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The MA in Digital Communication and Media Arts (DCMA) teaches students to bring stories to life. Transmedia is the art and craft of telling a story across a span of digital (and non-digital) media. Whether this be in the style that builds campaigns around franchises and popular fandoms, or the approach of splintering a story across media to take advantage of the affordances of each form, transmedia is the nexus to which all media converges.

This program uniquely bridges two colleges (CDM and the College of Communication), resulting in a truly interdisciplinary degree that affords students the opportunity to apply theory and research to medium specific design practices and transmedia storytelling. This is a practical degree, in that it teaches students technical and artistic skills in various digital (and physical) media, while giving them the critical tools to become better communicators in a digital environment.

Students choose one of two tracks. The Media Arts track offered through CDM prepares professional media artists to be leaders in transmedia storytelling and media production. The skills they acquire will open up a range of career opportunities that include: online marketing, mobile communications, interactive media design, online content creation, web design, social media, digital product design and development. Students coming into the program with previous training or experience in a digital medium can prepare for roles in media art direction, project management and digital media management.

Students interested in the Digital Communication track, which focuses on the theory and strategy of planning and writing about media, should apply through the College of Communication.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• Understand and effectively explain how digital technology has affected communication practices across a range of subjects and disciplines, including the underlying ethical issues digital technology has brought to contemporary society.
• Assess and inventory relevant media projects; apply varied research methods and design thinking to develop new and relevant digital media products that address contemporary problems.
• Adequately demonstrate key competencies in still and moving image production, graphic and interactive design, and other technologies related to digital media arts.
• Identify and employ the affordances of digital media components in order to effectively develop a story or campaign across multiple media formats.
• Develop and deliver professional-level project pitches and research presentations.

• Media Art