Bachelor of Arts (BA)
The Media Studies major integrates perspectives from liberal arts, social sciences, and humanities and offers an interdisciplinary framework to understand the essential role that media plays in economic, social, political, and cultural life. It weds traditions from communication, history, anthropology, sociology, and political science with critical theories and cultural studies to analyze the role and meaning of media in our societies. Our emphasis in this major is historical and theoretical, examining media systems, institutions, technologies, policies, and practices. We offer students the analytical tools available to investigate media"old and new, local and global"from textual to visual and digital cultures, and from TV to Film and social media. The Media Studies major offers three areas of concentration: Digital Studies, Global Cultural Studies, or Media Law and Policy.
Declaring the Major
Students planning to declare a major in Media Studies are advised to read the Media Studies website in its entirety and then contact a student academic adviser as early as possible to discuss their academic program plans. Visit the program's website for application instructions and deadlines.
Students who wish to declare the major in Media Studies:
- Must have completed at least 30 units of college coursework before applying to the program.
- Must have completed at least three of the major prerequisites, including MEDIAST 10 or MEDIAST W10.
- Must be currently enrolled in any remaining prerequisites at the time of application (see the list of approved major prerequisites on the Major Requirements tab).
- Must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 in courses relevant to the major. This includes the lower division prerequisite courses and the equivalency of transferred coursework as well as any lower or upper division courses already completed for the major.
- Must have earned a grade of B- or better in MEDIAST 10 or MEDIAST W10. (Beginning fall 2020, Media Studies 10 or W10 must be taken at UC Berkeley.)
- Should declare the major no later than the semester in which they complete the 70th unit if they were admitted to Berkeley as a freshman. Junior transfers should declare the major no later than their second semester at Berkeley and should contact a Media Studies student academic adviser concerning their eligibility and the equivalency of transferred coursework.
- When applying to the major, students will need to note their area of concentration-Digital Studies, Global Cultural Studies, or Media Law & Policy-on their application. See the Major Requirements tab for areas of concentration information.
Students who meet the above criteria are eligible for admission to the major. Students who do not meet the above criteria but wish to declare Media Studies as their major should submit a letter of appeal with a completed application during designated application periods in the fall and spring.
More information regarding declaring the major is available on the Media Studies website. The application dates and a link to the application are available on the home page.
Honors Program
To be admitted to the honors program, a student must have attained at least a 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) overall in the University and a 3.5 GPA in the major. In order to be granted honors, a student must write a thesis which in the judgment of the thesis adviser is characterized by superior distinction. The honors program includes two courses: MEDIAST H194 and MEDIAST H195. For further information on the honors program, please see the program's website.
Minor Program
There is no minor program in Media Studies.
Visit Program Website