Curriculum

Our 36-credit MA in Media, Culture, and Communication (MCC) is global in outlook and interdisciplinary to the core. You will gain expertise in analyzing media in its social and cultural contexts with the flexibility to design your own focus within media studies.

Media business at NYU Stern, digital advocacy at NYU Wagner, integrated design and media at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and media ethnography in NYU Anthropology are just some of the many elective options made available to you. 

We also offer graduate study abroad courses in Europe, Asia, and Latin America examining media in comparative contexts.

Degree Requirements

The degree’s core seminar provides a historical and critical framework for understanding the literature and scholarly traditions within the field of media studies.

The department offers a range of research courses that introduce students to the fundamental qualitative methods and approaches to research in media studies. From semiotics, historical/archival research, to political economy and ethnography, you can learn research methods most relevant to your interest. 

Subsequent MCC coursework invites you to delve deeply into one of our five Areas of Study, while Electives offer the ability to take graduate-level coursework outside the department, or to intern at a media or cultural institution for credit.

You can tailor your culminating experience to align with your professional trajectory, whether through writing a thesis under faculty guidance, or by developing a polished media project or professional writing piece to enhance your portfolio​. Or, as an alternative, students may select to complete the MCC Exam offered both fall and spring semesters. 

Areas of Study

Global Communication and Media courses examine global media production, circulation and consumption in relation to citizenship and identity, immigration and diasporas, human rights and social movements, political-economic inequalities, and geopolitics.

Visual Culture and Sound Studies courses focus on the ways that visual and sound media shape everyday life on and offline, especially through politics and power.

Technology and Society courses focus on information and communication technologies and their social, political and ethical implications.

Media Industries and Politics courses examine the political economy of media and information industries, the use of media to shape and mobilize public opinion, social movements, and electoral politics.

Interaction and Experience courses explore how we relate to ourselves, each other, and the material world in various social, cultural, and technological contexts.