Media and Communication Studies, Intercultural Communcation Area, Certificate

In a time when communication technologies are increasingly digital, interactive, and global, participation in the public sphere requires critical engagement across a range of media, genres, and cultural contexts. UMBC’s Media and Communication Studies Department represents an innovative and interdisciplinary response to this need. The Department offers students theoretical and practical encounters with dynamic and complex changes in communication, culture, and knowledge. The core of the curriculum emphasizes reading, composition, and reflection within the liberal arts tradition.

Our curriculum focuses on communication skills, a critical understanding of the media, and the use of relevant new technologies. Media and Communication Studies comprises critical media literacy, intercultural communication, and new media and applied communication to prepare students to enter the communities and workplaces of the 21st century.

To earn an undergraduate certificate in Media and Communication Studies, students must complete the core (13 credits), the required applied experience (3 credits), and 9 credits of electives, all from one content area of their choice.

Certificate

CORE (13 credits)

Required Applied Experience (3 credits):

MCS 404 - Internship (3.00)

Three Electives (9 credits)

(At least 6 of the 9 credits must be at the 300 or 400 level)

Certificate students must take all nine credits in only one of the three areas

Critical Media Studies
Coursework on the cultural history of specific media, critical media analysis, industry analysis, audience studies and special topics in media genres.
Intercultural Communication
Coursework on intercultural communication; race, gender, ethnicity, social class and media; comparative studies and media; U.S. media in global perspective.
New Media and Applied Communication
Coursework in video, audio and digital production; Web content design; technical writing; journalism and oral communication

Additional Information:

Counting Credits

A total of nine credits towards the completion of the certificate may be “double counted” towards the completion of an additional major, minor, or certificate.

Total: 25 credits

Intercultural Communication Elective Options

AMST 200 - What is an American? (3.00)
AMST 352 - American Culture in Global Perspective (3.00)
AMST 375 - Studies in Asian American Culture (3.00)
AMST 380 - Community in America (3.00)
ANTH 211 - Cultural Anthropology (3.00)
ANTH 310 - Ethnographic Film (3.00)
MCS 370 - Special Topics in Media and Communication Studies (3.00)
MCS 390 - Transcultural Studies in Global Television (3.00)
MLL 190 - The World of Language: Structural and Biological Aspects (3.00)
MLL 191 - The World of Language: Cultural and Social Aspects (3.00)
MLL 213 - Film and Society in Spain (3.00)
MLL 218 - Film and Society in Latin America (3.00)
MLL 220 - Film and Society in China (3.00)
MLL 230 - World Language Communities (3.00)
MLL 250 - Introduction to the French-speaking World (3.00)
MLL 270 - Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization (3.00)
MLL 271 - Introduction to Modern Russian Civilization and Culture (3.00)
MLL 280 - Introduction to the Spanish-Speaking World (3.00)
MLL 301 - Textual Analysis: Words, Images, Music (3.00)
MLL 305 - Introduction to Intercultural Communication (3.00)
MLL 306 - Intercultural Communication: Issues Confronting Immigrant and Heritage Communities (4.00)
MLL 310 - Intercultural Studies of International Film (3.00)
MLL 320 - International Feminist Filmmakers (3.00)
MLL 332 - Topics in German Culture (3.00)
MLL 406 - Theory and History of Intercultural Media (3.00)
MLL 425 - Intercultural and Cross-Cultural Communication (3.00)
POLI 260 - Comparative Politics (3.00)
POLI 280 - International Relations (3.00)
RUSS 315 - Studies in Russian Film (3.00)
SOCY 210 - Class and Inequality in the US
SOCY 211 - Diversity and Pluralism

Additional Information:

Grade Requirement

A “C” or better is required in all courses applied toward the major.

The Study of Foreign Languages/Study Abroad

A knowledge of at least one foreign language and familiarity with foreign cultures are important for understanding media and communications under the conditions of globalization in the 21st century. Beyond the language and culture requirements of the General Education Program, MCS students are strongly encouraged to study a foreign language to at least the 202 level (with appropriate exemptions made for native speakers of languages other than English). Study abroad is also strongly encouraged, for it can provide not only understanding of another culture but also important perspectives on U.S. culture and media.