About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The Media Studies major is an undergraduate interdisciplinary group major, administered by the Division of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Letters and Science. It applies a range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities to the understanding of contemporary mass media, their structure, history, content, consequences, and policy implications. The emphasis in the UC Berkeley program is not on media production but rather on the central role that media plays in modern society with special emphasis on political and cultural life.

The program is not a pre-professional course of study but a liberal arts discipline that weds traditions from communications, anthropology, sociology, political science, and journalism with contemporary critical and cultural studies theory to analyze and assess the role and impact of media in contemporary society.

Declaring the Major

Students planning to declare a major in Media Studies are advised to contact the student affairs officer as early as possible in planning their academic programs. Applications are accepted during fall and spring semesters during periods listed on the program's website .

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.
• Must be currently enrolled in any remaining prerequisite at the time of application (see 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.
• Should declare the major no later than the semester in which they complete the 70th unit. (Junior transfer students should contact the major adviser for Media Studies concerning their eligibility and the equivalency of transferred coursework.)

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 and a graded paper from a prerequisite course along with a completed application.

More information regarding declaring the major is available on the Media Studies website . The application dates and a link to the application are available here .

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 director and the adviser is characterized by superior distinction (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

Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.

General Guidelines

1. All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a Pass/No Pass basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
2. No more than one upper-division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters and Science.
3. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper- and lower-division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Summary of Major Requirements

Prerequisites: Four courses
Media Studies core courses: Four courses
Methods: One course
Upper-division Electives: Four courses

Prerequisites

MEDIAST 10	Introduction to Media Studies 1	4
or MEDIAST N10	Introduction to Media Studies
POL SCI 1	Introduction to American Politics 1	4
Select one of the following:
HISTORY 7B	Introduction to the History of the United States: The United States from Civil War to Present 1
HISTORY 124A	The Recent United States: The United States from the Late 19th Century to the Eve of World War II
HISTORY 124B	The Recent United States: The United States from World War II to the Vietnam Era
HISTORY 131B	Social History of the United States: Creating Modern American Society: From the End of the Civil War to the Global Age
Select one of the following:
ANTHRO 3AC	Introduction to Social/Cultural Anthropology (American Cultures)
ECON 1	Introduction to Economics 1
ECON 2	Introduction to Economics--Lecture Format 1
PSYCH 1	General Psychology 1
PSYCH 2	Principles of Psychology 1
SOCIOL 1	Introduction to Sociology 1
SOCIOL 3AC	Principles of Sociology: American Cultures

1	Or course equivalents, as recognized by assist.org.

Media Studies core courses

MEDIAST 101	Visual Communications	4
MEDIAST 102	Effects of Mass Media	4
MEDIAST C103	Understanding Journalism	4
Select one of the following:
MEDIAST 104A	Freedom of Speech and the Press
MEDIAST 104B	The History of Journalism
MEDIAST C104C	History of Information
MEDIAST 104D	Privacy in the Digital Age

Methods

Select one lower- or upper-division course from the following:
POL SCI 3	Introduction to Empirical Analysis and Quantitative Methods
SOCIOL 5	Evaluation of Evidence
MEDIAST 130	Research Methods in Media Studies
PSYCH 101	Research and Data Analysis in Psychology
SOCIOL 105	Research Design and Sociological Methods

Upper-division Electives

Select four courses from the following list. Students may not take more than 2 courses from any single outside department or program.

All of the courses listed below are permanently approved electives. Additionally, prior to Tele-BEARS each term, the Department publishes a list of "Course Offerings" for the Media Studies program. These lists may include other courses that have been approved—on a one-time basis—as electives for that semester only. The online archive will serve as a record of these course approvals.

Students wishing to have any other course reviewed as a possible Media Studies elective must submit a copy of the course syllabus to a faculty adviser.

AFRICAM 142A	Third World Cinema	4
AFRICAM 142B	Course Not Available	4
AFRICAM 142AC	Race and American Film	4
AMERSTD C112A	American Cultural Landscapes, 1600 to 1900	4
AMERSTD C112B	American Cultural Landscapes, 1900 to Present	4
AMERSTD C172	History of American Business	3
ANTHRO 138A	History and Theory of Ethnographic Film	4
ANTHRO 139	Controlling Processes	4
ANTHRO 144	Course Not Available	4
ANTHRO 149	Psychological Anthropology	4
ANTHRO 156B	Culture and Power	4
ANTHRO 166	Language, Culture, and Society	4
ENGLISH 173	The Language and Literature of Films	4
ENGLISH 176	Literature and Popular Culture	4
FILM 160	National Cinema	4
GWS 125	Women and Film	4
HISTORY 122AC	Antebellum America: The Advent of Mass Society	4
HISTORY 134A	The Age of the City: The Age of the City, 1825-1933	4
HISTORY 134B	Course Not Available	4
INFO 141	Search Engines: Technology, Society, and Business	2
INFO 146	Foundations of New Media	3
INFO 182AC	Course Not Available
JOURN 180	Course Not Available	4
LINGUIS 150	Sociolinguistics	3
MEDIAST 140	Media and Politics	4
MEDIAST 145	Course Not Available	4
MEDIAST 150	Topics in Film	4
MEDIAST 160	International Media	4
MEDIAST 165	Internet and Culture	4
MEDIAST 170	Cultural History of Advertising	4
MEDIAST 180	Television Studies	4
MEDIAST 190	Special Topics in Media Studies	2-4
POL SCI 106A	American Politics: Campaign Strategy - Media	4
POL SCI 111A	Course Not Available	4
POL SCI 161	Public Opinion, Voting and Participation	4
POL SCI 164A	Political Psychology and Involvement	4
PSYCH C124	Course Not Available	3
PSYCH 160	Social Psychology	3
SOCIOL 110	Organizations and Social Institutions	4
SOCIOL 140	Politics and Social Change	4
SOCIOL 150	Social Psychology	4
SOCIOL 156	Course Not Available	4
SOCIOL 160	Sociology of Culture	4
SOCIOL 166	Society and Technology	4
SOCIOL 170	Course Not Available
UGBA 106	Marketing	3
UGBA 165	Advertising Strategy	3

Transfer Students

Transfer students may complete MEDIAST 10 at Berkeley, but are urged to complete other major prerequisite courses before arriving on campus. New transfers should see the major adviser on arrival in order to have transfer prerequisites approved. Transfers may need assistance in adding Media Studies 10 to their schedules.

College Requirements

Undergraduate students in the College of Letters and Science must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please see the College of Letters and Sciences  page in this bulletin. 

Entry Level Writing

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing Requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley. 

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a U.S. resident graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

American Cultures

American Cultures is the one requirement that all undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composition

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition. Students must complete a first-level reading and composition course by the end of their second semester and a second-level course by the end of their fourth semester.

Breadth Requirements

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship.  Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

• 120 total units, including at least 60 L&S units

• Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units

• Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department

Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters and Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through University Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to see an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your B.A. degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley summer session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence Requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the College.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) or the UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence Requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding EAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Student Learning Goals

Mission

The Media Studies major at the University of California at Berkeley is an undergraduate interdisciplinary group major in the Office of Undergraduate and Interdisciplinary Studies (UGIS). Faculty members come from a variety of disciplines, bringing the perspectives and methods of their fields to bear on the analysis of the mass media. The emphasis in the major is analytical and historical. The program is largely concerned with developing in students the ability to assess the roles and impact of the major mass media on American life. Media Studies is not a pre-professional course of study but a liberal arts discipline that weds traditions from communication, anthropology, sociology, political science, and journalism with contemporary critical and cultural studies theory.

The four core courses examine media history, institutions, and policy as well as theory and criticism. Students learn to analyze the impact of the media on public policy and to explore the role of media and popular culture in contemporary society.

In addition to the core courses, students must take an approved methods course in the social sciences and at least four approved elective courses. In the elective courses offered by the Media Studies program, whether students focus on film, television, international media, or political discourse, they are asked to develop critical thinking and analytical skills. Students may also choose to take approved electives offered by other disciplines on campus including Anthropology, English, History, Linguistics, Journalism, Political Science, and Sociology to name a few.

Critical analysis in Media Studies involves identifying and evaluating evidence, understanding theoretical concepts and being able to apply them to new media materials or situations, and examining the relationships between words and images.

Learning Goals for the Major

Courses

Media Studies