The School of Journalism and Mass Media’s first graduate program has been approved by UI’s Faculty Senate.
On Jan. 31, the senate voted unanimously to approve the program which includes a Master’s of Arts in Emerging Media and two academic certificates: Strategic Media Management and Media Production.
“Emerging media best describes our approach to teaching at the graduate level, which would be to engage with how media are emerging in society and in practice,” says Robin Johnson, the Director of JAMM.
Johnson previously worked as the coordinator for the Multiplatform Journalism program at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He developed and coordinated other graduate programs in the journalism department before coming to UI.
The new graduate program is several years in the making, with the original proposal existing since before Johnson started in his director position in 2018.
Johnson began drafting a formal program proposal in January 2022. The proposal was considered in Faculty Senate committees during the Fall 2022 semester. With Faculty Senate approval secured, the proposal will now move forward to the State Board of Education for curriculum review.
Pending approval from S.B.O.E., Johnson estimates the first Master’s in Emerging Media Studies cohort will start in Fall 2024.
The M.A. is a two-year, 36 credit program. Proposed coursework includes social media and analytics, production and design, audience engagement, media entrepreneurship and more.
The program is designed so that the entirety of the master’s program includes both academic certificates paired with either a thesis or a non-thesis project. Either academic certificate can be earned in two semesters; the M.A. can be completed in four.
Coursework for the graduate degree and academic certificates will be delivered online. Online offerings “provide access for students who would not otherwise have it,” according to UI’s Vice Provost for Digital Learning Initiatives, Dr. Ken Udas.
Udas started working for UI in June 2021. With 25 years’ experience teaching in online environments, Udas is the first in this vice provost role aimed at improving UI’s digital offerings.
Udas’s office partners with departments and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to develop curriculum and plans for delivering coursework online.
Part of developing new programs includes examining what kind of reach the university has to recruit students and where program graduates will be able to take their educational background.
The master’s program is targeted for a variety of career paths including industry work and academia. Students who complete a master’s degree or an academic certificate can generally teach undergraduate classes. The degree is also anticipated to be useful for advanced media management positions or specialized production positions.
The two academic certificates are professionally oriented and will likely attract students with some professional media or communications experience.
Udas says that some of the current hotspots for jobs in emerging media include Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C.
The program proposal includes a budget to hire two new faculty members. Johnson’s goal is that the newer faculty will be fully integrated into the JAMM department with current faculty.
Online offerings expand access to many more potential students, especially because UI is not primarily a commuter campus.
A major focus of Udas is ensuring access to education doesn’t stop at hosting online platforms. “One of the things that has historically been a problem,” he says, “is that you want to make certain that every student you’re inviting into an academic program is not only prepared but also has access to services so they can succeed.”
Its digital delivery is not the only forward-looking aspect of the graduate program.
The Emerging Media degree will be the first of its kind in Idaho. Idaho State University and Washington State University each offer a Master of Arts in Communication. Other regional schools offer graduate degrees like Gonzaga’s MA in Communication & Leadership or University of Oregon’s MA in Communication and Media Studies.
If approved by the State Board of Education, UI’s new graduate program will compete with the likes of Boston University, University of Georgia and Arizona State University. Each of these schools also offer MA programs incorporating elements of emerging media studies.
“There’s always something emerging in media,” Johnson said. “That’s what we want to capture with our degree and that’s what we’re going to teach.”
Katie Hettinga can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @katie_hettinga