Bachelor of Arts in English/Humanities with concentration in Culture and Media Studies
Take the films, games, graphic novels, and online culture you already pay attention to — and learn how to read them carefully, talk about them clearly, and turn that skill into a career.
Program Overview
An education in Culture and Media Studies will prepare you to analyze popular media like video games, films, graphic novels, and literature, through a culture studies lens. With a broad understanding of the media surrounding our daily lives, you will be prepared for a variety of careers as well as entry into a graduate-level media studies program.
Through extensive understanding of literature, linguistics, literary criticism, communication, and composition theory, your degree will provide a broad overview of general English courses that allow you to increase your knowledge of media and its relationships to current culture.
Guided by experienced faculty with interdisciplinary backgrounds in Culture and Media Studies, students gain experience studying film and digital media, video game narratives, virtual words, graphic novels, and animation. The multidisciplinary studies allow students to be prepared for success in a wealth of career opportunities after graduation.
In addition to understanding various culture and media areas, students also gain critical communication skills needed to function and succeed in a professional workforce. Students also have an opportunity to enhance their education through study abroad programs that are funded through the English & Humanities department.
Opportunities
- Students in the program have an opportunity to join Sigma Tau Delta, the prestigious international English Honor Society.
- Students will also have an opportunity to participate in fully funded study abroad trips sponsored by the Department of English and Humanities.
Career Outcomes
How to Apply
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Start your application
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Send transcripts
Have your high school guidance counselor send them to admissions@shawnee.edu
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At A Glance
Bachelor of Arts in English/Humanities with concentration in Culture and Media Studies
Degree
B.A.
Format
On Campus
Length
4 years (full-time)
Class Size
12:1
Location
Main Campus
Why Study Bachelor of Arts in English/Humanities with concentration in Culture and Media Studies at Shawnee University
21 credit hours of concentration coursework focused on film, digital media, video game narratives, virtual worlds, graphic novels, and animation — taught by faculty with interdisciplinary backgrounds in media and culture.
A required 3-credit capstone gives you a real project to point to — useful for graduate school applications or a first job in media.
16 hours of electives let you build out adjacent skills in history, sociology, music, art, or philosophy.
Funded study-abroad options through the English & Humanities department help you study culture and media in context.
Top students are eligible for Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society.
You'll start with a strong general English foundation — composition, literature, linguistics — and then layer in 21 hours of culture-and-media coursework that takes media artifacts (film, games, graphic novels, animation) seriously as objects of study. A 3-credit capstone lets you apply that work to a project of your choosing, mentored by a faculty advisor. 16 hours of electives let you cross over into history, sociology, music, art, or philosophy.
- Core English coursework in composition, literature, and linguistics
- 21 credit hours in culture and media studies (film, games, graphic novels, animation, digital media)
- 3-credit hour capstone project with faculty mentorship
- 16 elective hours in related fields — history, sociology, music, art, philosophy
The capstone is the centerpiece of hands-on work — you design and execute a media or cultural studies project with faculty mentorship, and the result becomes part of your portfolio or graduate-school application. Study-abroad opportunities through the department let you take that work international.
Students who complete the English & Humanities core will be able to:
- situate texts within a historical and cultural context;
- analyze texts through the lens of literary, cultural, rhetorical, and/or linguistic theory; and
- compose effective arguments supported by relevant evidence from primary and secondary sources.
Students who complete the Culture and Media Studies Concentration will be able to articulate the relationship between media technologies, cultural representation, and material practices.
On campus in Portsmouth, Ohio, in the Department of English & Humanities.
The concentration is especially useful for students aiming at the games industry or graduate study in a media-related field, but the analytical and communication skills transfer to PR, marketing, communications, and nonprofit work.
- Game writer, narrative designer, or game studies researcher
- Editor or content strategist for media or publishing companies
- Public relations, marketing, or brand strategist
- Nonprofit or arts-organization communications role
- Graduate study in media studies, cultural studies, or film
Common industries include games, film and video production, publishing, marketing and advertising, nonprofit and arts organizations, and higher education.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Shawnee State’s tuition is among the lowest in Ohio, and the Shawnee Advantage Tuition Guarantee keeps your rate flat for four years. Scholarships including Choose Ohio First and the Pell-Eligible Free Tuition Program may also apply.
Bachelor of Arts in English/Humanities with concentration in Culture and Media Studies Frequently Asked Questions
Students who want to work in the games industry or media production, and students who want to go to graduate school in media studies, cultural studies, or film. It also fits writers and analysts who want a strong cultural-studies frame for their work.
Both. You'll analyze media in seminar-style courses, and you'll also design and produce a capstone project. Studio and production work happens through electives and partnerships across the College of Arts & Sciences.
Past students have moved into game studios, media companies, nonprofits, marketing, PR, and graduate programs in media studies.
Program handbook
Contact the Department of English & Humanities for the current program handbook and concentration requirements.
Accreditation
Shawnee State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
