio to revise their business models and activities and creating new media platforms and industries that were previously unimagined, such as social, mobile, apps, drones, and 360/VR. Select one traditional or new media industry or sector of a media industry, and, using research, describe its current state and articulate and analyze the challenges it faces. End by suggesting some possible solutions to these challenges.
- Media representation is a very important area of study for many media scholars. Choose a specific and particular issue or topic receiving media attention today (gender, race, ethnicity, health, politics, international conflict, education, etc.) and address how it is being covered in the current news media or represented in contemporary scripted shows. The best responses will focus on specific subtopics or issues (e.g., instead of addressing "race in television dramas," look at representations of a particular racial identity in today's scripted shows; instead of "politics," look at coverage of a particular political issue, party, or situation in news.
- For international students: TOEFL (paper, computer, Internet) 582, 267, 92
Application Deadlines
- The application deadline for spring semesters is November 30th.
- The application deadline for fall semesters is July 30th.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. in media studies may be completed full time or part time.
Thirty credits are required for the degree. Other than required courses, credits required for the degree must be in courses chosen in consultation with the graduate deputy chair or program adviser. The program of study must be approved by the department. Courses in the Department of Television, Radio & Emerging Media offered toward the degree must be 7000-level courses. Students must complete 30 credits, at least 24 credits of which must be taken in the Department of TREM.
Students may choose one of two possible tracks of study in the program, either the M.S. in media studies or the M.S. in media studies, media literacy concentration.
Every student shall be required to successfully complete the following six core graduate courses:
- 7701X—Introduction to Media Studies
- 7710X—Media Studies Seminar
- 7712X—The Digital Media Environment
- 7713X—Media and Communication History and Regulation
- 7714X—Critical Analysis of Media
- 7945X—Media Research Methods
Students in the M.S. in media studies, media literacy concentration are required to take, in addition to the six core graduate courses, the following:
Students in both tracks are encouraged to take the following:
- TVRA 7715X—Media Reception: Processes and Practices
- TVRA 7725X—Television and Radio Management Theory and Practice
- TVRA 7726X—Seminar in Media Industries
- TVRA 7728X—Global Media
Students are also eligible to take as electives an internship course and an independent study course. Students may take each of these courses only once during their program of study:
Up to six credits may be taken outside the Department of Television, Radio & Emerging Media with the approval of the graduate deputy chair or program adviser.
Students must pass a written comprehensive examination. The examination will consist of questions in areas in which the student has taken courses during his or her course of study. Information about the comprehensive examination is in the section "Academic Regulations and Procedures."
More Information
For all information and advisement, contact:
Katherine Fry, Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Deputy of the M.S. in Media Studies
katfry@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Graduate Deputy for the M.S. in Media Studies & Associate Professor, Television, Radio & Emerging Media