• Curriculum

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  • The Master of Arts degree is awarded for successful completion of 39 credits. A maximum of six credits of graduate-level coursework may be transferred from another institution. Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. The program is designed to be completed in two years and must be completed within five years online, on-site, or a combination of both. You can enter the program in either the fall or the spring term.

    The extensive curriculum and limited number of required courses offer you many ways to design your own path through the program and enable you to sample a wide variety of subjects and approaches. Many students focus their studies in one or more subject areas but you are not required to do so to earn the MA. All students must take the core course Media Theory and select one media practices course and one research methods course. They must also take at least two additional production (studio) courses and a minimum of four seminars. We offer a number of hybrid production-seminar courses that can count in either category. 

    The program’s place within the progressive and dynamic environment of Parsons School of Design and The New School as a whole enables students to tailor their studies to their own research interests and goals through electives in a range of art and design studies and humanities and social sciences disciplines. A maximum of 9 electives can be completed in courses offered by other graduate programs of The New School. Students in the MA program can also earn the graduate certificate in Media Management through their course of study and in consultation with an academic advisor.

    Students can choose between thesis and non-thesis options to complete their degree.

  • Sample Thesis Option Curriculum Chart

    Shown below is a sample course of study for a student studying full-time and completing a degree in four semesters. Courses linked below take you to our course catalog, where you can see classes that apply to a given course category.

    Semester 1
    Media Theory 3
    Media Practices (select one) 3
    Research Methods (select one) 3
    OR
    Production Electives (approved courses taught in a studio format)
    OR
    Seminar Electives (select)
    Subtotal 9
    Semester 2
    Research Methods (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (approved courses taught in a studio format) (select one) 3
    Subtotal 9
    Semester 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (approved courses taught in a studio format) (select one) 3
    Thesis Proposal Lab (select one)* 1
    Subtotal 10
    Semester 4
    Production Electives (select one) 3
    OR
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (select one) 3
    OR
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (select one)
    OR
    Seminar Electives (select one)
    Thesis Supervision (select one) 2**
    Subtotal 11
    Total Credits
    39

    *Permission required to enroll in this course.
    **Students may opt for one or two semesters of thesis supervision. International students on student visas may study part-time in their final semester.

  • Sample Non-Thesis Option Curriculum Chart

    Courses linked below take you to our course catalog, where you can see classes that apply to a given course category

    Semester 1
    Media Theory 3
    Media Practices (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select)
    Subtotal 9
    Semester 2
    Research Methods (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (approved courses taught in a studio format) (select one) 3
    Subtotal 9
    Semester 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    Production Electives (approved courses taught in a studio format) (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    OR
    Production Electives (select one) 3
    Subtotal 12
    Semester 4
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    OR
    Production Electives (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select one) 3
    OR
    Production Electives (select one) 3
    Seminar Electives (select as a non-thesis capstone) 3
    OR
    Production Electives (select as a non-thesis capstone) 3
    Subtotal 9
    Total Credits
    39

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Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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