Media and Cultural Studies

Media and Culture Shape the Future

Media and Cultural Studies Department at UC Riverside

Major

The Media and Cultural Studies major provides students with the tools to become creators and critics of media and cultural expressions.

MCS majors make media and documentary productions, graphic and audiovisual art, digital journalism (including blogs and videos), among other creative projects.

Students analyze media and culture, such as film, video, television, art, video games, virtual reality, the built environment, multimedia, visual and digital cultures, from critical interdisciplinary, global and local perspectives.

They understand how race, gender, class, sexuality, ethnicity, globalization and environmental justice intersect with media and culture.

MCS majors are prepared for careers in the creative industries and as independent cultural creators, as digital journalists and policy makers. With a strong critical and theoretical formation in the study of media and culture, students are also prepared to continue their learning in graduate school.

The MCS major offers five pathways through the major: Media Production; Critical Computational Studies; Digital Storytelling & Journalism; History/Theory of Film & Media; and Critical Issues in Cultural Studies.

Major Requirements

  • Lower-division requirements (5 lower-division courses [at least 20 units]):

    a) MCS 001

    Students are required to take MCS 001 and must receive a “C-/above” in this course to declare MCS as their major. The department will consider grade petitions on a case-by-case basis. 

     

    b) Any 3 of the following courses: MCS 002, ART 004/MCS 004, MCS 005, MCS 007, MCS 010, MCS 015, MCS 020, MCS 023

     

    c) One additional course (at least 4 units) from the following: ART 006/MCS006, MCS 009/MUS 007, MCS 015, CPLT 021/MCS021, AST 022/JPN 022/MCS 022, GER 045/MCS 042, MCS 043/RUSN 045, ITAL 045/MCS 044, FREN 045/MCS 045, MCS 046/SPN 046, AST 047/KOR047/MCS 047, AST 064/MCS 049/VNM 064, CRWT 066/MCS 066/TFDP 066

     

     

  • Upper-division requirements (minimum 9 upper-division courses [at least 36 units]):

    a.) 6 upper division MCS courses (strongly recommended to be taken with MCS faculty) chosen from [24 units total]

    b.) 3 elective upper division courses [12 units total]. Majors are encouraged to take one production course, but it is not required.

    c.) No more than four units of MCS 190 or MCS 193 and a total of four units of MCS 198-I may be applied may be applied towards the minimum requirement.

Pathways in the MCS Major

  • Media Production

    MCS media production courses include a wide range of media forms, including video, art, social documentary, music, and more. Key areas include building hands-on practical skills, understanding the histories of specific media, and learning critical strategies for organizing and presenting ideas in a range of media forms.

    • MCS 003 Immersive Media Production
    • MCS 004 Introduction to Moving Images
    • MCS 066 Screenwriting
    • MCS 106 (E-Z) Topics in Media Production
    • MCS 134 Transmedia
    • MCS 150 Intermediate Moving Images
    • MCS 155 Advanced Moving Images
    • MCS 164 Digital Media & Participatory Citizenship
    • MCS 192 Junior Seminar
    • MCS 193 Senior Seminar
    • MCS 199 Special Studies
  • Critical Computational Studies

    Computational cultural studies merges computational methods with critical thinking to analyze how technology intersects with society.

    • MCS 002 Introduction to Immersive Media
    • MCS 003 Immersive Media Production
    • MCS 005 Intro to Media Studies
    • MCS 027 Introduction to Video Game Studies
    • MCS 108 Electric Earth: Media Ecology Theory Culture
    • MCS 109 (E-Z) Computation and Culture
    • MCS 116 On Networks: Digital Culture, Media, Technology
    • MCS 121 (E-Z) Live-Streaming and Gaming
    • MCS 146 (E-Z) Special Topics in Technoculture and Digital Media
    • MCS TBA Critical AI
    • MCS TBA Data Economies
    • MCS TBA Automation and Work
    • MCS 164 Digital Media and Participatory Citizenship
    • MCS 167 VR Beyond Images
    • MCS 187 Theorizing New Media
    • MCS 192 Junior Seminar
    • MCS 193 Senior Seminar
    • MCS 199 Special Studies

  • Digital storytelling and journalism emphasize skills in digital journalism, social documentary, web design, podcasts, live-streaming, and game development.

    • MCS 005 Media Studies: Theory & Practice
    • MCS 007 Digital Journalism and Society
    • MCS 107 History of Documentary Filmmaking
    • MCS 109 E-Z Computation and Culture
    • MCS 140 Alternative Media Production
    • MCS 146 Special Topics in Technoculture
    • MCS 150 Moving Images
    • MCS 155 Advanced Moving Images
    • MCS 162 Tool, Technology, Technique
    • MCS 167 Virtual Reality Beyond Images
    • MCS 177 Indigenous Media
    • MCS 187 Theorizing New Media
    • MCS 192 Junior Seminar
    • MCS 193 Senior Seminar
    • MCS 199 Special Studies

  • History and theory of film and media combines the study of national cinemas with courses on the film and media industries.

    • MCS 004 Introduction to Moving Images
    • MCS 005 Media Studies: Theory and Practice
    • MCS 009 Music in Movies and TV
    • MCS 015 Introduction to Television Studies
    • MCS 020 Introduction to Film Studies
    • MCS 046 Introduction to Global National or Regional Media Cultures
    • MCS 101 Race, Gender and the Superhero
    • MCS 104 Film and Media Theory
    • MCS 107 History of Documentary Film
    • MCS 110 (E-Z) Topics in Film and Media History
    • MCS 111 History of Media Theory
    • MCS 112 History of Queer Cinema
    • MCS 118 (E-Z) Topics in World Cinema
    • MCS 120 Major Figures in Film and Media
    • MCS 126 From Novel to Screen: Adaptations
    • MCS 129 Disney: Producing Race, Gender & Sexuality
    • MCS 145 (E-Z) Film and Visual Culture
    • MCS 172 Topics in Film and Media Genres
    • MCS 174 (E-Z) Comparative Studies in Film
    • MCS 192 Junior Seminar
    • MCS 193 Senior Seminar
    • MCS 199 Special Studies

  • Critical Issues in cultural studies includes courses in media analysis and material cultures, with an emphasis on critiques of hegemonic power structures.

    • MCS 102 (E-Z) Topics in State Violence, Policing, and Criminalization
    • MCS 101 Race, Gender and the Superhero
    • MCS 106 (E-Z) Topics in Media Production
    • MCS 133 (E-Z) Topics in Media, Environmentalism, and Environmental Justice
    • MCS 143 Gender, Sexuality & Visual Culture
    • MCS 144 Race, Ethnicity & Visual Culture
    • MCS 147 (E-Z) Topics in Afrofuturism
    • MCS 154 Media, Gender & Violence
    • MCS 192 Junior Seminar
    • MCS 193 Senior Seminar
    • MCS 199 Special Studies