The Department of Communication Studies and the Department of Art + Design offer a combined major in media arts and communication studies. Students interested in the combined major integrate the study of communication skills and processes with the study of the creation of the narrative arts, required for professional work in documentary film, game art and promotion, visualization, motion graphics, interactive art, illustration, and short animated films.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
BA Language Requirements
All BA students are required to complete the BA degree language requirements, for a total of 12 semester hours of language study or demonstrated equivalent proficiency, as described in Additional Requirements for BA students. Successful demonstration of proficiency does not reduce total minimum semester hours of study required to earn the BA degree.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
NUpath attributes Creative Expression and Innovation (EI), Interpreting Culture (IC), and Societies and Institutions (SI) are met through the major course requirements.
In order to graduate, students must complete Natural and Designed World (ND), Formal and Quantitative Reasoning (FQ), Analyzing and Using Data (AD), Difference and Diversity (DD), and Ethical Reasoning (ER) in their electives.
Media Arts Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Art and Design at Northeastern | ||
| ARTF 1000 | Art and Design at Northeastern | 1 |
| Art and Design Foundations | ||
| ARTF 1122 | Color and Composition (with optional ARTF 1123) | 4 |
| ARTF 2220 and ARTF 2221 | Movement and Time and Movement and Time Tools | 5 |
| Drawing Fundamentals | ||
| ARTF 1120 | Observational Drawing | 4 |
| or ARTF 1121 | Conceptual Drawing | |
| Art and Design History | ||
| ARTH 1001 and ARTH 1002 | Visual Intelligence and Seminar in Visual Intelligence | 4 |
| ARTH 2212 | Survey of the Still and Moving Image | 4 |
| Degree Project | ||
| ARTD 4530 | Media Arts Degree Project | 4 |
| Media Art Basics Electives | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8-9 | |
| Introduction to Photography and Photo Tools | ||
| Animation Basics and Animation Tools | ||
| Video Basics and Video Tools | ||
| Art and Design Electives | ||
| Complete any two courses not previously taken in ARTG, ARTE, ARTD, ARTH, or ARTS courses as long as prerequisites or corequisites have been met. | 8-9 | |
| If ARTD 3000 Topics in Media Arts (or any other topics course in the subjects listed above) is completed more than once, the additional completions may be allowed toward the electives. | ||
Communication Studies Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Communication Studies Common Requirements | ||
| COMM 1101 | Introduction to Communication Studies | 4 |
| COMM 1112 | Public Speaking | 4 |
| or COMM 2301 | Communication Research Methods | |
| Foundation Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Persuasion and Rhetoric | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| Principles of Organizational Communication | ||
| Communication in a Digital Age | ||
| Cluster Course | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Sex, Relationships, and Communication | ||
| Global and Intercultural Communication | ||
| Communication and Gender | ||
| Communication Law | ||
| Free Speech in Cyberspace | ||
| Writing-Intensive Courses | ||
| Complete two of the following: | 8 | |
| Mobile Communication | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Communication and Inclusion | ||
| Political Communication | ||
| Communication Criticism | ||
| Public Relations Principles | ||
| Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media | ||
| Free Speech: Law and Practice | ||
| Communication and Sexualities | ||
| Theories of Conflict and Negotiation | ||
| Nonverbal Social Interaction | ||
| Youth and Communication Technology | ||
| Crisis Communication and Image Management | ||
| Communication Studies Electives | ||
| Complete three COMM courses. | 12 | |
Integrative Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge/Integrative Requirement | ||
| COMM 3415 | Communication Criticism | 4 |
Communication Studies Grade Requirement
No more than two grades below a C in COMM courses may be used to fulfill degree requirements.
Program Requirement
128 total semester hours required
Sample Four Years, Two Co-ops Plan of Study
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| ARTF 1000 or COMM 1000 | 1 | ARTF 2220 and ARTF 2221 | 5 | Communicaton studies elective | 4 | Communicaton studies elective | 4 |
| ARTF 1122 (with optional ARTF 1123) | 4 | ARTH 2212 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 |
| ARTH 1001 and ARTH 1002 | 4 | COMM 1112 or 2301 | 4 | ||||
| COMM 1101 | 4 | Drawing elective | 4 | ||||
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | 8 | 8 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Media arts basics elective | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Communication studies elective | 4 | ||
| Communication studies cluster | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Communication studies foundation | 4 | ||||||
| Communication studies writing-intensive | 4 | ||||||
| EEAM 2000 | 1 | ||||||
| 17 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Media arts basics elective | 4 | Co-op | Co-op | Foreign language | 4 | ||
| Communication studies writing-intensive | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Art + design elective | 4 | ||||||
| Art + design elective | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | ||||
| ARTD 4530 | 4 | Foreign language | 4 | ||||
| COMM 3415 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Foreign language | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| Elective | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| 16 | 16 | ||||||
| Total Hours: 131 | |||||||