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Media Arts and Culture

Overview

The Media Arts & Culture Department (MAC) integrates the study of film and media, digital and visual culture, and media production, working with students to engage an increasingly participatory media landscape. We produce graduates who are media literate, technologically savvy, critically engaged, and culturally and historically informed.

Our students research and write about a broad range of topics in the fields of film and media; they create a wide variety of audiovisual media, including fiction, documentary, and experimental work; they write screenplays and pilot scripts; they advance media making beyond the screen into installation, public, and virtual spaces; and they learn new tools for digital scholarship. Students produce senior comprehensives capstone work in one of two focuses: Critical Media or Media Production. All students, regardless of their project choice, are expected to push the boundaries of media scholarship, project form, and modes of audiovisual communication.

Note that given its rigor and course sequencing, it is not possible to complete the MAC major in less than three years. In accordance with College Policy, students must declare the major by the end of their sophomore year. In order to do so they must have successfully completed two 4-unit courses in MAC, one of which must be a designated gateway course. In accordance with College Policy, students must attain a minimum 2.0 grade point average in these two courses in order to be accepted as a major. It is therefore strongly recommended that students initiate coursework and meet with a MAC faculty member to map out a plan of study in their first year.

If interested in a study abroad semester, this must occur in the fall of junior year, as junior majors must be at °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp in the spring for required advanced-level coursework. MAC Senior Comprehensives is a year-long fall/spring semester process, and so majors must commit to being present at °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp for a full senior academic year. Students must also carefully plan their 200-level electives to develop the conceptual, creative, and technical skills required for their chosen senior comprehensives project form. See major requirements below for details.

Given the demand for the MAC major and the particular sequencing of classes, transfer students entering as juniors are not able to pursue the MAC major but are welcome to consult with MAC faculty in developing a five-course MAC minor.

Major Requirements

The Media Arts and Culture Major requires a minimum of 48 units.

Major

One Gateway Course

Students are required to take one of the three 100-level gateway courses listed below by the end of sophomore year and before declaring the major. Please also note the Overview information above regarding the need to also complete an additional 4-unit MAC class of your choosing by the end of sophomore year in order to declare the major.

MAC 143	Introduction to Visual and Critical Studies	4 units
MAC 145	Introduction to Digital Media and Culture	4 units
MAC 146	Aesthetics of the Cinema	4 units

Four 4-unit MAC courses at the 200-level or above

Students are required to take at least four 4-unit MAC courses at the 200-level or above. (These are in addition to the MAC 390 Junior Seminar and 400-level Senior Comprehensives courses, which are separate requirements.)

Note the focus-specific requirements below when selecting these classes:

Critical Media Focus

Critical Media Focus students must complete at least two critical or historical media studies courses at the 200-level or above by the end of junior year. These can be chosen from MAC 241, MAC 243, MAC 244, MAC 246, MAC 248, MAC 249, MAC 251, MAC 252, MAC 260, MAC 295 or a pre-approved study-abroad course. Critical Media Focus students are also required to take one 200-level course with a media production component before graduating. This can be fulfilled by MAC 240, MAC 242, MAC 245, MAC 247, MAC 250, MAC 255, MAC 270, MAC 271, or a pre-approved study-abroad course. Note: if a student intends to make a video essay, they are required to take MAC 251: The Video Essay before the spring of senior year and if they wish to record any sort of live action interviews for their video essay work, they must also take either MAC 240 or MAC 242 before the spring of senior year.

Media Production Focus

Junior Seminar

The college's Second-Stage Writing Requirement is fulfilled by completing the MAC 390 Junior Seminar in the spring semester of junior year. See the Second-Stage Writing Requirement section below for full details.

MAC 390

Junior Seminar in Media Theory and Criticism

4 units

Senior Seminar

Students will satisfy this requirement by selecting the appropriate Senior Seminar sequence for their focus. Note that MAC Senior Comprehensives is a year-long process:

Critical Media Focus (8 units total):

• Fall: MAC 490 Senior Seminar in Critical Media (4 units)
• Spring: MAC 493 Senior Directed Research (2 units)
• Spring: MAC 494 Presentation and Professionalization (2 units)

Media Production Focus (6 units total):

• Fall: MAC 491 Senior Seminar in Live-Action Media Production (4 units) if making a live-action project OR MAC 493 Senior Directed Research (4 units) if writing a screenplay/pilot or if making an animated project or other production project form not requiring live-action filming. Media Production students will complete their Senior Comprehensives project by the end of Fall semester in their senior year.
• Spring: MAC 494 Presentation and Professionalization (2 units)

See the Comprehensive Requirement Section below for full details.

Elective Units

Students may choose from the following elective options to bring their total units in the major to 48:

• Take additional MAC classes.
• Take pre-approved courses from other °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp departments. These include any Art History, Studio Art, Theater, Music (MUSC, not MUSA), or Computer Science classes and the following additional courses: CORE 99 Experiencing the Arts (a great way to get credit for attending campus arts events, including MAC events; can be taken 2x), CSLC 225, CSLC 226, CTSJ 261, CTSJ 361, CWP 285, CWP 286, CWP 301, DWA 281, ENGL 147, ENGL 178, ENGL 280, ENGL 281, ENGL 380, ENGL 382, JAPN 271, SPAN 312. A maximum of 10 such units from other Oxy departments can be counted as MAC elective units.
• Take pre-approved MAC-related courses while studying abroad. Eligible students may apply to study abroad in the fall semester of junior year; students must be back in spring of junior year for the MAC 390 Junior Seminar and Advanced-Level coursework.
• Enroll in 2-unit INT 200 media internships through the Hameetman Career Center. A maximum of 4 internship units can be counted as MAC elective units.
• Take pre-approved Art Center College of Design Exchange or other MAC-related transfer credit courses. A maximum of 8 Art Center or other transfer units can be counted as MAC elective units.

Honors in the Major

A student with an overall GPA of at least 3.5 overall and 3.6 in the major who has demonstrated excellence in departmental courses can submit a proposal for an honors project in the fall of senior year for completion in the spring of senior year. For further information on honors requirements and timelines, refer to the Senior Comps Page of the MAC Department Website and consult your faculty adviser.

Minor

Second-Stage Writing

All students majoring in the department must successfully complete the Second-Stage Writing Requirement by completing the MAC 390 Junior Seminar with a grade of C+ or higher. Students not receiving this minimum grade will need to take an additional critical media class senior year, pre-approved by the Department Chair, and receive a grade of C+ or higher in order to complete the Second-Stage Writing Requirement.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students will satisfy this requirement by selecting the appropriate Senior Seminar sequence. Note that MAC Senior Comprehensives is a year-long process:

• Critical Media Focus (8 units total): The MAC 490 Senior Seminar in Critical Media is a 4-unit fall course in which students develop their senior comprehensives project. In the spring of senior year, students will enroll in a 2-unit MAC 493 Senior Directed Research course in order to meet completion assessment benchmarks and a 2-unit MAC 494 Presentation and Professionalization course to prepare for public presentation of the project and postgraduate professionalization. Students pursuing the Critical Media focus can produce projects that take a range of forms including research papers, websites, video essays, or other hybrid forms of research creation. Projects are often either a 25-page essay or a 7-10-minute video essay and 5-page video statement. Students should be certain to note the 200-level course eligibility prerequisites for particular project forms detailed in the Major Requirements section.
• Media Production Focus (6 units total): The MAC 491 Senior Seminar for Live-Action Production is a 4-unit fall course required for students making projects requiring live-action production. Alternately, a 4-unit fall MAC 493 Senior Directed Research course is required for students writing a screenplay/pilot or making an animated project or other production project form not requiring live-action filming. Media Production students complete their Senior Comprehensives project by the end of Fall semester of senior year. Students pursuing projects with intensive post-production needs (visual effects, animation) may petition to take an additional 2-unit MAC 493 Senior Directed Research in Spring. In the spring of senior year, all students will enroll in a 2-unit MAC 494 Presentation and Professionalization course to prepare for public presentation of the project and postgraduate professionalization. Students pursuing the Media Production focus produce works across a range of short-form fictional, experimental, interactive, expanded, installation, animated, performative, or documentary-based production forms or write a feature-length screenplay with an associated lookbook and pitch, or a TV pilot script with an associated series treatment and pitch. Students should be certain to note the 200-level course eligibility prerequisites for particular project forms detailed in the Major Requirements section.

Comprehensives projects will be assessed by the primary faculty advisor and will be given a “Pass" or “Fail" designation that is provided to the Registrar as indication of whether or not the College Comprehensives Requirement has been fulfilled. See the Senior Comps Page of the MAC Department Website for more detailed information on Pass/Fail assessment measures. After the spring Senior Comprehensives Week Screenings and Presentations, a designation of “Pass with Distinction" may occasionally be granted to projects that departmental faculty agree surpass the standard expectations for senior comprehensives.

Transfer Credit Policies

Major
Given the distinct course approaches engaged by MAC, particular required courses in the major must be completed at °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp: Gateway classes: MAC 143, MAC 145, MAC 146; Required Production Focus Courses: MAC 240, MAC 392; Junior Seminar: MAC 390; and Senior Seminars: MAC 490, MAC 491, MAC 493, MAC 494.

A maximum of 8 pre-approved or other transfer credit units can be counted as MAC elective units.

Given the demand for the MAC major and the particular sequencing of classes, transfer students entering as juniors are not able to pursue the MAC major but are welcome to consult with MAC faculty in developing a five-course MAC minor. Transfer students with first-year or sophomore class standing seeking to major in MAC may count a maximum of 12 chair-approved transfer credit units towards the MAC major.

Minor
For Oxy matriculants, no transfer courses are accepted for the minor. For students who transferred to Oxy or returned from a leave of absence, the one study abroad course permitted in the minor requirements can instead be a transfer course.

Online Courses
Any requests for online transfer courses must be assessed by the chair factoring in the institution’s accreditation, hours of lecture/contact, nature of assigned readings/ screenings, nature of written analytical and reflective assignments, nature of other projects, exams, or assignments, and the level of discussion/ presentation/ reflection demonstrated by the course. Please provide a full syllabus for chair’s consideration.