Media Arts and Studies, School of   

Scripps College of Communication   
The Schoonover Center for Communication
3rd Floor
20 E. Union St.
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.4870
Fax: 740.593.9184
mediaschool@ohio.edu
http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/

Drew McDaniel, Ph.D., Director
Brian Plow, M.F.A., Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies
Steve Howard, Ph.D., Associate Director for Graduate Studies

Program Overview

The School of Media Arts and Studies offers programs of study leading to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The baccalaureate program is designed to prepare students for careers in the media industries. While pursuing a media degree, students are also actively involved in the liberal arts curriculum found at Ohio University. Coursework in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, technology, and cultural and communication sciences are all part of this liberal arts foundation that is critical to the success of today’s media professionals. In addition to media production, every one of our students learns media history, media theory, and media business concepts that will allow them to succeed in the modern media world. Students have opportunities to focus in one of five emphasis areas: Media and Social Change; Games and Animation; Music Production and Recording Industry; Screenwriting and Producing; or Integrated Media. Our broad-based curriculum enhances long-term success, which is reflected by our school’s mission statement: the School of Media Arts and Studies prepares well-rounded and proactive individuals to think critically, act creatively and practice ethically in a global media society. With almost 800 undergraduate students and nearly two-dozen faculty members, the School of Media Arts and Studies is proud to play a central role in the Scripps College of Communication Center of Excellence. Strong demand to join the School dictates that we have entry requirements above the university’s requirements.

Areas of study include:

• Media Arts and Studies—Media and Social Change (B.S.C.) : The Media and Social Change emphasis area provides students with creative skills in nonfiction production, while exploring the social effects that media have on society.
• Media Arts and Studies—Games and Animation (B.S.C.) : The Games and Animation emphasis area encourages students to explore the production of computer animation and digital games, while also providing an understanding of the management and leadership roles in these industries.
• Media Arts and Studies—Music Production and Recording Industry (B.S.C.) : The Music Production and Recording Industry emphasis area encourages students to explore the music recording industry and, in addition to teaching skills in audio production, is organized to provide an understanding of the management, creative, and leadership roles inside the industry.
• Media Arts and Studies—Screenwriting and Producing (B.S.C.) : The Screenwriting and Producing emphasis area develops skills and experiences in the writing and producing of fiction scripts for film, video, television, games, and the web.
• Media Arts and Studies—Integrated Media (B.S.C.) : The Integrated Media emphasis area provides a variety of coursework in media production serving a diverse range of interests in both fiction and non-fiction audiovisual storytelling.

All students enrolled in MDIA programs must complete core course requirements at the freshman and sophomore levels (MDIA 1010 , MDIA 1020 , MDIA 2010  & MDIA 2011  ) , as well as two basic production courses (MDIA 1200 , 1300 , 1400  or 1500 ) and a Global Impact of Media Course in the Junior or Senior year.  These courses integrate with courses specific to each program throughout the baccalaureate program. These classroom and laboratory experiences are augmented by a variety of practical experiences, extra-curricular involvement, unique place-based coursework, study abroad opportunities and internships, available to students in each of our undergraduate programs. 

Ohio University’s Zanesville, Lancaster and Southern campuses offer an associate’s degree program in electronic media. This program offers a smaller, more intimate setting for the first two years of University coursework. Students participating in the two-year programs at these campuses and who desire to continue their study with the School of Media Arts and Studies will apply for transfer into the School during the spring semester (see transfer policy below). For additional information, see the Electronic Media program in the Regional Higher Education  section.

The School of Media Arts and Studies also offers an Honors Tutorial College  for students with outstanding high school records. MDIA freshmen with strong academic records may also qualify.

Admissions Information

Freshman Admission

For admission consideration into the School of Media Arts and Studies, all applicants should meet or exceed the following minimum guidelines:

• Class Rank: Top 40% of your class with a minimum 3.2 GPA
• Test Scores: ACT composite score of 23 or SAT 1 Combined math and verbal score of 1060

All students are admitted to Ohio University with a pre-major code of ND5368 for the first year of matriculation. At the end of the first year, students apply to one of the five emphasis areas. All students in the pre-major will be accepted into one of the five emphasis areas; however, not every student will be placed in his/her first choice of emphasis area.

Transfer Policy

Because the School of Media Arts and Studies sets high academic standards and limits enrollment, students from other universities or other programs and campuses at Ohio University must show strong academic performance. An accumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above will be required for consideration. Applications are accepted twice per year by the seventh week of either the fall or spring semester.

In addition, transfer students from outside Ohio University must abide by the policies indicated in the Admissions section of this catalog.

Students transferring into the School must be enrolled for a minimum of one academic year (two consecutive semesters) or their final 32 hours of earned credit in order to graduate from the program.

Further information regarding transfer policy can be found at mediaschool.ohio.edu/transfer.

Internships

Students with majors in the School of Media Arts and Studies are strongly encouraged to undertake an internship. The School and the College have hundreds of professional internship opportunities available to students, with nearly every major media organization in the United States, as well as internationally. Students can receive one hour of credit for an on- or off-campus practicum (MDIA 3910  & 3911 ) as early as the summer following the freshman year. Students may undertake the formal internship (MDIA 4910 ) during the junior or senior year.  More information can be found at http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/internships

MDIA 4911  (Internship in LA) is conducted through the Ohio-in-LA program and requires a separate application through Ohio University’s Office of Global Opportunities.

Opportunities Upon Graduation

By using scripts, sound, moving image, and interactivity to create stories through music, games, animation, video, and social media our students learn the pre-production, production, and post-production processes, while continuing to hone the skills needed to analyze the media they are creating. Alumni of the Media Arts and Studies program work in a variety of media industries. They create, analyze, and oversee media for education, entertainment, activism, journalism, or public relations purposes in the corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurial media industries.

Programs

• Media Arts and Studies Major (B.S.C.)
• Media Arts and Studies—Games and Animation (B.S.C.)
• Media Arts and Studies—Integrated Media (B.S.C.)
• Media Arts and Studies—Media and Social Change (B.S.C.)
• Media Arts and Studies—Music Production and Recording Industry (B.S.C.)
• Media Arts and Studies—Screenwriting and Producing (B.S.C.)

• Screenwriting and Digital Storytelling Minor