The undergraduate program in Comparative Media Studies offers students an opportunity for interdisciplinary study of film, television, game design, virtual worlds, digital artworks, civic media, interactive writing, and other communications media.
Options include a major, minor, and concentration and a concentration in Education. While students are free to choose from among all of our required classes and electives to construct a major which best meets their unique interests.
Major
Requirements for the CMS Full Major
catalog.mit.edu/degree-charts/comparative-media-studies-cms/
| One Introductory Subject |
|---|
| CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies |
| One Capstone Subject |
|---|
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media (CI-M) |
| Six Electives |
|---|
| From the list of CMS required classes or electives. With permission from their CMS Major advisor, students may substitute relevant classes from other departments not found on this list, relevant cross-registered classes from Wellesley, Harvard, or MassArt, or pre-approved classes from study abroad for their elective requirement. |
Up to six departmental subjects may also count toward the Institute HASS Requirement.
Major Advisors
Students with questions about the Major in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS Major, or how the Major requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with any of following individuals.
| Vivek Bald Major Advisor vbald@mit.edu | Paloma Duong Major Advisor pduong@mit.edu | Danna Solomon Academic Administrator dsolomon@mit.edu |
Joint Major
Joint Major in Humanities and Engineering
The Humanities and Engineering (21E) degree and Humanities and Science (21S) degree are offered in CMS in combination with a field in engineering or science. Students completing a joint degree are required to complete 8 CMS subjects and 6 subjects in an engineering or science major. For more information on these degrees, contact Academic Administrator Danna Solomon, dsolomon@mit.edu.
Minor
The Comparative Media Studies minor requires six subjects: one introductory, one intermediate, one capstone, and three electives:
| One Introductory Subject |
|---|
| CMS.100 Introduction to Media Studies |
| One Capstone Subject |
|---|
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media |
| Three Electives |
|---|
| From the list of CMS required classes or electives. With permission from their CMS Major advisor, students may substitute relevant classes from other departments not found on this list, relevant cross-registered classes from Wellesley, Harvard, or MassArt, or pre-approved classes from study abroad for their elective requirement. |
Minor Advisors
Students with questions about the Minor in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS Minor, or how the Minor requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with either of the following individuals.
| Paul Roquet Minor Advisor proquet@mit.edu | Danna Solomon Academic Administrator dsolomon@mit.edu |
Concentration
Comparative Media Studies offers two concentrations directly — Comparative Media Studies and Education — and participates in the Computing and Society concentration.
The Comparative Media Studies concentration requires any four classes from the complete list of CMS required and elective classes that carry a HASS designation. Education subjects without a media studies component may count towards the Education Concentration, but not the CMS concentration.
Students with questions about the concentration in Comparative Media Studies, how to declare a CMS concentration, or how the concentration requirements can be fulfilled, should make an appointment with either of the following individuals.
| Edward Barrett Concentration Advisor ebarrett@mit.edu | Danna Solomon Academic Administrator dsolomon@mit.edu |
Computing and Society
CMS also participates in the Computing and Society concentration, and the following subjects may count toward it.
| Subject | HASS Requirement Type |
|---|---|
| CMS.314J Phantasmal Media: Theory and Practice | HASS-A |
| CMS.360 Introduction to Civic Media | HASS-H |
| CMS.361 Networked Social Movements | HASS-S |
| CMS.595 Learning, Media, and Technology | HASS-S |
| CMS.614J Critical Internet Studies | HASS-H |
| CMS.616J Games and Culture | HASS-S |
| CMS.701 Current Debates in Media | HASS-H |