Academic
Media Studies graduates might work in television, cinema, social media, magazines, gaming, and more.
Positions to consider are editor, screenwriter, script analyst, director, digital imaging technician, educator, camera operator, documentarist, and more.
Your graduation diploma will indicate the college from which you are enrolled. General education requirements might differ between campuses. Consult with an academic advisor to understand your path towards graduation.
The Media Studies major is 11 courses. All students take:
1 introductory Critical Studies class
1 introductory production class
1 Media History class
1 Media Theory class
1 Senior Seminar
2 Track-specific courses (Critical Studies, Film/Video, or Digital/Electronic track)
4 electives
Critical Studies: Students who are interested in focusing on Media History and Media Theory should choose this track. This track is writing intensive.
Film/Video: Students who want to focus on making film/video works should select this track. Students in this track will get more intensive training in Adobe Premiere, camera, lighting, and sound/video editing.
Digital/Electronic: Students looking to focus on digital art, animation, photography computational/interactive media, and gaming should select this track. Students in this track will get more intensive training in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects.
We recommend students take courses in several different areas of the major before choosing a track. Tracks should be selected in the junior year.
Internships are eligible for credit if they are in the media industry, broadly construed (film, tv, journalism, music industry, tech, art museums/galleries, advertising/marketing, graphic design, etc.).
Internships must also be unpaid to be credit eligible per college policy and provide more than 60 hours of work over the course of the internship.
To get credit, you must enroll in MS 196: Media Internship concurrently with your internship or the next semester you are on campus (for summer internships or students abroad only). MS 196 counts as an elective credit in the MS major.
Each internship is only eligible for credit once. The course can be taken twice for two separate internships.
Enrollment requires a course PERM and a completed Internship Proposal Form. PERMs will not be cleared without the form. (can we hyperlink to the form here?)
Current Students should make an appointment with Prof. Elizabeth Affuso, the Media Studies Academic Director. Appointments can be made via: https://elizabethaffuso.youcanbook.me/
Prospective Students should email Prof. Affuso for an appointment at elizabeth_affuso@pitzer.edu
Yes, many of our students go abroad in their junior year. Students can bring back two courses as elective credits in the Media Studies major. Popular study abroad locations for Media Studies students are Prague, Copenhagen, and the UK. Please meet with your Media Studies advisor or Professor Affuso if you have questions about study abroad and major credits.
West Hall Q121
Pitzer College Campus
1050 N Mills Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
We are open Monday-Thursday from August 1st-May 31st. Our office is closed annually from June 1st-July 31st.
Production
Only students enrolled in current production classes have access to the Production Center equipment. No exceptions.
If you are enrolled in current production class, please fill out the equipment contract form on our website, and you will be added to the Webcheckout system:
Once you are in Webcheckout, you can begin checking out equipment.
- Equipment checkout days are on Mondays and Thursdays only.
- Check-in times are 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Checkout times are 1 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
- Checkout periods are three days.
- If you check out on Monday, it is due that Thursday.
- If you check out on Thursday, it is due the following Monday.
Students are responsible for the equipment while it is in their possession. If you notice any broken or malfunctioning equipment, please notify the Production Center as soon as possible.
The Production Center has DSLR and camcorder HD cameras available for rental. We also have sound and lighting equipment available.
The Production Center has staff available for equipment training. It is highly recommended that students make an appointment for any training.
West Hall
Pitzer College Campus
1050 N Mills Ave, Claremont, CA 91711