The Department of Media Studies offers a liberal arts based program that combines critical and cultural analysis of media texts and institutions with professional development in audio, video and print journalism practice. Students build their production skills as they also learn to analyze and deconstruct media images and to consider the influence of media on individuals and on society.
Media play critical social, cultural and political roles in society. As voters we decide how (and sometimes whether) to vote based on TV images of candidates and issues. As global citizens, we learn about other countries and cultures from movies, newspapers and the Internet. We may even come to know ourselves - to form our own identities - in interaction with media such as music, film and television.
Understanding media, then, is an essential component of modern citizenship. Creating media that will contribute to a multicultural democracy is an equally important task. By combining the critical study of media and culture with the skillful teaching of media practice in an ethical context, the Media Studies program aims to produce the next generation of media leaders, analysts, critics, policy makers and teachers.
Graduates from the USF Media Studies program have gone on to careers in media writing, directing and producing; print and broadcast journalism; graduate study in media, communications, law, and politics; non-profit organizational research and management; non-profit media relations; corporate public relations, advertising and marketing; and elementary and high school teaching. In general, a media studies degree is an appropriate preparation for any field that values training in communication, critical thinking, research, analysis and writing.
