Humanities and arts - Media storytelling or digital literacy

This digital concentration builds on traditional marketing principles to connect with audiences in the digital realm. In tailored courses, you’ll learn how organizations use digital media tactics, create engaging experiences and build relationships through social media. Topics range from content planning and paid media buying to email marketing and user experience. You’ll also get hands-on practice with Google Analytics, The Trade Desk, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Semrush, OpenAI and other industry tools.

As a digital marketing major, you’ll gain the skills to craft impactful campaigns and make strategic decisions. You’ll graduate prepared for careers in search engine optimization, growth marketing, social media marketing and analytics. This degree also provides a competitive edge for roles in media buying and planning, influencer marketing, e-commerce and more.

Who’s a good fit for this program?

This program is ideal if you’re passionate about combining marketing and technology to transform how brands engage with customers. It’s also a great fit if you’re interested in marketing beyond content creation, such as understanding consumer behavior and using insights to guide marketing initiatives. Whether you’ve gained experience through organizations or student-led ad agencies, or are new to marketing, this program provides the skills to launch your digital marketing career.

If you’re interested in exploring marketing more broadly — such as brand management, graphic design, video production or advertising — ASU’s online bachelor’s in marketing may better align with your goals.

This concentration provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the art form and business of filmmaking. Courses are designed as project-based learning experiences that train you in the use of innovative technology and equip you with the skills and knowledge base needed to pursue diverse career paths in the entertainment industry. You’ll graduate with a broad toolset in areas such as:

• Entertainment and media ethics.
• Feature, short and episodic screenwriting.
• Foundational production skills.
• History and practices of the film and media industry.
• Producing practices, including on-set production and production management.
• Production for feature films, television and internet content.
• Screenwriting for feature films, television and new media.

Who’s a good fit for this program?

This degree is a good fit for those seeking careers in the film, media and entertainment industries. As an ideal candidate, you’ll be a creative who’s interested in the interdisciplinary nature of filmmaking and the journey of a story from idea to intended audience. While there are film production courses that include hands-on learning with equipment, this is a generalist degree that will give you a broad understanding of the art form and industry.

Whether you have experience working in the entertainment industry or are making a career shift to pursue your passion, this program will provide you with the industry insight and educational credentials to build a lasting career.

What jobs can you get with a filmmaking practices degree?

With a filmmaking practices degree concentration, you’ll be prepared for a variety of careers in Hollywood and beyond, including media and entertainment production, producing, marketing, management and public relations.

This program will provide you with an understanding of what it takes to build a lasting career in the media industry, equipping you with knowledge of ethical practices and an appreciation for innovative storytelling on screens big and small.

As a digital society, there’s a growing need for professionals who understand the importance of art, media and technology in learning. In this concentration, you’ll explore how humans learn and the role arts technology plays in shaping the future of education. You’ll also learn how to drive innovation in settings ranging from libraries and science museums to after-school programs and adult education settings.

Additionally, you’ll gain insight into different types of media technologies and ways they can enhance education. Your courses will demonstrate how to use artificial intelligence, virtual reality and creative tools to facilitate learning. You’ll also develop cultural literacy, which involves understanding the sociocultural and environmental impacts of implementing technology in education.

The skills you’ll develop in this program

In this interdisciplinary program, you’ll expand your media arts and technical skills in the context of education. You’ll build competencies in programming for media creation, digital design, research, communication and collaboration. Additional skills you’ll add to your toolkit include:

• Aesthetic literacy, including form and composition.
• Computational tools and methodologies.
• Improvisation and rapid prototyping.
• Media processing and editing for video, audio and graphics.
• Modeling and inference.
• Physical computing.
• Visualization and sonification.
• User experience.

Who’s a good fit for this media arts and sciences degree?

This concentration can complement your skills whether you have a creative or technical background. For artists and creatives, this degree offers opportunities to increase your fluency with technological tools. If you’re technical-oriented, you’ll gain a foundation in the cultural and creative use of technology. Regardless of where you start, you’ll graduate prepared to reimagine learning experiences within communities, organizations and more.

If you’re interested in exploring media technologies outside of the context of education, ASU’s general Bachelor of Arts in media arts and sciences online is an option to consider. However, both the general program and the education concentration focus on cultivating your creative and technical skills, equipping you to make an impact in today’s digital world.

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.

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.