New Media Studies

About

New Media Studies at DePaul is an interdisciplinary project involving faculty from the departments of Writing, Rhetoric, & Discourse; Art, Media, & Design; and the College of Communication.  By joining critical interpretation and situated practical action, The Master of Arts in New Media Studies will prepare its graduates to function as productive and responsible individuals in the evolving social contexts created by the new media.  In small core courses, working collaboratively with each other and professionally engaged faculty members, students will gain:

  • an understanding of key concepts, theories, and disciplinary conversations in the study of new media

  • a conception of the historical context of new media and its relationships to previous communication media

  • sophisticated reflection on how new media shapes rhetorical strategy, writing, and the use of images

  • the ability to produce strategically conceived content—including texts and images—for new media

  • the ability to produce a variety of new media objects (web, video, audio) using current development tools and practices

  • an understanding of the collaborative character of new media projects, and how such projects can be organized

  • the potential to compete for employment in contexts defined by new media design, production, and criticism

Students take core courses in the history and theory of media and technology, the rhetoric of design, and relationships between text and image.  Courses chosen from a variety of approved electives—production and/or theory-based courses in departments across the university—round out students’ self-defined programs of study.  The program concludes with the creation of individual digital portfolios tailored to the each student’s career goals.