Cornell University Registrar

Program Description

Media Studies at Cornell is a broadly interdisciplinary field, and comprises faculty working in fields including but not limited to Africana Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Classics, Communication, Comparative Literature, German Studies, History, History of Art & Visual Studies, Information Science, Literatures in English, Medieval Studies, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Performing and Media Arts, Romance Studies, and Science & Technology Studies.

Students pursuing the Graduate Minor in Media Studies will be seeking to make connections across these fields and will draw upon the Graduate School's long tradition of encouraging self-directed, interdisciplinary study.  Students working with contemporary issues may gain historical grounding relevant to their concerns; students working historically may be inspired to think more directly about the relevance of their work to the present day; students working on theoretical issues may gain exposure to critical media practice and vice versa.  Students are encouraged to apply for the annual Media Studies Graduate Working Group grants in order to explore interdisciplinary approaches collectively.

This is a minor field. Application for admission is made only to the major fields. After matriculation, a student may select minor subjects from the major or minor fields.

Graduate Minor Requirements

A required introductory course, PMA 6400 Thinking Media Studies, will introduce a range of approaches to media studies and intends to facilitate connections among the discrete disciplinary fields.  Taught by two Media Studies faculty and featuring guest appearances from colleagues across the University, this class will first be offered in spring 2022.

Students will complete the required course and designate a member of faculty working in the Media Studies field, to guide research in the minor area of Media Studies, recommend classes, and attest to competency in Media Studies at the time of the A-Exam and dissertation defense.  That committee member will inform the Media Studies DGS of their student's progress in fulfilling minor requirements.  Fill out the Media Studies Graduate Minor application form.