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Media Arts + Practice (MA+P) is a community of multi-media creators who are fluent in the techniques and technologies of digital art and design, cinematic media, and storytelling.

We live in a world of multiple screens and multiple forms of media. In today's global culture those screens are portals to information, inspiration and entertainment. Fields as diverse as business, medicine, education, architecture, law, urban planning, filmmaking, and many more, need innovative designers, artists and storytellers who know how to create engaging digital media experiences for the screens that matter to their audiences—whether they fit in a pocket or cover entire walls.

MA+P students learn to make a variety of media-websites, films, art installations, visualizations- as well as design strategies for how and when to use each form. The program encourages exploration of new and emerging technologies, challenging students to think innovatively about the future of digital media. MA+P graduates are ready to assume positions as media makers, artists, graphic designers, media analysts and researchers, and managers of digital media products and processes, both within and beyond the entertainment industry. They prepare for leadership positions in creating, developing and managing innovative digital media.

Our Media Arts + Practice BA program falls under the CIP code 50.0102: Digital Arts, and our Media Arts + Practice PhD program falls under the CIP code 50.0601: Film/Cinema/Media Studies.

Stories

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Film School Ranking
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MAP Faculty

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Johans Guadalupe & Katie Luo
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Michael Bodie
Faculty Profile

Student Stories

Ellie Schmidt

Ellie Schmidt
Ph.D, Media Arts + Practice '30

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Desmond (Myung Jae) Kim

Desmond (Myung Jae) Kim
BA, Media Arts + Practice '25

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David de Rozas

David de Rozas
Ph.D, Media Arts + Practice '28

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Featured Student Work

Clea T. Waite - Ice-Time

Karl Baumann - Sankofa City

Juri Hwang - Nightfield

Noa Kaplan & Szilvia Ruszev
Heterotopias

Karen Alohalane Abe - A Home: Not Paradise

Jay Borgwardt - Shadows of Memory

Kyle Ang - Tiger Tea Zine

William Falstrup - City Noise

Degree Programs

UNDERGRADUATE
Bachelor of Arts

Whether exploring traditional media (such as digital storytelling and web design) or discovering emerging forms (such as data visualization, virtual reality, and digital strategy), MA+P students have unparalleled access to the most exciting technologies in the world. Students train with faculty who are not only pioneers in developing these new tools, but also attentive mentors eager to support the next generation of innovative media makers. With opportunities to take classes across the School's other divisions, MA+P graduates gain a competitive advantage in shaping the career of their choosing.

View Degree Requirements External Site

GRADUATE
Certificate in Digital Media and Culture

Contemporary scholarship is undergoing profound shifts as new technologies alter how scholars interact, conduct research, author and visualize their work, as well as how they teach. The certificate program in Digital Media and Culture explores the shifting nature of scholarly expression, pedagogical practice and research in the 21st century, combining seminars with hands-on, lab-based workshops in order to facilitate sophisticated critical thinking and practice in and through multimedia.

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Doctor of Philosophy

The Media Arts + Practice Ph.D. program offers a creative environment for scholarly innovation as students explore the intersections of cinema, design, emerging media and critical thinking while defining new modes of research and scholarship for the 21st century. Core to the program is its transdisciplinary ethos, its open curriculum and its commitment to the union of critical thinking and making. After completing foundational course work, students design their own curricula, drawing on expertise within all of the divisions and research labs within the School of Cinematic Arts, and in other schools across the USC campus.

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Minors

Digital Studies

The minor in digital studies is perfect for digital visionaries who want to explore how the moving image and connected culture can affect and course of study. Students will learn traditional storytelling techniques as well as the most advanced cutting edge digital landscapes. The minor in digital studies is perfect for digital visionaries who want to explore how the moving image and connected culture can affect and course of study. Students will learn traditional storytelling techniques as well as the most advanced cutting edge digital landscapes. The minor also offers an Honors track for students who wish to pursue advanced coursework.

View Degree Requirements External Site

Future Cinema

The minor in future cinema explores the frontier of audiovisual storytelling, building on the cutting edge research within the School of Cinematic Arts. Students will explore the creative and technological transformations of an industry in transition as cinema becomes live, playable, immersive, mobile, virtual, crowdsourced and more.

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Media and Social Change

The minor in media and social change provides the opportunity for students who are interested in media content creation and research to take classes in a focused curriculum on the various aspects of media for change. Students will gain insight into the professional practices of creating media content, analyzing existing content, and learning how they can influence the future by integrating social issues into the work they are doing in related fields.

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Contact Information

Media Arts + Practice
USC School of Cinematic Arts
3470 McClintock Avenue, SCI 101
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211
Phone: 213.821.5700
http://map.usc.edu

Undergraduate Inquiries:
Sonia Seetharaman, Associate Director of Academic Programs
Phone: 213.821.5860
Email: sseetharaman@cinema.usc.edu

Graduate Inquiries:
Dr. Elizabeth Ramsey, Associate Professor and Assistant Chair
Phone: 213.821.5873
Email: eramsey@cinema.usc.edu