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Media and Entertainment Arts

Availability: Gulf Park and Hattiesburg Options

Media and Entertainment Arts

Creating and Entertaining

The degree in media and entertainment arts prepares students to enter the multibillion-dollar media and entertainment arts industries. The program features a set of core courses in media production and industry essentials shared by three majors: MEA Management, geared for students interested in the business side of entertainment; Video Arts, for students desiring the commercial and visual side of entertainment, and Sound & Recording, for students interested in music and live productions. The film program is housed on USM’s beautiful Gulf Coast campus and prepares students to contribute to the growing fields involving cinematic writing, producing and promoting. Film faculty ask students to engage both in the artistic elements of film and its applications across fields that value visual story telling.  

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4ways to customize your degree
3production, one management student organizations
2program-specific scholarships

What Will I Learn?

All students in the School of Media and Communication begin their journeys with a small set of core courses. These are COM110, a one-hour class that discusses the careers and opportunities available in Media and Communication; COM210, a two-hour skills class centered on Digital Skills, and COM310, Social and Digital Media, which introduces students to analyzing and creating social media. Recording industry production majors learn studio audio recording and editing skills for various platforms while management majors focus on festival and talent management and record company operations. Video arts learn to communicate a core message through visual content, with an emphasis on sharp digital content using single and multi-camera techniques, pre-production and concept development, writing for radio, television and film, and post-production procedures.

All students in the school are highly encouraged to do at least one internship during their college career. We know that internships are among the best indicators of successful placement after graduation. Student are encouraged to attend one of the regular internship meetings each semester to learn how internships work and how the school can assist in acquiring one. Recent internships have included a variety of television and live production positions, as well as many social media and other content creation jobs.

Each year the USM Foundation awards over $20,000 in scholarship funds geared toward students majoring in the School of Media and Communication. Using the Golden Opportunities (GO) Scholarship and Competitive Programs Application System, students can easily search, review requirements, apply and accept awards for available scholarship opportunities. Apply for scholarships through the GO system.

Your success is our success.

Whether working with students on class projects or honors theses, team projects or student groups, advising or chatting when we run into you on campus, we take the time to get to know our students. All of the faculty in the School are active in research projects and creative endeavors, balancing disciplinary leadership positions, and serving the university in important ways, but we always find time to help students. Your success is our success.

Availability

  • Commercial Producer
  • Sound Engineer
  • Videographer
  • Video Film Editor
  • Talent and Event Manager
  • Screen Writer
  • Tena Clark, 1976
    songwriter, producer, CEO and chief creative officer, DMI Music & Media Solutions
  • Alex Vanderleest, 2013
    Brand Partnerships, MilkMoney Inc.
  • David Sheffield, 1972,
    film and television writer
  • Diego Velasco, 1995,
    film writer-director-producer
  • Makareta Rademakers, 2017,
    Sports Production, Sky TV New Zeland
  • Zach Ball, 2015 
    DIT/Colorist, Mad Genius Labs, INC