Online Master of Arts in Emerging Media

About the M.A. in Emerging Media

The rate of innovation in communication technology is accelerating. Some of these innovations will change the world and the way we do business, learn, play, and relate to one another.

What’s more, the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ most recent Job Outlook survey reported 73 percent of employers list communication skills as a top qualification they seek in potential candidates.

Why earn a degree in Emerging Media?

Whether you hope to launch a career or invigorate your skills in the field of communication or expand your occupational potential, a degree in Emerging Media enables you to assess innovation and trends in communication, develop and execute strategies to capitalize on new media opportunities, and evaluate their impact at every level, from the personal to the global.

Our program prepares you to not only explore new media’s role in communication disciplines, including journalism, public relations, advertising, and marketing but also thrive in any field you work in now—and in the future.

Emerging Media Curriculum

The online program requires 33 total credit hours—nine 3-credit courses and a 6-credit capstone project—to be completed in 12 months for full-time students or up to 44 months for part-time students. Students will be required to take at least one course each semester. Students are allotted a total of 5 years to complete the program. Courses will be offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

The fall and spring semester courses offer a standard 14-week schedule. The summer semester offers condensed 6-week courses as well as the two required independent one-week courses housed on Loyola’s Evergreen campus in Baltimore, MD.

M.A. Emerging Media Course Schedule (sample)

Fall

• Exploring Digital Culture - Dr. Neil Alperstein
• The User Experience - Dr. Jonathan Lillie
• Emerging Media in Strategic Communication- Dr. Gregory Hoplamazian
• Emerging Media Applications - Dr. Neil Alperstein
• Emerging Media Law and Regulation - Dr. Elliot King
• Emerging Media Internship - Dr. Neil Alperstein
• Capstone Projects - Dr. Neil Alperstein

Spring

• Exploring Digital Culture - Dr. Neil Alperstein
• Media Innovation - Dr. Elliot King
• Emerging Media in Strategic Communication - Dr. Gregory Hoplamazian
• Social, Political, Economic and Cultural Issues in Emerging Media - Dr. Sara Magee
• Emerging Media Internship - Dr. Neil Alperstein
• Capstone Project - Dr. Neil Alperstein

Learning Aims

The learning aims for the online Master of Arts in Emerging Media program are as follows:

Master Knowledge and Skills:

• Master the technological and communication skills and knowledge appropriate to emerging media.
• Synthesize knowledge using interdisciplinary approaches including sociological, psychological, cultural as well as applied business and marketing strategies.
• Acquire the ability to continue professional development and life-long learning through learned adaptability to the use of new and emerging media.

Think Critically:

• Access, analyze and evaluate information effectively.
• Disseminate and communicate information effectively through the deployment of new and emerging media.

Manifest Leadership and Social Responsibility in the Workplace and Community:

• Understand and value individual differences—with particular awareness of the technology “haves” and “have-nots”— and have the skills and sensitivity for working effectively in a diverse and changing world.
• Comprehend the ethical principles appropriate to the field of communication, have the ability to identify ethical dilemmas such as issues regarding privacy and civic duty, and understand the frameworks for selecting and defending a right course of action based on a sound ethical grounding in Jesuit principles.
• Contribute professionally and personally to the broader community through the participation in community service projects.
• Consider issues of justice in making decisions, with particular regard for those who do not have access to communication media and those who may not be savvy users of communication media.

These aims may be summarized as:

• The skill to strategically evaluate emerging media platforms
• The vision to create programs, campaigns, and content utilizing new and emerging media platforms
• The ability to investigate and explain the legal, economic, social, political, and cultural impacts of new and emerging media
• The background to identify new communication opportunities for helping to create a socially just world