The undergraduate program in Comparative Media Studies offers students an opportunity for interdisciplinary study of film, television, game design, virtual worlds, digital artworks, civic media, interactive writing, and other communications media.
Options include a major, minor, and concentration. While students are free to choose from among all of our required classes and electives to construct a major which best meets their unique interests, our classes can been seen as being broadly grouped into four clusters: Games and Interactive Media, Film/Television, Media Cultures, and Education.
Major
Requirements for the CMS Full Major
One Introductory Subject:
CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies
One Media Practice/Production Subject from the Following List:
CMS.301 Introduction to Game Design Methods
CMS.335 Short Attention Span Documentary
CMS.362 Civic Media Collaborative Design Studio
CMS.590 Design and Development of Games for Learning
CMS.609 The Word Made Digital
CMS.622 Applying Media Technologies in the Arts and Humanities
CMS.627 Imagination, Computation, and Expression Studio
CMS.628 Advanced Identity Representation
CMS.633 Digital Humanities: Topics, Techniques, and Technologies
CMS.634 Designing Interactions
21W.752 Making Documentary: Audio, Video, and More
One CI-M from the Following List:
CMS.400 Media Systems and Texts
CMS.405 Visual Design
CMS.407 Media and Methods: Sound
CMS.614 Network Cultures
CMS.618 Interactive Narrative
CMS.336 Social Justice and The Documentary Film
One Capstone Subject:
CMS.701 Current Debates in Media
Six Electives
Six additional classes from the list of CMS required classes or electives.
Major Advisors
Students with questions about the Major in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS Major, or how the Major requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with any of following individuals.
| T.L. Taylor Director of Undergraduate Studies tltaylor@mit.edu |
William Uricchio Major Advisor uricchio@mit.edu |
Shannon Larkin Academic Administrator slarkin@mit.edu |
Joint Major
Joint Major in Humanities and Engineering
The Humanities and Engineering (21E) degree and Humanities and Science (21S) degree are offered in CMS in combination with a field in engineering or science. Students completing a joint degree are required to complete 8 CMS subjects and 6 subjects in an engineering or science major. For more information on these degrees, contact Academic Administrator Shannon Larkin, slarkin@mit.edu.
Minor
The Comparative Media Studies minor requires six subjects, mapped out as follows.
One Introductory Subject:
CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies
One Intermediate Subject:
CMS.335 Short Attention Span Documentary
CMS.362 Civic Media Collaborative Design Studio
CMS.400 Media Systems and Texts
CMS.405 Media and Methods: Seeing & Expression
CMS.407 Media and Methods: Sound
CMS.590 Design and Development of Games for Learning
CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology
CMS.609 The Word Made Digital
CMS.614 Network Cultures
CMS.622 Applying Media Technologies in the Arts and Humanities
CMS.627 Imagination, Computation, and Expression Studio
CMS.627 Advanced Identity Representation
CMS.633 Digital Humanities: Topics, Techniques, and Technologies
CMS.634 Designing Interactions
21W.752 Making Documentary: Audio, Video, and More
One Capstone Subject:
CMS.701 Current Debates in Media
Three Electives
Three additional classes from the list of CMS required classes or electives.
Minor Advisors
Students with questions about the Minor in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS Minor, or how the Minor requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with either of the following individuals.
| Fox Harrell Minor Advisor fox.harrell@mit.edu |
Shannon Larkin Academic Administrator slarkin@mit.edu |
Concentration
The Comparative Media Studies concentration requires four classes from the list of CMS required and elective classes. See possible areas of study below.
Concentration Advisors
Students with questions about the Concentration in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS Concentration, or how the Concentration requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with either of the following individuals.
| Ed Barrett Concentration Advisor ebarrett@mit.edu please email for info |
Justin Reich Concentration Advisor – Education Track jreich@mit.edu |
Shannon Larkin Academic Administrator slarkin@mit.edu |
Areas of Study
Games and Interactive Media
| CMS.300 Intro to Videogame Theory CMS.301 Intro to Game Design Methods CMS.314/21W.753 Phantasmal Media: Theory & Practice CMS.608 Game Design CMS.609/21W.764 The Word Made Digital CMS.610 Media Industries and Systems CMS.611/6.073 Creating Videogames CMS.614/21W.791 Network Cultures CMS.615 Games for Social Change CMS.616/21W.768 Games and Culture CMS.617 Advanced Game Studio CMS.618/21W.765/21L.489 Interactive Narrative CMS.627 Imagination, Computation & Expression Studio |
CMS.628 Advanced Identity Representation CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio CMS.633 Digital Humanities CMS.634 Designing Interactions 11.127/CMS.590 Design and Development of Games for Learning 21A.502 Fun and Games: Cross-Cultural Perspectives MAS.110 Fundamentals of Computational Design STS.085 Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier |
Film/Television
| CMS.307 Critical Worldbuilding CMS.309/21W.763 Transmedia Storytelling: Modern Sci-Fi CMS.311/21F.055 Media in Weimar and Nazi Germany CMS.313 Silent Film CMS.333/ES.333 Production of Educational Videos CMS.334/21W.788 South Asian America: Transnational Media, Culture and History CMS.335/21W.790 Short Attention Span Documentary CMS.336/21W786 The Social Documentary CMS.338 Innovation in Documentary: Technologies & Techniques 4.341 Introduction to Photography and Related Media 4.352 Advanced Video 4.354 Introduction to Video 4.373 Advanced Projects in Art, Culture and Technology 4.602 Modern Art and Mass Culture |
21G.039 Gender and Japanese Popular Culture 21G.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema 21G.052 French Film Classics 21G.063 Anime: Transnational Media and Culture 21G.065 Japanese Literature and Cinema 21G.420 Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to Present 21L.432 Understanding Television 21L.433 Film Styles and Genres 21L.435 Literature and Film 21M.283 The Musical 21M.284 Film Music 21M.624 Acting with the Camera 21W.749 Documentary Photography and Photojournalism 21W.752 Making Documentary: Audio, Video and More 21W.787 Film, Music, and Social Change STS.056 Science on Screen |
| CMS.308 The Visual Story: Graphic Novel, Type to Tablet CMS.311/21G.055 Media in Weimar and Nazi Germany CMS.334/21W.788 South Asian America: Transnational Media, Culture and History CMS.350/21W.737 Topics & Methods in 21st Century Journalism CMS.360 Intro to Civic Media CMS.361 Networked Social Movements: Media and Mobilization CMS.362 Civic Media Collaborative Design Studio CMS.376 History of Media and Technology CMS.610 Media Industries and Systems CMS.613/21W.751 Writing for Social Media CMS.614/21W.791 Network Cultures CMS.619/WGS.111 Gender and Media CMS.621 Fans and Fan Cultures CMS.622 Applying Media Technologies in the Arts & Humanities CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio 21A.500/STS.075 Technology and Culture 21A.502 Fun and Games: Cross-Cultural Perspectives 21A.503 Language and Technology 21A.505/STS.065 The Anthropology of Sound 21A.508 Anthropology Through Speculative Fiction 21G.011 Topics in Indian Popular Culture 21G.027 Visualizing Japan in the Modern World 21G.030 Intro to East Asian Cultures: From Zen to Pop |
21G.036 Advertising and Media: Comparative Perspectives 21G.038 China in the News: The Untold Stories 21G.039 Gender and Japanese Popular Culture 21F.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema 21G.052 French Film Classics 21G.063 Anime: Transnational Media and Culture 21G.065 Japanese Literature and Cinema 21G.414 German Culture, Media, and Society 21H.315 American Consumer Culture 21L.012 Forms of Western Narrative 21L.421 Comedy 21L.430 Popular Narrative 21L.434 Science Fiction and Fantasy 21L.486 Modern Drama 21L.707 Problems in Cultural Interpretation 21M.840 Performance Media 21M.846 Topics in Performance Studies STS.008 Technology and Experience STS.085 Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier |
Education
| CMS.586 Introduction to Education: Looking Forward & Looking Back on Education CMS.587 Introduction to Education: Understanding & Evaluation Education CMS.590 Computer Games and Simulations for Investigation and Education CMS.591 Educational Theory and Practice I CMS.592 Educational Theory and Practice II CMS.593 Educational Theory and Practice III CMS.594 Education Technology Studio CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology |
