Program History and Facts
About Media Studies
How we engage in communication practices, why we do so, and how we can develop new communication methods are issues at the heart of the Media Studies program. The program asks how media has an impact on culture, business, politics, art, education, and on our personal and professional lives. It also integrates academic study with hands-on exploration in media-making. The field of Media Studies is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing scholarship, methods, and inspiration from the arts, humanities, and social sciences. The MA in Media Studies at The New School is simultaneously academic and pragmatic. It roots production in research and critical analysis, while incorporating the creative potential of media scholarship.
The program’s core values include
- The essential relationship between media theory and media practice
- Respect for aesthetic, critical, and pragmatic dimensions of communication
- Recognition of the specific qualities of and relationships between various media forms
- Attention to the ethical imperatives of communication throughout the world
- Appreciation of the ways in which media theory and media practice can contribute to intercultural global understanding
- Acknowledgment of today's challenging marketplace conditions
- Openness to change and innovation
Program History
The New School’s Media Studies program began in 1975 with the founding of the Center for Understanding Media. Media education pioneer John Culkin sought to create a place that provided “consumer education for the minds and emotions of the audience for all media.” With its history of progressive education, The New School was a logical home for the center. Interest in the field and the center grew, and The New School created the country’s first formally established program in media studies.
Culkin’s passion for studying all forms of media in new and interesting ways is reflected in the program. The relationship between theory and practice is at the core of the program, and both the curriculum and single courses include a mix of theory and production.
Student Body
The program offers an inclusive view of media studies and welcomes strong applicants from all undergraduate majors, especially the liberal arts. Students here are mature and motivated individuals who demonstrate a clear vision and potential for original thinking and work. The progressive MA program is based on a solid history and focus, which assists students in developing a critical understanding of today’s mediated culture as well as the skills to produce media in a variety of forms and genres. The vibrant neighborhood of Greenwich Village and the multiculturalism of New York City are all at the doorstep of The New School, providing Media Studies students with an ideal laboratory for research.
Program Facts
- Media Studies has awarded more than 2,000 degrees.
- More than 450 students are actively enrolled in the Media Studies MA program, making it the largest program of its kind.
- Students come from more than 30 countries and 25 states, and more than 25 percent are members of underrepresented groups.
- Among the student body are Fulbright and Emmy-award winners.
- The faculty includes distinguished scholars, producers, artists, and entrepreneurs.