Have you ever wondered what would happen if you threw social media, journalism and public relations into a blender? The new Bachelor of Science in Media coming out of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) might just be the answer.
The major, newly available at the start of this term, has been in the works since 2020.
Back then, Communication and Media Professor Vail Fletcher and her colleagues recognized an increase in media use that UP didn’t yet reflect.
“[The goal] was to reflect a larger, broader kind of global orientation towards media, media use, media production, media theory, critical media theory, critical media use,” Fletcher said. “And we felt like it was an urgent gap in the offerings we had.”
The major’s curriculum is interdisciplinary, with required coursework in the School of Business, Department of Performing and Fine Arts, Department of Public Health and Wellness and the ethnic Studies Program.
Students can also select a focus in technology, health communication or journalism and storytelling.
Culminating in a required media internship, the program aims to emphasize the technical skills needed to become a media professional, with courses in areas such as graphic design and video production.
The major also boasts a slightly unorthodox public health and wellness focus, which Fletcher and Madebo see as crucial after witnessing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the media. During the crisis,the media was used to convey necessary information to the public.The course curriculum for this portion of the major will discuss pu