Media, Culture, and Society

What You Will Learn:

• The MCS major is an interdisciplinary bridge major between Communication and Sociology.
• By majoring in MCS, you get the best of both major disciplines: a deep understanding of the inner workings of societies and cultures, an understanding of the roles of mass media in today's globalized environment, and strong communication skills.
• You can explore your diverse interests in sociology, history, anthropology, political science, and geography as well as the communications field.
• You can use critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills in researching, writing, and presenting to get you ahead in the career of your choice.
• MCS is a great major to prepare you for graduate school and a professional-level career in management, law, teaching, public administration, corporate leadership, and more!         

Skills You Acquire:

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Grounding in classical and contemporary social and cultural theory as well as qualitative and quantitative research methods
• The ability to do independent research and writing
• Advanced skills in critical reading, writing, project design, and cultural criticism
• Strong interpersonal and intercultural communication skills for the global marketplace

" I have really enjoyed the Media, Culture and Society major. The tools I have gained helped me to research other cultures."

Brooke Conger '09

Sami Lane, Dr. Pam Wilson, Kimberly West

General Education Curriculum (55 credit hours)

Whenever possible, students should take the following courses as part of their general education core curriculum and/or general electives:

• SOC 105 Introduction to Sociology
• POL 101 American Government
• HIS 210M World Geography or a foreign language

Major Required Courses  (Total 31 credit hours)

• COM 202 Introduction to Mass Communication and Mass Media
• SOC 300 Global Social Problems or SOC 310 Social Inequality    
• COM 340 Professional Writing and Communication
• COM 360 Intercultural Communication      

      RESEARCH COMPONENT 

• SSC 320 Research Design and Analysis I
• SSC 321 Qualitative Research Methods  

      THEORY COMPONENT

• SOC 370 Classical Social Theory
• COM 403 Theories of Media and Visual Culture  

THESIS AND INTERNSHIP COMPONENT

• COM 407 Communication Internship
• COM 450 Thesis Project

COM Electives (select three; minimum of 9 credit hours) 

• COM 201 Interpersonal Communication
• COM 205 Journalism: News Writing or COM 206 Journalism: Feature Writing
• COM 210 Photojournalism or COM 307 Broadcast Journalism
• COM 250 Fundamentals of Electronic Media Production
• COM 305 Organizational Communication
• COM 311 Public Relations Practices or COM 312 Advertising Principles
• COM 350 Introduction to Film and TV Studies
• COM 370 Media Law & Ethics
• COM 398 Special Topics in Global/Intercultural Communication (pending)
• COM 298/498 Special Topics (as approved by advisor)

Other Electives (select 3 courses; minimum of 9 credit hours)   

• BUS 401 Seminar in Public Policy
• BUS 407 International Business
• BUS 430 Managing the Global Workforce
• Any 300-level History Course
• COM 398 Special Topics in Global/Intercultural Communication (pending)-
• COM 298/498 Special Topics (as approved by advisor)
• PED 330 Sport in Society
• POL 301 International Politics
• POL 306/PHI 306 Classical Political Thought
• POL 311M Comparative Politics
• POL 368 Interest Groups and Public Policy
• POL 472 Media and Politics
• SOC 320 Race and Ethnic Relations
• PSY 350 Social Psychology  
• SOC 330 Gender and Society
• SSC 495 Diverse Peoples
• SOC 300 Global Social Problems
• SOC 310 Social Inequity: Class, Race, and Gender
• SOC 371 Contemporary Sociological Theory

Total Semester Credits Required in Degree: 120

MINORING in MEDIA, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

• COM 202 Introduction to Mass Communication/Media
• COM 360 Intercultural Communication
• COM 403 Theories of Media and Visual Culture OR
• SOC 370 Classical Social Theory
• SSC 320  Research Design and Analysis I OR
• SSC 321 Qualitative Research Methods
• SOC 300  Global Social Problems OR        
• SOC 310 Social Inequality
• One COM elective (200-level or above)

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