“Our media programs at Sacred Heart focus on not just how to create media, but also how media impacts individuals and society,” says Lori Bindig, assistant professor of communication and media studies and director of the media literacy and digital culture program. “As a culture, we spend more and more time with media, and so it becomes increasingly important to understand its impact on us, on our children, on our politics—it affects everything.”

Bindig says the program entails a unique hands-on experience that allows students to create their own curriculum and material, depending on their interests.

“For example, teachers might come up with particular lesson plans that they could use with their students,” she says. “Or health professionals could create a handout of best practices to distribute to parents or patients. Students can partner with a non-profit and work with them to raise awareness about a particular issue,” she says. The degree is also useful to media practitioners and corporate professionals who want to produce creative and ethical campaigns designed to reach a 21^st century audience.

Bindig says there are only a handful of media literacy programs in the country, “and none of the others are set up this way, with this sort of embedded hands-on learning experience that helps the students, but also gives back to the wider community.”

Students will earn the degree in one of two tracks: Children, Health, and Media or Media and Social Justice. The master’s degree will consist of 36 credits that can be completed in as little as one year. Students may also enter the program for the purpose of earning a graduate certificate. Courses will include “Social Media and Culture,” “Children and Media,” “Media and Body Image,” “Sports, Culture, and Media,” “Media Ethics in a Professional Context,” “Media and Violence,” “Media and Social Movements” and “Multimedia Health Promotions.”

The university will hire one additional full-time, tenure-track professor to bolster its faculty for the new program.

To find out more, contact Eva Magnuson at 203-371-7884 or magnusone@sacredheart.edu, but first see the live links at the top of the post or peruse this fact sheet: MLDC fact sheet 2.27.15.