Media and Entertainment Arts

Media and Entertainment Arts

Creating and Entertaining

The degree in media and entertainment arts prepares students to enter the multibillion-dollar media and entertainment arts industries. The program features a set of core courses in media production and industry essentials shared by three majors: MEA Management, geared for students interested in the business side of entertainment; Video Arts, for students desiring the commercial and visual side of entertainment, and Sound & Recording, for students interested in music and live productions. The film program is housed on USM's beautiful Gulf Coast campus and prepares students to contribute to the growing fields involving cinematic writing, producing and promoting. Film faculty ask students to engage both in the artistic elements of film and its applications across fields that value visual story telling.  

All students in the School of Media and Communication begin their journeys with a small set of core courses. These are COM110, a one-hour class that discusses the careers and opportunities available in Media and Communication; COM210, a two-hour skills class centered on Digital Skills, and COM310, Social and Digital Media, which introduces students to analyzing and creating social media. Recording industry production majors learn studio audio recording and editing skills for various platforms while management majors focus on festival and talent management and record company operations. Video arts learn to communicate a core message through visual content, with an emphasis on sharp digital content using single and multi-camera techniques, pre-production and concept development, writing for radio, television and film, and post-production procedures.

Strong Freshman applicants will present a 2.5 minimum GPA in core academic subjects. It is understood that most foreign education systems do not follow the same core curriculum as taught in U.S. high schools. Therefore, each applicant will be evaluated on criteria particular to the educational system of the country in which they completed their studies. However, it is expected that a college preparatory curriculum include courses in English, Math, Science, and Social Science.