Degree Requirements 2023-2024
New Media Major, Bachelor of Arts
The transdisciplinary New Media major is a course of study designed to engage students from all fields in an exploration of new and emergent media, preparing them for achievement and scholarship in multifarious new media environments. The program fosters learning to manage change in media, creating effective expressions (communications, creative works, applications) in digital environments, and exploring the interrelationship of new media with other fields of study to understand the relationships between technology and culture. The major involves options for courses in art, business, communication, computer science, education, English, music, political science, and more. Students are encouraged to double major and select a concentration in Game Design, Promotional Communication, or Web Design or design a path of study as approved by the program advisor.
Required of all New Media Majors:
- NMS 220 – Foundations of New Media
- NMS 242 – Electronic Literature
- COM 415 – Diversity and Representation in the Media
- POL 371 – Internet Law
- One of the following:
- NMS 399 – Internship
- NMS 375 Practicum
- Internship, Practicum, or Workshop in Concentration
- NMS 490 – Vocation and New Media (or Keystone in Concentration)
- Four courses (or at least 16 credits) from the new media electives list:
- ART 102 – Visual Literacy
- ART 124 – Graphic Design Production: InDesign (1cr)
- ART 125 – Graphic Design Production: Illustrator (1cr)
- ART 126 – Graphic Design Production: Photoshop (1cr)
- ART 133 – Introduction to Digital Photography
- ART 180 – Intro to Community-based Photography
- ART 201 – Introduction to Graphic Design
- ART 202 – Typography
- ART 215 – Introduction to Web Design
- ART 226 – Artist Workshop (1cr)
- ART 315 – Graphic Systems
- ART 340 – Digital Imaging
- COM 243 – Studio Production
- CSC 250 – Game Programming on the Web
- CSC 431 – Intro to AI Robotics
- CSC 495 – Topics: Mobile Applications
- EDC 220 – Educational Technology
- ENL 226 – Introduction to Creative Writing
- ENL 241 – Introduction to Cinema Art
- ENL 324 – Creative Non-Fiction
- ENL 328 – Screenwriting
- ENL 371 – History of Cinema
- FLM 180 – Film, Sight, and Sound
- FLM 240 – Animation
- FLM 260 – Documentary Production I
- FLM 372 – Producing for Film and Television
- INS 330 – Art Praxis: Social Justice Theory and Practice in the Field
- INS 331 – Art and Culture in Political, Social and Historical Context
- MUS 221 – Intro to Music Technology
- MUS 272 – Human Identity through the Creative Arts
- MUS 336 – Arts Management and Concert Promotion
- NMS 230 – Social Media
- NMS 260 – New Media Production
- NMS 295 – Topics in New Media
- NMS 320 – Contemporary New Media Practices
- NMS 495 – Topics in New Media
- NMS 499 – Independent Study
- PHI 260 – Philosophy and the Arts
- PHY 261 – Electronics
- POL 342 – Mass Communication and Society
- POL 495 – Impact of the Internet
- RLN 216 – Religion and Science in Popular Culture
New Media Concentration in Promotional Communication
This concentration emphasizes the importance of understanding message, purpose, goals, and audience to make effective use of new media technologies.
Students are required to take the New Media core and four of the following courses:
COM 120 – Mass Media and Popular Culture
COM 380- Strategic Communication Campaigns
NMS 230 – Social Media
NMS 260 – New Media Production
NMS 320 – Contemporary New Media Practices
New Media Concentration in Web Design
This concentration emphasizes visual design, interactivity, and web development. Students will obtain a foundation in design, learn coding, and obtain valuable skills in understanding the impact of such on society.
Students are required to take the New Media core and the following courses:
ART 124 – Graphic Design Production: InDesign
ART 127 – Graphic Design Production: HTML/CSS
ART 201 – Introduction to Graphic Design
ART 202 – Typography
ART 215 – Introduction to Web Design
ART 315 – Graphic Systems
POL 495 – Impact of the Internet
Game Design and Development Major
This major emphasizes the social significance of computational problem solving within the game narrative and game-based environments.
Students are required to take the following courses:
- NMS 220 – Foundations of New Media
- NMS 242 – Electronic Literature
- COM 415 – Diversity and Representation in the Media
- NMS / POL 371 – Internet Law
- NMS 490 – Vocation and New Media
- NMS 115 – Introduction to Game History and Design
- NMS 252 – Content and Systems Design
- NMS 352 – Unity I: Working With Unity
- NMS 452 – Unity II: Advanced Unity
- NMS 475 – Game Design Studio
- CSC 165 and 165L – Introduction to Computer Programming (Python)
- CSC 311 – Web Applications and Databases
- Complete both CSC 170 and CSC 272, or just GDM4 through Rize Education
- Both CSC 170 and CSC 272
- CSC 170 – Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (Java)
- CSC 272 – UNIX and C
- GSM4 – C# Programming
- Both CSC 170 and CSC 272
New Media Minor
Four core courses and 8 elective credits:
- NMS 220 – Foundations of New Media
- NMS 242 – Electronic Literature
- COM 415 – Diversity and Representation in the Media
- POL 371 – Topics: Internet Law
- Two courses or 8 credits from the new media elective list.
Departmental Honors
Departmental Honors is designed to encourage overall excellence as well as outstanding achievement on a specific project of special interest to the student. Departmental Honors students must maintain a 3.25 GPA in the major and a 3.00 GPA overall, and, as part of their major program, complete a substantial independent project of honors quality (COM 499/FLM 499/NMS 499 registration). Honors candidates should meet with their faculty mentor prior to their senior year to develop a proposal for the honors project.
Graduation Skills
The Critical Thinking (CT), Speaking (S), and Writing (W) graduation skills are embedded throughout the offered courses and are met by completing the major. The graduation skill in Quantitative Reasoning (QR) is met by completing the COM 351 for Communication Studies majors and one of DST 164, MAT 111, or PHY 119 for Film and New Media majors.
Note: For transfer students, at least three of these six courses must be courses offered at Augsburg.
For a complete list of courses and descriptions, see the Course Description Search.