Media Arts, Design, and Technology

The BA in Media Arts provides opportunities for undergraduate study toward careers in exciting media and media-related fields such as advertising, film and television production and post-production, web design, broadcasting, and academic scholarship on the media industries.

There are two options available to students pursuing a BA in Media Arts.

The Media Arts Criticism option focuses on the history, theory, and context of the media industries in terms of their political, social and cultural impact. Students become scholars of media, studying the ideology, theory, and history of mass media production and consumption. This option prepares students for opportunities as scholars of the media industries, whether as critics, festival programmers, historians, or documentarians, as well as for the pursuit of advanced degrees in media-related disciplines.

The Media Arts Production option provides education in all forms of digital media, including digital photo, video, audio, production, and post-production. Many graduates go on to careers in audio and picture editing, cinematography, scriptwriting, producing, directing, media sales, television news, and other facets of media production and broadcasting.

The BFA in Communication Design integrates an understanding of the creative design process with strategic thinking and a concern for the context and experience of the user. The Communication Design program is accredited by the National Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and offers a professional degree.

The undergraduate program positions students to go on to pursue a advanced degree or to enter the profession immediately upon graduation. Graduates seek careers in web design, user interface design (UI), user experience design UX, mobile app design, service design, information design, packaging, branding, and publication design.

Facilities

Students have access to writing and information technology computer labs, digital design and print labs, post-production sound and picture editing labs, audio recording rooms, a fully equipped high-definition television studio, and digital photography facilities.

Internships

Internships are transitions between school and work. Internships provide students with academic credit while pursuing on-the-job experiences. Internship opportunities are available throughout California, the US, and around the world.

Communication Activities

Media Arts, Design, and Technology houses a number of student-operated programs and clubs including the MADTech Group (a student-staffed media development group) a student chapter of AIGA (the Professional Organization for Design), the Instructional Design and Technology Association, and the Digital Filmmaker’s Guild.

Career Outlook

In our increasingly fluid mass media landscape, the communication design and media industries play an expanding critical role as dynamic arbiters of communication and education. Energized by rapid developments of new technologies, from visual and audio software to social media platforms, there is an urgent need for experts in the field of media arts, design, and the technologies that inform them. In areas as diverse as industrials, instructional design, scripted entertainment, live broadcasting, photography, social media storytelling, commercial advertising, and even in personal media consumption, the importance of communication design and the role of the media industries are as vital as ever.