The Media and Popular Culture concentration provides students with the necessary critical skills, historical grounding, and research methodologies for interpreting the cultural and social impact of popular media (television, film, radio, and social and digital media) in our globalized society. Students will learn how to analyze shifting patterns of production and consumption of popular culture, and to contextualize these changes within broader historical and theoretical frameworks.
Our interdisciplinary graduate seminars investigate current media-related topics through different perspectives, including popular audiences, national and transnational media, media industries, the politics of media culture, media histories, and representational content. Our courses examine the impact and potential of new technologies, the power of audiovisual media in society, the role of media in the formation of identities, and aesthetic dimensions of popular culture.
This concentration will be of interest to those seeking to prepare for a PhD program or to further their careers in the film, television and digital media fields.
Course Requirements
The MA in Communication and Media with a concentration in Media and Popular Culture requires a total of 12 courses, 48 credit hours, for completion. Students must complete the following requirements:
- Three core courses
- One methods course
- Four Media and Popular Culture electives
- One Applied Communication elective
- Three graduate level electives
Media and Popular Culture Concentration Core Courses
Course |
Title |
Quarter Hours |
|
12 |
CMNS 500
|
FOUNDATIONS IN GRADUATE COMMUNICATION STUDIES
|
4 |
CMNS 510*
|
APPLIED COMMUNICATION:THEORIES AND CASES |
4 |
MCS 502
|
MEDIA AND CULTURAL STUDIES |
4 |
* Please email
gradcom@depaul.edu for more information on this course.
Methods Requirement
Course |
Title |
Quarter Hours |
Students must take one methods course. |
4 |
MCS 503
|
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
|
4 |
Media & Popular Culture Concentration Electives
Students in the Media and Popular Culture Concentration must take a minimum of 4 Media and Popular Culture electives (16 credit hours). Topics courses can be taking multiple times for credit as long as the specific topic differs each time.
Course |
Title |
Quarter Hours |
|
16 |
MCS 501
|
FILM
AND MEDIA THEORY |
|
MCS 505*
|
DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION IN MEDIA |
|
MCS 506*
|
SEMINAR IN MEDIA LITERACY |
|
MCS 520
|
TOPICS IN MEDIA STUDIES |
|
MCS 523
|
TOPICS IN FILM
AND MEDIA STUDIES |
|
MCS 530
|
NEW MEDIA
AND CULTURE |
|
MCS 541
|
AUDIO DOCUMENTARY |
|
MCS 542
|
TOPICS IN PRODUCTION |
|
MCS 550
|
FANDOM
AND ACTIVE AUDIENCES |
|
MCS 575
|
DIGITAL MEDIA ETHICS |
|
* Please email
gradcom@depaul.edu for more information on this course.
Applied Communication Elective
Students in the Media and Popular Culture concentration must take a minimum of 1 Applied Communication elective (4 credits).
Course |
Title |
Quarter Hours |
|
4 |
CMNS 512
|
TOPICS IN APPLIED COMMUNICATION |
|
CMNS 530
|
INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT |
|
CMNS 541
|
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE |
|
CMNS 545
|
COMMUNICATION
AND TECHNOLOGY |
|
CMNS 548
|
TEAMS, DIVERSITY
& LEADERSHIP |
|
CMNS 551
|
COLLABORATION FOR SOCIAL IMPACT |
|
CMNS 573
|
WORK/LIFE COMMUNICATION & WELLNESS |
|
CMNS 580
|
DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING IN COMMUNICATION |
|
PRAD 594
|
CAMPAIGNS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE |
|
General Electives
Students in the Media and Popular Culture Concentration must take a minimum of 3 general electives (12 credits). These electives can come from any of the Media and Popular Culture concentration electives, any of the Applied Communication concentration electives, and up to 2 electives can be an outside elective from a a graduate program outside of Communication and Media.
Course |
Title |
Quarter Hours |
|
12 |
MCS 501
|
FILM
AND MEDIA THEORY |
|
MCS 505*
|
DIVERSITY
AND INCLUSION IN MEDIA |
|
MCS 506*
|
SEMINAR IN MEDIA LITERACY |
|
MCS 520
|
TOPICS IN MEDIA STUDIES |
|
MCS 523
|
TOPICS IN FILM
AND MEDIA STUDIES |
|
MCS 530
|
NEW MEDIA
AND CULTURE |
|
MCS 541
|
AUDIO DOCUMENTARY |
|
MCS 542
|
TOPICS IN PRODUCTION |
|
MCS 550
|
FANDOM
AND ACTIVE AUDIENCES |
|
MCS 575
|
DIGITAL MEDIA ETHICS |
|
* Please email
gradcom@depaul.edu for more information on this course.