Undergraduate Minor

Media are the technological means through which societies are reflected, tested, challenged, and transformed. Cornell Media Studies is unique for its broad cultural scope and historical reach which fosters collaborative interaction among the disciplines, from Classics to Information Science. The Media Studies minor presents undergraduates with the opportunity for interdisciplinary engagement with diverse modes of communication, from the hieroglyph to the algorithm, encompassing the myriad technologies, forms, and practices by which information circulates amongst a now digitally-networked global population. An ancient concept that remains cutting edge in its applications, Media Studies identifies the transformation of every discipline by new formations of knowledge — digital, textual, visual, aural, tactile — and by corresponding requirements for the evaluation, interpretation, critique, and production of media. It is relevant to every college student.  

The undergraduate minor in Media Studies is open to students enrolled in any college at Cornell. Successful completion of the minor will be noted on students’ official transcripts.

The Media Studies minor consists of five courses, amounting to a minimum of 15 credits.

1. Thinking Media (COML/ENGL/GERST/MUSIC/PMA/SHUM 2703)
   • Thinking Media is a 3-credit class in the spring that rotates through departments, led by a primary instructor and featuring guest lectures from faculty across the University.
   • Must be taken for a letter grade.
2. Making Media course
   • Students must take at least one Making Media course. A list of classes that meet the requirement can be found online.
   • Must be taken for a letter grade.
3. Media Studies Minor Colloquium (PMA 2000)
   • Students will take this 1-credit course with other members of the Media Studies undergraduate cohort, which will meet once a week to share and reflect on their experiences and to discuss relevant concepts.
4. Media Studies courses
   • Students will take at least two additional courses, passing with a grade of C or higher. All qualifying courses and their parent departments will be listed on the Media Studies website. At least one of these courses must originate outside of the student’s major department. One class may be taken for an S/U grade.

Students should complete the undergraduate minor application form below, including a short statement outlining their motivations for pursuing the minor, prospective pathway through it, and their future plans.  Students will meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to certify completion of the minor.

Media Studies undergraduate minor application

Director of Undergraduate Studies 2024-25: Jeremy Braddock