Media and Cultural Studies

Media and Cultural Studies Department at UC Riverside

Major

The Media and Cultural Studies major is designed to provide students with the tools to become autonomous and creative critics of diverse media and cultural expressions. Students acquire a critical, interdisciplinary analytic skill set that is simultaneously local and transnational, pertinent to social justice and political movements, encompassing the theoretical and the practical. 

MCS majors learn to approach the intersection of 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. How race, gender, class, sexuality, ethnicity as well as political economy, globalization and environmental justice intersect with media and culture is at the forefront of this program.

Students are encouraged to hone their skills through the practice of creative intervention in media environments, such as short form media and short form documentary production, graphic and audiovisual art, digital journalism (including blogs and videos), etc.

Students are encouraged to plot pathways with particular course topics and skill sets according to their individual interests in consultation with the Faculty Undergraduate Adviser. For example, students may want to focus on digital journalism, social documentary, the study of speculative fiction, film and media theory and critical analysis, etc.

MCS majors are prepared to participate actively 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.

Major Requirements

  • Lower-Division Requirements (5 lower-division courses; at least 20 units)

    1. 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 7 courses: 

    MCS 002, ART 004/MCS 004, MCS 005, MCS 010, MCS 015, MCS 020, AHS 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/KOR 047/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)

    1. 6 upper division MCS courses (strongly recommended to be taken with MCS faculty) chosen from [24 units total]: MCS 102, ANTH 103/MCS 103, ENGL 104/ MCS 104, MCS 105, MCS 106, MCS 107, MCS 108, MCS 109, MCS 110 (E-Z), MCS 111, GSST 112/LGBS 112/MCS 112, MCS 113, CPLT 134/GER 134/JPN 134/MCS 114, MCS 115, MCS 116, MCS 117, GER 118 (EZ)/MCS 118 (E-Z), MCS 119A & MCS 119B, MCS 120, MCS 122, GSST 124/MCS 123/ SEAS 175, MCS 124, LNST 125 (E-Z)/MCS 125 (E- Z)/SPN 125 (E-Z), CPLT 126/GER 126/MCS 126, GSST 166/ MCS 127, MCS 128, MCS 129, MCS 130, ART 131/MCS 131, MCS 132, MCS 134, ART 135/MCS 135, ART 136/MCS 136, AHS 136/MCS 137, AHS 137/MCS 138, MCS 139/SOC 139, MCS 140, MCS 141/GER 125/CPLT 125/EUR 125, MCS 142/SEAS 172/GSST 122, MCS 143 (E-Z)/LGBS 143 (E-Z)/ENGL 143 (E- Z), ENGL 144 (E-Z)/MCS 144 (E-Z), ENGL145 (E-Z)/MCS 145 (E-Z), ENGL 146 (E-Z)/MCS 146 (E-Z), MCS 147, MCS 148, MCS 149, ART 150/MCS 150, DNCE 171 (E-Z)/MCS 151 (E-Z), DNCE 172 (E-Z)/MCS 152 (E-Z), DNCE 173 (E- Z)/MCS 153 (E-Z), MCS 154, MCS 155/ART 155, MCS 156 (E-Z), MCS 157, MCS 158, MCS 159/URST 159, MCS 160, DNCE 161/MCS 161, DNCE 162/MCS 162, ART 161/MCS 163, MCS 164, MCS 165, MCS 166, MCS 167, MCS 168, MCS 169, MCS 171, MCS 172, MCS 173 (E-Z), MCS 174 (E-Z), MCS 177, MCS 178, MCS 179, MCS 180, MCS 181, MCS 184, MCS 185, MCS 186, MCS 187, MCS 188, MCS 190, MCS 193

    2. 3 elective upper division courses [12 units total]: ART 140, ART 145, ART 146 (E-Z), ART 155/MCS 155, ART 167, ART 168, ART 169 (EZ), ART 175, MCS1981, TFDP 101, TFDP 109, TFDP 132, TFDP 133, TFDP 135, TFDP 138, TFDP 145, TFDP 155, TFDP 156A, TFDP 156B, TFDP 157, TFDP 166A, TFDP 166B, TFDP 166C, TFDP 167, TFDP 168, TFDP 169 (Majors are encouraged to take one production course, but it is not required.)

    3. 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.