The Digital Media Studies (BA) Program
Media Studies balances critical thinking and communication skills with the technical and creative experience needed for a career in today's quickly evolving media industries. This four-year program develops proficiencies in research, academic and industry writing, content analysis, news, PR, advertising, documentary and video, audio, gaming, and Web design and usability to prepare students for a variety of roles as: writers, illustrators, photographers, web developers, citizen journalists, tech entrepreneurs, and TV, radio, film, game, and Web creators and producers among a host of other careers.
Media Studies intersects with a variety of disciplines including Graphic Design, Visual Art, Journalism, Creative Writing, Publishing, Film Studies, and Computer Science. This creative, multi-disciplinary approach to learning contributes to the career flexibility required to succeed in the current labour market and enriches and complements electives taken in other departments.
The skills developed in this program are in demand in the broad and constantly evolving fields of entertainment arts, film and TV broadcasting, advertising, public relations, publishing, online content marketing, social media, journalism, and communications for business, government, non-profit, and advocacy organizations. This degree could be the start of a career designing a transmedia campaign or running a documentary festival, curating an interactive exhibit or launching a video game, recording podcasts or reaching new markets as a start-up, working on a public relations strategy or adapting interfaces as a UX designer.
The program emphasizes the necessity of media literacy on all fronts and the need to exercise our agency as both media producers and consumers, requiring students to acquire skills across disciplines and platforms that draw upon cultural, gender, and race studies, political economy, game theory, and active government policies and regulations to inhabit the role and responsibility of a media maker. While this program has a distinctive focus on contemporary Canadian media, media by definition has a global reach, so we encourage students to bring their diverse personal and cultural experiences into the classroom to share and learn from each other.
Assignments are designed to balance media theory with professional-level production knowledge. Collaboration is a hallmark of the industry, so the program requires students to work together on projects and presentations of varying lengths and formats to demonstrate strong research and oral and written skills as well as proficiency in a variety of media formats. Students will use their own laptop with industry-standard software, but video and audio production equipment and technical support are available throughout the degree.
Faculty facilitate opportunities through the Media Research Lab, internships, work-op placements, and on-campus alliances with CHLY, The Navigator, Portal, The Discourse and off campus with CBC, Global, CTV, Shaw/Rogers, and Vancouver Island film, Web, game, TV, radio, book, magazine and other cultural allies to help students build a diverse portfolio.
The program also has been designed to accommodate students who transfer to VIU after two years of study elsewhere. Those who hold two-year diplomas in the Media Studies, Communications, and Media Production fields can normally begin studies at the third-year level. (Please consult Advising or the Department Chair for transfer information.) As noted in the matrix below, students in the BA Major complete a capstone project in their final year.