Arts, culture and society

Social media managers operate in fast-paced environments where they balance strategy with real-time communication. They’re also responsible for ensuring messages reflect the cultural, social and economic values of the communities they serve.

Taught through a technical communication lens, this program trains you to create content about, for and through digital technology. You’ll focus on writing for specific audiences, managing design projects and supporting ethical, accessible communication across platforms.

This concentration takes an interdisciplinary approach. The curriculum integrates business skills, content production, organizational communication and crisis and reputation management — topics often spread across departments at other universities. At ASU, they’re combined in one program that prepares you for a professional career in social media.

The knowledge and skills you’ll develop

Projects focus on writing, design and strategic content creation. You’ll also work with visual, video and audio formats to expand your digital communication abilities.

The curriculum covers topics such as podcasting, data visualization, grant writing, accessibility, global communication and usability testing. You’ll also gain insight into the history, theory and techniques of professional social media production. Key skills include:

• Advanced technology use for content creation
• Content development and management
• Cross-cultural communication and collaboration
• Writing for specific audiences

Social media evolves quickly, so course content is regularly updated to reflect new tools and best practices.

Who’s a good candidate for this program?

This program is ideal if you’re interested in professional communication roles within businesses, nonprofits or government settings. Coursework focuses on organizational strategy, including customer service, content planning and crisis communication.

This is not a journalism degree focused on news production. If you’re more interested in media theory and analysis, the Bachelor of Arts in mass communication and media studies may be a better fit.

Yes, in this online program, art studies students will get to make art. This art studies program is about looking, making, thinking and communicating. While most online art programs have a design or graphic design focus, this online art program is a studio arts program for students wanting a broad survey of art practices.

This hands-on art studies program looks to expand beyond the traditional fine arts degree pathway by offering experimental processes across a vast array of mediums and materials with the goal of pushing you into new generative thinking and problem-solving modes, by allowing you to discover rather than merely replicate.

What is studio art?

Studio art is defined as the practice of visual art made in a studio. This online art degree’s curriculum includes studio art courses, taught by professional artists, in the areas of printmaking, painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, animation and illustration. While a large focus of this art studies program is studio art, you do not need any prior experience in it, as the program’s courses are built to bring everyone up to the same level of skills.

What skills will I gain from the art studies degree concentration?

In this online art degree, you’ll gain a wide range of career-focused skills, such as creative thinking, ethical reasoning, problem solving, verbal and written communication, cultural awareness and quantitative reasoning.

Additionally, through making and discussing art, you’ll become knowledgeable in a range of artistic practices, materials and processes, including:

• Creating artistic and visual designs or displays.
• Designing merchandise or product displays.
• Developing graphic art, artistic content and marketing or promotional materials.
• Learning about bookbinding.
• Telling stories through visual art.
• Understanding the composition and elements of design.
• Writing material for artistic or commercial purposes.

This program prepares you for a rewarding career where you can make a difference in your community and around the world. If you’re interested in volunteering or working for organizations that advance the causes of social justice and human rights, this program may be a great fit for you. Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared to work in community-engaged advocacy and effectively support marginalized groups.

The skills you’ll develop in this program

A social justice and human rights degree is an interdisciplinary program that prepares you to advocate for rights and equality in local, national and global contexts. This program draws from a variety of social science disciplines including politics, sociology, history, anthropology and linguistics. Examining perspectives from all of these disciplines will prepare you to address pressing issues related to racial justice, immigration, feminism, refugee rights and more.

In addition to gaining broad expertise in these topics, you’ll be equipped with transferable skills from across the social sciences, including writing, communication, research and statistical analysis of human rights data. As you hone your skills in writing and research, you’ll gain essential knowledge related to rights and justice by taking nine credit hours from three different interdisciplinary tracks:

• Identity and place.
• Law, citizenship and migration.
• Social justice and inequality.

Get the opportunity to participate in research with faculty

As a student, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in research with faculty for funding or academic credit through the New College Undergraduate Inquiry and Research Experience program. The faculty you meet throughout your courses can help you connect to other faculty who share your interests and have space for an NCUIRE student. This research can strengthen your resume and allow you to stand out among the competition when entering the workforce.

Additionally, this bachelor’s degree can be completed as part of an Accelerated Master’s program. When accepted, you can earn a master’s degree in as little as one year after completing your undergraduate degree. This opportunity saves you time and money while giving you advanced knowledge in your field. Applicable master's degrees include:

• Master of Arts in social justice and human rights.

Traditionally, when picking a program, students are forced to choose between creative and technical fields. However, this program was created to break the mold and fill the growing demand for employees with multiple skill sets.

This program focuses on fostering a new kind of digital fluency — not only proficiency with design, tools and code, but also the ability to adapt to the rapid change associated with 21st century culture. As a media arts major, you’ll learn about the latest digital tools and systems while immersing yourself in the issues of lived experience in our new connected world.

What you’ll learn in this media arts and sciences program

You’ll master cutting-edge tools, engage in critical reflection of these tools and discuss their impact on our lived experience. Throughout your courses, you’ll also:

• Create images, animations and interactive programs.
• Examine the effects of digital technology on the way we live, communicate, learn and create.
• Experiment with techniques for physical, digital, literary and artistic prototyping.
• Explore techniques in programming in the context of images, sounds, interaction, networking and data visualization.
• Trace our evolution, look at current examples of hybrid cultural processes and discuss possible future trends.
• Learn how to use images, movies, sound files, microphones and cameras.

This program concludes with a hands-on capstone, in which you’ll integrate, extend and apply information, principles, theories and methods learned in previous courses while supervised by your instructor.

Please note: During the semesters spent completing your capstone, you’ll have access to all on-campus computing and fabrication resources, including a digital fabrication lab with 3D printers, a wood shop, laser cutters and an electronics lab.

Careers for media arts majors

As our world continues to evolve, there’s a surging demand for professionals who are both creative and technical. This program supports and fosters digital creativity, helping you stay ahead of the curve in our ever-changing digital culture.

Throughout your courses, you’ll gain computer, media, aesthetics and cultural literacy skills. With these skills and the hands-on experience gained in your capstone, you’ll have the knowledge and experience needed for a variety of jobs, including app designer, web developer, sound artist, UX designer and video game designer.

Digital media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, create and use digital media. This includes everything from knowing how to find credible information online to being able to communicate using digital media. A few examples of digital media literacy include knowing how to use digital media technology, spotting misinformation, creating digital content and evaluating the social, cultural and historical impact of media.

Digital media literacy goes beyond digital literacy and using digital tools. Instead, digital media literacy is the ability to use digital media to understand and interact with the world around you. Upon graduating from this program, you’ll have the skills needed to interpret digital media and produce digital content in a way that can benefit society.

Why is digital media literacy important?

Digital media is all around us. Nearly every message is created or distributed using digital technology, making it easier than ever to access important information. While this is generally seen as a positive, the rapid spread of misinformation can threaten our democracy. Being able to navigate these digital media challenges is fundamental to being a well-informed member of society.

Digital media literacy is not only important on a personal level, but also in the workplace and community. Understanding how people interact with information is essential in many communications careers. If you want to further develop your digital media skills, you can pair this degree with an online Bachelor of Science in digital audiences or further your education with the Master of Science in digital audience strategy.

Who’s a good candidate for this program?

If you’re interested in content creation, digital humanities, representation in media and education communication or other related fields, this online digital media literacy degree may be a great fit for you. Preparing you to be at the forefront of strategic digital media decisions with a deep understanding of how information and technology affect our daily interactions, you’ll graduate with the skills and knowledge needed to advance your career or pursue master’s, PhD or other professional programs.

One thing that sets this degree apart from other communication degrees is its focus on what happens after the content is made and distributed. You’ll learn how to examine who saw the content, who trusts it and what the audience did with it. This degree aims to help you become a professional communicator and understand how digital content helps or harms your audience and their communities, so you can create content that has a positive impact. 

This multifaceted program focuses on the experience of African-descended people in the past and present. You’ll examine pre-colonial Africa, the trans-Atlantic slave trade and African migration in history-based courses. The program places a special emphasis on studying the African diaspora, or the communities of African-descended people around the world resulting from migration.

Courses in this program also explore the culture, art, histories and politics of communities across the African diaspora in the Americas, Caribbean, Europe and continental Africa. You’ll also delve into the impact of institutional racism around the world. In a critical race theory course, you’ll examine how race is used, constructed and contested in America. Elective courses focus on racism in fields such as medicine, criminal justice, politics and education.

The skills you’ll develop in this program

This program bridges the humanities, social sciences and arts, and you'll learn a wide range of skills from these disciplines. Your courses will teach you how to combine information from various fields to analyze and solve complex problems. You'll also develop strong research abilities, cultural communication skills and diversity awareness. These skills will prepare you to lead efforts to build more equitable workplaces and environments across society.

What can you do with an African and African American Studies degree?

The interdisciplinary nature of this program means you’ll gain valuable transferable skills that apply to many career opportunities. You’ll be well-equipped for jobs focused on communication, social policy or diversity awareness. Upon graduation, you may also pursue an advanced degree in a related field such as sociology, political science or law.