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 and a concentration in Education. 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 five clusters: Computing and Society, Education, Games and Interactive Media, Film and Television, and Media Cultures.
Major
Requirements for the CMS Full Major
| One Introductory Subject |
|---|
| CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies |
| One Capstone Subject |
|---|
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media |
| Six Electives |
|---|
| 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.
| Paul Roquet Major Advisor proquet@mit.edu | Justin Reich Major Advisor jreich@mit.edu | Paloma Duong Major Advisor pduong@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: one introductory, one intermediate, one capstone, and three electives:
| One Introductory Subject |
|---|
| CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies |
| One Capstone Subject |
|---|
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media |
| Three Electives |
|---|
| 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
Comparative Media Studies offers two concentrations directly — Comparative Media Studies and Education — and participates in the Computing and Society concentration.
The Comparative Media Studies concentration requires any four classes from the complete list of CMS required and elective classes.
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 | Shannon Larkin Academic Administrator slarkin@mit.edu |
CMS Concentrations
Students pursuing a CMS concentration may choose any four subjects from the full listing of CMS required and elective classes.
Below are some sample areas of study for a CMS concentration, but students are not required to restrict their concentration proposal to the samples given below.
Games and Interactive Media
| CMS.300 Intro to Videogame Theory | CMS.618/21W.765/21L.489 Interactive Narrative |
| CMS.301 Intro to Game Design Methods | CMS.627 Imagination, Computation & Expression Studio |
| CMS.314/21W.753 Phantasmal Media: Theory & Practice | CMS.628 Advanced Identity Representation |
| CMS.608 Game Design | CMS.627 Imagination, Computation & Expression Studio |
| CMS.609/21W.764 The Word Made Digital | CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio |
| CMS.610 Media Industries and Systems | CMS.633 Digital Humanities |
| CMS.611/6.073 Creating Videogames | CMS.634 Designing Interactions |
| CMS.614/21W.791 Network Cultures | 11.127/CMS.590 Design and Development of Games for Learning |
| CMS.615 Games for Social Change | 21A.502 Fun and Games: Cross-Cultural Perspectives |
| CMS.616/21W.768 Games and Culture | MAS.110 Fundamentals of Computational Design |
| CMS.617 Advanced Game Studio | STS.085 Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier |
Film and Television
| CMS.307 Critical Worldbuilding | 21G.052 French Film Classics |
| CMS.309/21W.763 Transmedia Storytelling: Modern Sci-Fi | 21G.063 Anime: Transnational Media and Culture |
| CMS.311/21F.055 Media in Weimar and Nazi Germany | 21G.065 Japanese Literature and Cinema |
| CMS.313 Silent Film | 21G.094 Cinema in Japan and Korea |
| CMS.333/ES.333 Production of Educational Videos | 21G.420 Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to Present |
| CMS.334/21W.788 South Asian America: Transnational Media, Culture and History | 21L.432 Understanding Television |
| CMS.335/21W.790 Short Attention Span Documentary | 21L.433 Film Styles and Genres |
| CMS.336/21W786 The Social Documentary | 21L.435 Literature and Film |
| CMS.338 Innovation in Documentary: Technologies & Techniques | 21M.283 The Musical |
| 4.341 Introduction to Photography and Related Media | 21M.284 Film Music |
| 4.352 Advanced Video | 21M.624 Acting with the Camera |
| 4.354 Introduction to Video | 21W.749 Documentary Photography and Photojournalism |
| 4.373 Advanced Projects in Art, Culture and Technology | 21W.752 Making Documentary: Audio, Video and More |
| 4.602 Modern Art and Mass Culture 21G.039 Gender and Japanese Popular Culture | 21W.787 Film, Music, and Social Change |
| 21G.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema | STS.056 Science on Screen |
Media Cultures
| CMS.308 The Visual Story: Graphic Novel, Type to Tablet | 21G.027 Visualizing Japan in the Modern World |
| CMS.311/21G.055 Media in Weimar and Nazi Germany | 21G.030 Intro to East Asian Cultures: From Zen to Pop 21G.036 Advertising and Media: Comparative Perspectives |
| CMS.334/21W.788 South Asian America: Transnational Media, Culture and History | 21G.038 China in the News: The Untold Stories |
| CMS.350/21W.737 Topics & Methods in 21st Century Journalism | 21G.039 Gender and Japanese Popular Culture |
| CMS.360 Intro to Civic Media | 21F.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema |
| CMS.361 Networked Social Movements: Media and Mobilization | 21G.052 French Film Classics |
| CMS.362 Civic Media Collaborative Design Studio | 21G.063 Anime: Transnational Media and Culture |
| CMS.376 History of Media and Technology | 21G.065 Japanese Literature and Cinema |
| CMS.610 Media Industries and Systems | 21G.067 Digital Media in Japan and Korea |
| CMS.613/21W.751 Writing for Social Media | 21G.414 German Culture, Media, and Society |
| CMS.614/21W.791 Network Cultures | 21H.315 American Consumer Culture |
| CMS.619/WGS.111 Gender and Media | 21L.012 Forms of Western Narrative |
| CMS.621 Fans and Fan Cultures | 21L.421 Comedy |
| CMS.622 Applying Media Technologies in the Arts & Humanities | 21L.430 Popular Narrative |
| CMS.631 Data Storytelling Studio | 21L.434 Science Fiction and Fantasy |
| 21A.500/STS.075 Technology and Culture | 21L.486 Modern Drama |
| 21A.502 Fun and Games: Cross-Cultural Perspectives | 21L.707 Problems in Cultural Interpretation |
| 21A.503 Language and Technology | 21M.840 Performance Media |
| 21A.505/STS.065 The Anthropology of Sound | 21M.846 Topics in Performance Studies |
| 21A.508 Anthropology Through Speculative Fiction | STS.008 Technology and Experience |
| 21G.011 Topics in Indian Popular Culture | STS.085 Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier |
Education
See Education Concentration for more info.
| CMS.586J Introduction to Education: Looking Forward and Looking Back on Education | STS.014 Embodied Education: Past, Present, Future |
| CMS.587J Introduction to Education: Understanding and Evaluating Education | CMS.594 Education Technology Studio |
| CMS.590J Design and Development for Games and Learning | CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology |
| CMS.591J Education Theory and Practice I | CMS.593J Education Theory and Practice III |
| CMS.592J Education Theory and Practice II |
Computing and Society
CMS also participates in the Computing and Society concentration, and the following subjects may count toward it.
| Subject | HASS Requirement Type |
|---|---|
| CMS.314J Phantasmal Media: Theory and Practice | HASS-A |
| CMS.360 Introduction to Civic Media | HASS-H |
| CMS.361 Networked Social Movements | HASS-S |
| CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology | HASS-S |
| CMS.614J Network Cultures | HASS-H |
| CMS.616J Games and Culture | HASS-S |
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media | HASS-H |