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Is the CMS Program a production or technically-oriented
program?
The Comparative Media Studies Program centers on critical
thinking and historical understanding of media, not on technical
skills. We assume our students' primary vocational training
will occur at other points in their education. Students in
this program will acquire new ways of thinking about media
form, content and contexts, and will go on to employ this
understanding in relation to other professional training.
We do believe, however, that students may best develop an
understanding of the nature of media through hands-on learning.
We encourage students to apply their theoretical understanding
by helping to build usable products, then to evaluate and
challenge these technical pieces through theory and critical
inquiry.
The description says that students must take production.
What if I already have this skill from my last job? Can I test
out of these classes?
We expect that many incoming students will have had production
experience in at least one medium already. Students are then
expected to build on and further develop their skills. All
students are required to fulfill the workshop component as
part of their degree requirement.
Is a thesis required? If so, is it possible to do a media
production project for this requirement?
Yes, a thesis is part of the requirements for graduation.
Students can choose to work on either a formal paper assignment
or complete a project to fulfill this requirement. We expect
that many students will choose thesis projects that involve
translating historical or theoretical accounts of media into
multimedia and interactive media formats. The thesis project
option as well as the practicum (workshop requirement) are
designed to allow students to bring together the different
conceptual frameworks and ideas from their coursework and
research, and then use this knowledge to inform their production
work.
When do students have to choose a focus?
Many students will come in with goals they want to pursue.
Others won’t know. Still others will have one idea and
then change their mind. We encourage students to cover a broad
base of knowledge in their first year and then work with their
advisor the following year to focus on their thesis and project.
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