As of Fall 2026, this minor is no longer accepting students.

The Digital Media Minor is designed for students with a broad interest in the study of digital culture. Courses within this minor provide students a flexible and rigorous program examining digital technology and everyday life, ethical concerns in digital practices, contemporary games and game culture, digital media production, the persuasive communicative power of global digital media industries, and emergent user practices.

Related Programs

Curriculum

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
COMM 175	Introduction to Communication	3
or COMM 201	Media Theory and Criticism
COMM 200	Digital Communication and Society	3
COMM 275	Web Design and Usability	3
COMM 360	Digital Media Ethics	3
Elective Courses
Select three courses from the following list. A max of one course can be from non-COMM options.		9
COMM 213	Digital Foundations
COMM 227	Social Justice and Public Communication
COMM 258	Game Studies
COMM 280	Media Technology & Society
COMM 299	Themes in Film and Digital Media
COMM 322	Guerilla Media
COMM 323	Remixing Culture
COMM 357	Programming Film & Media: Festivals, TV & Digital
COMM 361	New Media Criticism 1
COMM 371	Special Topics Communication Studies
COMM 373	Digital Storytelling Abroad 2
COMM 374	Special Topics: Film & Digital Media
COMP 111	History of Computing (WI)
COMP 125	Visual Information Processing (core eligible)
COMP 150	Introduction to Computing (core eligible)
COMP 170	Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
COMP 250	Research Writing: Open Source Tools and Techniques (WI)
COMP 317	Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing
COMP 388	Topics in Computer Science
SOCL 226	Science, Technology, & Society
Total Hours		21

¹

Writing Intensive

²

Satisfies Engaged Learning requirement.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework.  An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term as well as the start term for a major or graduate study.  Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.

Plan of Study Grid

Sophomore
Fall		Hours
COMM 201	Media Theory and Criticism (OR COMM 175 Introduction to Communication)	3
COMM 200	Digital Communication and Society	3
	Hours	6
Spring
COMM 275	Web Design and Usability	3
	Hours	3
Junior
Fall
COMM 360	Digital Media Ethics	3
	Hours	3
Spring
Minor Elective #1		3
	Hours	3
Senior
Fall
Minor Elective #2		3
	Hours	3
Spring
Minor Elective #3		3
	Hours	3
	Total Hours	21

Learning Outcomes

• Similar to learning grammar to create sentences or speaking the sounds of a foreign language, students who minor in digital media will learn the "language" of film and how shot composition/framing aid in storytelling just as well as dialogue.
• You will be exploring non-fiction, narrative, and experimental genres and will be asked to demonstrate competency in visual storytelling, camera, editing, sound, lighting, scripting and design work. 
• You will  be asked to integrate theoretical and ethical ideas about the media into the creative context of visual/aural expression.
• In this minor, we will provide students with the basic terminology, observational and critical skills and theoretical background for the study of film aesthetics and language, history, cultural and formal analysis.
• Lastly, you will approach each assigned screening by performing a close analysis of each film that will explore its cinematic elements and properties such as mise-en-scene, cinematography, camera angles, editing, sound and image relation, narrative and other structures of organization, etc. and, furthermore, explore how different modes of composition and style develop over time.