May 18, 2016
SIU offers MBA/media and media management degree
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale is offering a new degree to prepare people for career advancement and leadership roles in a variety of media businesses.
The College of Mass Communication and Media Arts and the College of Business are offering the joint MBA/Master of Science in Professional Media and Media Management degree beginning with the fall 2016 semester. Registration is now underway for this two-year program. It is offered on campus with some courses available online.
Participants will obtain an understanding of the global economic structure within contemporary media industries, along with conceptual and practical production skills.
The program prepares graduates for management positions in publishing, web, film and television including cable networks, advertising firms and media ratings corporations. Graduates also will be prepared for production positions for professional corporate or public media including documentary making, studio production and various other positions including producers, filmmakers, researchers and project or series development. Program graduates will also be ready for management roles with non-profit media and community arts organizations or non-governmental organizations.
Instruction will be provided by researchers, scholars and media professionals, including award-winning television and film producers, new media storytellers, advertising and research specialists and multimedia journalists. Those participating in SIU’s new program will have access to a full range of research and production facilities including the Brown Communications Lab, the Global Media Research Center and the New Media Center for video, web, animation and audio production. Their work in these state-of-the-art labs and centers will be under the supervision of internationally known, award-winning scholars and media makers, according to Deborah Tudor, associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.
“The MBA/Master of Science in Professional Media and Media Management degree gives graduates a competitive edge, preparing them for management roles in a wide variety of media-related fields and increasing their chances of success in the highly competitive multi-media world,” Jason Greene, interim dean of the College of Business, said.
The new program replaces the MBA/Master of Arts in Media Theory and Research and the change was made for several compelling reasons, Tudor said.
“The Master of Arts degree was designed primarily for theory and research in all fields of mass communication and media arts and as with many other theory-based master’s degree programs, it was often used by students as a step toward a doctoral program. The new MBA/Master of Science in Professional Media and Media Management features a robust, professionally oriented curriculum that prepares people for the media management positions they want, making it a better match to the MBA,” Tudor said.
To obtain the two degrees separately, one would need to complete 33 semester hours in the College of Business to earn an MBA and 30 hours of coursework in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts to earn the master’s in professional media and media management. The concurrent degree program includes about 45 hours in total coursework from the two colleges.
For more information about the program or to register for it, visit the website at http://mcma.siu.edu/academics/graduate/ms_mba.html. Or, contact Tudor at dtudor@siu.edu or 618/453-4308 or Cathy Lilley, office manager, at mcmagrad@siu.edu or 618/453-3785.