Digital Media Studies (BA)
VIU International, Canada
First Year Course Fee
USD 13,572
Course Accredited By
NA
Do your interests lie at the convergence of communication, culture and technology? VIU’s Digital Media Studies program will help you gain valuable skills for employment as you learn about digital culture.
Students take a combination of Digital Media and Media Studies courses in a four-year BA program and finish with a powerful skill-set that can be applied to a variety of occupations, including writers and artists, web developers, multimedia producers, teachers, public service workers and entrepreneurs.
Courses in our Digital Media program focus on developing well-rounded digital communication skills and increased awareness of the ways media shapes culture.
The BA Major in Digital Media Studies balances theory, critical thinking, and communication skills with the technical and creative skills needed for today's emerging digital technologies. Students take a combination of Digital Media (DIGI) and Media Studies (MEDI) courses in a four-year program and emerge with a powerful set of skills that prepares students for a variety of careers: from writers and artists, web developers, and media producers to teachers, public service workers, and entrepreneurs. The skills developed in the program are in demand in the entertainment arts, the film and broadcasting industries, management services to business, advertising and public relations, publishing, web development, media production, journalism, advocacy, communications, library science, archival research. A recent survey in the United Kingdom revealed that Media Studies graduates were "most employable" of all disciplines, a trend we expect to see in the Canadian market.
The program emphasizes media agency in all aspects of study, requiring students to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence necessary to engage with contemporary media in a wide range of contexts from advocacy to management to production. The program explores the multi-disciplinary nature of Digital Media Studies as a field of inquiry. Course content integrates the best insights of such diverse areas of study as culture, perception, digital society, political economy, game theory, marketing and public relations, policy and regulation, and digital media creation (Web, video, audio).
Enrollment Cycles
- September 2023
- January 2024
- Students must fulfill all the Institutional B.A. degree requirements, including Degree English
Year 1
- Introduction to Digital Media
- Introduction to Media Studies and Communication
Plus one course from the following:
- History of Communication
- Emerging Digital Communications
- Popular Culture and Mass Media
- Year 2
- Interactive Communications
- Media, Audience and Society
Plus three courses from the following:
- Web Production I
- Scripting for Dynamic Digital Media
- Interactive Motion Media
- Digital Audio I
- Digital Audio II
- Digital Video I
- Digital Video II
Plus two courses from the following:
- Promotion, Persuasion and Propaganda
- Understanding Television
- Global Popular Culture Genres
- Introduction to Game Studies
Years 3 and 4
- Digital Media Literacy
- Research Methods in Media Studies
Plus four courses from the following:
- Web Production II: Presentation and Accessibility
- Designing User Experiences
- Digital Social Narratives
- Interactive Imagery
- Foundations of Game Design
- Advanced Topics in Digital Media Technology
Digital Identities
- Advanced Interactive Motion Media
- Advanced Documentary I: Pre-Production
- Advanced Documentary II: Filming and Production
- Advanced Documentary III: Post-Production and Distribution
- Senior Digital Media Project
Plus four courses from the following:
- Studies in Global MediaMaking the News
- Documenting Culture
- Film about Media
- Studies in Canadian Media
- Music, Culture, and Technology
- Public Relations, Advocacy and the Media
- Technology and Identity
- Media and Cultural Studies
- Independent Project
- Senior Media Studies Project
- Fees for One Year* Amount Tuition (30 credits x $156.80 per credit) 4,704.00
- Student Activity fee (4% of tuition) 188.16
- Student Services fee (30 credits x $6.93 per credit) 207.90
- VIU Students' Union fee (8 months x $20.90 per month) 167.20
- Health and Dental Plan fee ($275.00 per year) 275.00
- Approximate cost for books and supplies for one year 1,500.00
- Total 7,042.26