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Major in Media Studies
Become a critic and interpreter of the digital cultures and technologies that mediate the world in which we live, work and play.
This major offers a background in the theoretical and cultural analyses of media technologies and the processes of media production and dissemination, as well as applied skills in media content development.
After graduating, you will be a well-rounded advocate and practitioner for digital and media literacy, able to negotiate relationships between storytelling, identity building and media technologies in a variety of community contexts.
Future employment
Digital and media literacy are in demand across a broad range of public and private sectors, as organizations looks for people able to manage these competencies in the current media landscape. You will find opportunities in further study, within the media industry, as well as other sectors negotiating the relationships of media, technology, and communication.
Program requirements
CMNS 1160 Introduction to Communications (3,0,0) CMNS 1160 Introduction to Communications (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students think critically about a range of communication theories tied to examples from popular culture and address how we transmit information, how we create meaning, and how we persuade others, with a focus on many communication contexts, including interpersonal communication, group and organizational communication, public space, mass media, and culture and diversity. Students explore what it means to communicate in these various contexts, and appreciate the contribution of theory to helping us understand what we do when we communicate and why it sometimes goes wrong.
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CMNS 1250 Strategic Writing for Communication (3,0,0) CMNS 1250 Strategic Writing for Communication (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students learn the core principles and skills of strategic writing essential for the professional communicator. They develop techniques in stakeholder and situation analysis, message planning, editing, ethical research, and document design, and apply these techniques to writing scenarios related to public relations, advertising, marketing, business, and government/institutional communication. Students gain practical skills in writing for the web and social media and consider the challenges of writing for an integrated media environment. Finally, students consider key issues in professional communication, including ethical communication and communicating with attention to equity, diversity, and inclusion. |
VISA 1500 Introduction to Visual Culture (HTA) (3,0,0) VISA 1500 Introduction to Visual Culture (HTA) (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students undertake an interdisciplinary exploration of the visual components of our cultural environment. Students engage in a critical survey of early Western technological developments and how ways of seeing underscore late twentieth and twenty-first century forms of visual communication such as advertising, television, film, video, gaming, computer generated imagery, data visualization, post-photographic imaging, and other sources of image-making. We analyze the power of image-based media to entertain, influence, and condition, researching who creates it and purposes it serves. Students develop a critical framework for deconstructing images, applying visual theories and methodologies to real-world examples, reflecting upon the visual ecology that conditions their own perspectives.
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ENGL 1100 Introduction to University Writing (3,0,0) ENGL 1100 Introduction to University Writing (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students explore the practices of reading and writing in scholarly contexts by investigating a chosen topic or issue. Students read, critically analyze, and synthesize information and ideas found in appropriate secondary sources and coming from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. They also develop their abilities to communicate knowledge by composing in the genres and sub-genres of scholarly writing, including the incorporation of research and documentation while using a clear, persuasive, grammatically-correct style.
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CMNS 2150 Collective and Connective Indigenous Voices (3,0,0) CMNS 2150 Collective and Connective Indigenous Voices (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Focusing on contemporary media and social networks in English-speaking Canada, students explore the recent representations, identities, and cultural politics of the individual and collective Indigenous peoples of Canada, from the questioning of who is Indigenous to cultural appropriation. |
CMNS 2160 Mass Communication and the Popular Culture Industry (2,1,0) CMNS 2160 Mass Communication and the Popular Culture Industry (2,1,0)Credits: 3 credits Students are provided a perspective based on professional practices within the total media environment in which our society operates. This includes an examination of the historical, sociological and economic realities of industries such as television, film, music, advertising, public relations and journalism. |
CMNS 2180 Social Networks, Online Identities and Internet Memes (3,0,0) CMNS 2180 Social Networks, Online Identities and Internet Memes (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits This course explores the recent proliferation of communication tools known as social media. Students consider how collaborative networks create and foster unique models of identity construction and offer opportunities for new methods of creating knowledge. Students examine these issues through hands-on approaches and on-line assignments. |
CMNS 2200 Technology and Communication (3,0,0) CMNS 2200 Technology and Communication (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students explore the interface of technology and communication, from the telegraph to the Web, by examining historical and present cases. Students learn how people adapt to, and innovate within, the limitations to communications imposed by technology, and are informed about the choices they face in their personal use of media and technology. This course qualifies as a Writing Intensive designated course. |
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JOUR 2020 Media Theory and History (3,0,0) JOUR 2020 Media Theory and History (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits This is a critical introduction to media theory and history, with an emphasis on the development of journalism as part of the operation of Canadian media organizations. Students are familiarized with basic media theory, and the structure, history, and general operations of media institutions in Canada.
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CMNS 2290 Technical Communication (3,0,0) CMNS 2290 Technical Communication (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students study a variety of technical communications used to document professional activity, including proposals, technical and formal reports, policies and procedures, technical descriptions and definitions, and instructions. Students learn the importance of documentation and accountability as part of professional due diligence, applicable across many fields including journalism, business, government, public service, consulting and research institutes. Students develop skills in assessing communication needs in a scenario, identifying communication goals, audience need and relevant media. Finally, students learn skills in research and synthesis to ensure professional engagement and presentation of research material.
Prerequisites: CMNS 1291 OR CMNS 1290 OR ENGL 1100 OR ENGL 1101 OR CMNS 1810
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CMNS 1500 Digital Photography (2,1,0) CMNS 1500 Digital Photography (2,1,0)Credits: 3 credits In this hands-on course, students enhance their visual communication skills as they explore the basics of photography with the use of a digital camera and current industry software. Students learn technical and aesthetic theories of photographic composition. They demonstrate these by articulating complex concepts for photographs and then realizing those concepts in well-composed images, produced using both natural (available) and artificial light. Students learn a variety of techniques and strategies for effective photo composition, photo finishing, manipulation, printing, and publishing, as well as effective evaluation and critique, resulting in photographs that communicate the student's vision to their audiences in meaningful and effective ways.
Note that students cannot receive credit for both DAAD 1500 and CMNS 1500 |
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CMNS 1200 Introduction to Digital Production (3,0,0) CMNS 1200 Introduction to Digital Production (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students explore their creative potential with this hands-on practical course in digital media production. Using a range of media equipment and software, students develop technical skills in graphic design, video and image editing, and content management software.
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| Students are encouraged to choose 10 lower level electives from a wide range of areas inside and outside the program. A minimum of 18 credits must be outside CMNS and JOUR. In making these choices, students should be mindful of their general education requirements and prerequisites for upper level electives. Contact program advisor for support. |
CMNS 3000 Research Methods in Communication (3,0,0) CMNS 3000 Research Methods in Communication (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits This course provides an overview of the philosophy and practice of communication research. Students are introduced to a range of methods for research in communication and media studies, combining theoretical and epistemological issues with methodological concerns. This course qualifies as a Writing Intensive designated course.
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CMNS 3800 Communication and New Media (3,0,0) CMNS 3800 Communication and New Media (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students examine new media studies from a communication perspective. Subjects include the distinctions between old and new media; the relationship between technology and communication; the convergence of cultural artifacts across media forms; and the influence of design principles on new media architecture. The course qualifies as a Writing Intensive designated course.
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CMNS 3210 Digital Communities (3,0,0) CMNS 3210 Digital Communities (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students think critically about the challenges and opportunities of community in the digital era. Through a survey of research in the fields of social media, students consider the effects of our networked culture on media participation, as well as consumer and civic engagement. Students consider the current state of digital media creation and consumption and propose and develop engaging social media strategies that help users connect, create and provide digital content for intended publics.
Prerequisites: Completion of 45 credits in any discipline
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CMNS 4280 Portfolio Preparation Capstone (3,0,0) CMNS 4280 Portfolio Preparation Capstone (3,0,0)Credits: 3 credits Students synthesize, integrate, demonstrate, and expand upon their abilities in communication developed while completing their program to demonstrate their growth as learners. Students demonstrate this growth by mapping and reflecting on their achievement of learning outcomes defined at both the program and institutional level, as well as by making connections between their learning and future professional and educational goals. Students create and reflect on a portfolio of their work that best illustrates both their professional goals as communicators after graduation and their learning in the four key themes of general education (Connection, Engagement, Exploration, and Local to Global) as they relate to the Major in Public Relations or Major in Media Studies. Upon creating a portfolio of their work and reflecting on learning outcomes and career skills, students will participate in an oral defense of their portfolio that must be passed by a panel of departmental faculty.
Prerequisites: Students must have completed 90 credits towards their degree prior to taking this course. |
| Choose two additional courses from the Media Studies Category, using this list or by program advisor approval: CMNS 3020, CMNS 3150, CMNS 3160, CMNS 3200, CMNS 3260, CMNS 3530, CMNS 3700, CMNS 3450, CMNS 3460, CMNS 4020, JOUR 3700. |
| Select any 5 upper-level CMNS, JOUR or FILM courses from across the programs. In selection, students should be mindful of their choices for General Education requirements. |
| Students are encouraged to choose 9 upper level electives from a wide range of areas inside and outside the program. A minimum of 18 credits must be outside CMNS and JOUR. In making these choices, students should be mindful of their general education requirements. |
Suggested pathways
Consider these pathways for years one and two. However, we strongly encourage you to connect with the program advisor before beginning year two to discuss which major you want to do. Elective suggestions are optional — choose what you like! New electives are offered frequently, and courses are not always offered every year. You can begin to take most 3000 level CMNS and JOUR courses once you have completed 45 credits.
| In year one, complete the 4 Year One Required courses and the Lower Level Media Requirement. Aim to take CMNS 1290 and ENGL 1100 in different semesters. |
| For the remaining course selection, select up to an additional 5 lower level open electives. These can be in any area of study, including additional communication or journalism courses. |
| Look carefully at the course schedule for the year before registration. Some courses are only offered once a year, in the Fall or Winter term, and not both. |
| Students are encouraged to select open electives that fulfill needed general education requirements. For example, the lifelong learning ILO can be met with POLI 1110 or PSYC1110; the social responsibility ILO can be met with ORGB 2810 or CMNS 2160; and intercultural awareness ILO can be met with ORGB 2810 or CMNS 1150. Check your program advising form or DegreeWorks to help with selections. Or contact your program advisor. |
| In year two, complete the 5 Year Two Required courses. |
| Look carefully at the course schedule for the year before registration. Some courses are only offered once a year, in the Fall or Winter term, and not both. |
| For the remaining course selection, select up to an additional 5 lower level open electives. These can be in any area of study, including additional communication or journalism courses. |
| Students are encouraged to select open electives that fulfill needed general education requirements. For example, the lifelong learning ILO can be met with POLI 1110 or PSYC1110; the social responsibility ILO can be met with ORGB 2810 or CMNS 2160; and intercultural awareness ILO can be met with ORGB 2810 or CMNS 1150. Check your program advising form or DegreeWorks to help with selections. Or contact your program advisor. |
