Major code BC5371

Scripps College of Communication 
Media Arts and Studies, School of 
Radio TV Building 202
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.4870
Fax: 740.593.9184
http://www.mediaschool.ohio.edu
mediaschool@ohio.edu

Jeff Redefer, associate director, undergraduate studies/contact person

Program Overview

The School of Media Arts and Studies provides a liberal arts approach to media education. 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 exceptional 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 (which includes video, audio, web, animation, and/or digital game production classes). 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 responsible, critical, and creative media professionals for a global, multicultural, and continuously changing landscape. The School also provides several media-related student organizations, and we strongly encourage participation in internships. These opportunities lead to important connections that foster career advancement. With almost 700 undergraduates 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. Strong demand to join the School dictates that we have entry requirements above the university’s requirements. Our excellent students become graduates that make a real difference in the media industries. We are proud of our strong reputation both regionally and internationally. The School of Media Arts and Studies also offers a major through the Honors Tutorial College for students with outstanding high school records.

Emphasis Areas:

• Media and Social Change: 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.
• Games and Animation: 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.
• Music Production and Recording Industry: 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.
• Screenwriting and Producing: 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.
• Integrated Media: The Integrated Media emphasis area offers students the most flexibility to design their own curriculum. We encourage students to explore a variety of creative production skills while still emphasizing the context in which their media is created; courses may include both fiction and non-fiction elements in a variety of media.

Admission 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 3.2
• GPA: 3.2
• 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 premajor 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 premajor 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.

Change of Major/Minor/Certificate Policy

Because the School of Media Arts and Studies sets high academic standards and limits enrollment, students from other universities or other programs at Ohio University must show strong academic performance. An accumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above will be required for consideration. Students at Ohio University wishing to change majors into the School of Media Arts and Studies must apply by the second Friday in October for transfer the following spring semester. Beyond the change of major application, support materials should include three letters of recommendation (two from university instructors, one from the professional community), a resume, and a letter explaining why he/she would like to study in the School of Media Arts and Studies. More information available at http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/transfer.

External Transfer Admission

Because the School of Media Arts and Studies sets high academic standards and limits enrollment, students from other universities or other programs at Ohio University must show strong academic performance. An accumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above will be required for consideration. Students at Ohio University wishing to change majors into the School of Media Arts and Studies must apply by the first Friday in October for transfer the following spring semester. Beyond the change of major application, support materials should include three letters of recommendation (two from university instructors, one from the professional community), a resume, and a letter explaining why he/she would like to study in the School of Media Arts and Studies. More information available at http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/transfer.

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.

Requirements