B.F.A. Degree with a Major in Mass Media

About this field

Mass media refers to all forms of communication that reach large audiences. Students who study mass media at Valdosta State University are exposed to a variety of disciplines within the field of mass media, including broadcast journalism, digital journalism, and video, audio and documentary production. Students with degrees in mass media are in high demand and enjoy successful careers in news, radio, television, sports broadcasting, corporate production and more.

The Valdosta State Difference

Our Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Mass Media prepares you to step into the workforce in professional positions upon graduation to meet the needs of employers in media who are looking for skill and experience. The mass media program at VSU offers you the opportunity to develop skills that employers are actively seeking and unable to find.

The mass media degree will provide you with significant hands-on experience in broadcast, audio, narrative moviemaking, and documentary production. In addition, you will have experience in creating and deploying social media. The program ends with you developing resume and portfolio materials to fast track your entry into the job market. So, you have selected a degree that will give you flexibility in what you choose will do.

There are many strong points to our program. Among them are strong faculty and student interactions. It is not unusual as you pass through the building and see faculty talking with students in offices or just chatting in the hall. Faculty are genuinely interested in what students are doing and their progress toward graduation.

We also have excellent facilities. We have a dedicated building that was recently renovated. The Computer labs, equipment storage and checkout, classrooms, faculty offices, studios, and study space are all in the same building. This close proximity for all the programs resources has improved the already strong connection between students and faculty.

Finally, we make sure that your educational experience transcends the classroom. Many of our classes have projects that involved the campus or local community. Students tend to take multiple video and audio workshops to polish their skills and build demonstration materials. You can also take advantage of Studies Abroad. Just this past year students completed an award winning documentary shot in Ireland as the main project for one of these classes.

In your senior year you will take our senior seminar in which you will prepare your resume and portfolio materials and practice interviewing and presentation skills to prepare you for your career search.

How do we know we are successful? Just look at our alumni. We have a strong placement rate and our alumni stay in contact with us. We regularly have alumni return to campus to talk with students and meet with classes to share their experiences. We view this alumni relationship as a strong advantage to our program.

What You'll Learn

As a major in the Mass Media program you will:

• develop critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and planning.
• plan and design messages for multiple channels
• work with deadlines.
• shoot images, record sound, and edit stories.
• learn storytelling and narrative.
• learn the writing, performance, production and editing skills for production work required in the modern production industry.

Admissions Requirements

Students who declare a major in mass media must earn a grade point average of 2.50 or better in all Area F courses. Any student who fails to earn a 2.50 in Area F courses will be notified of the deficiency and automatically switched to an undeclared major status.

Careers

• Audio-Visual Consultant
• Broadcast Journalist
• Broadcast Supervisor
• Camera Operator
• Documentary Filmmaker
• Film Director
• Film Editor
• Film Producer
• Filmmaker
• Media Analyst
• Media Production Assistant
• News Anchor
• News Director
• News Producer
• Newscaster

• On-Air Radio Personality
• Photojournalist
• Press Secretary
• Radio General Manager
• Radio Newscaster
• Radio Programming Director
• Reporter
• Sportscaster
• Television Director
• Television Editor
• Television Producer
• Television Station General Manager
• Video Editor
• Web Producer
• Website Developer