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Media Literacy Certificate Program

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Undergraduate Certificates

Undergraduate Certificates give students a grounding in a particular skill set, allowing them to supplement their major with learning in other disciplines. Each certificate aligns with National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) career readiness competencies, which include Communication, Equity and Inclusion, Leadership, and Technology. Each certificate culminates in an Applied Experience, an internship or service-learning course that involves students in applying their learning outside the classroom. Internships for the Media Literacy Certificate must be approved by the certificate advisor and arranged through the Career Center for 3-4 credit hours. Faculty coordinators for internships must be from the program in which the internship is listed.

Some certificates include WCore and Honors courses, which can meet requirements both in the certificate and in WCore or Honors. Note that certificates are designed for undergraduates enrolled in a degree program, and only students completing certificates as part of a degree are eligible for financial aid.

Program Requirements

Advisor: Kim Zarkin

Complete all courses with a minimum grade of C-.

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Required Courses 8  
COMM 101 Disinformation in the USA 4  
COMM 240 Media and Society 4  
II. Elective 2-4  
Take one of the following:
FILM 110 Making Sense of Movies 4  
FILM/GNDR/LMW 378 Video Game Culture 4  
FILM/GNDR/LMW 380 Podcasting 4  
GNDR 223 Gender and the Media 2  
GNDR 226 I want my MTV! 2  
III. Applied Experience 3-4  
Take one of the following courses:
COMM 310 Business & Professional Communication 4  
COMM 326 Introduction to Web Writing and Design 4  
FILM 345 Video Production 4  
MUSC 410 Audio Production and the Music Business 3  
Internship (must be approved by the certificate advisor) 3-4  
Total Hours for the Media Literacy Certificate 13-16  

Double Dipping Between Certificate and Majors/Minors

“Double-dipping” here refers to (1) allowing students in a particular major or minor pursue a particular certificate and (2) allowing students who pursue a certificate alongside a major/minor to count a course toward both programs. The following guidelines relate to double-dipping between majors/minors and certificates that share courses. No other restrictions apply for programs that do not share courses with particular certificates.

Students in the following majors/minors and also concurrently pursuing the Media Literacy Certificate MAY count courses towards both programs:

  • Film Studies minor
  • Gender Studies minor
  • Literature, Media, and Writing major or minor
  • Music major, Music Studies major, or Music minor

Students in the following majors/minors MAY NOT concurrently pursue a Media Literacy Certificate:

  • Communication major or minor

It is otherwise assumed that an internship completed as part of an Undergraduate Certificate may also count toward a major or minor.