A National Student Advertising Competition student works on a visual for the "Reject Regular" campaign for Meta Quest 2 while the rest of the team discusses.

Media Arts and Production Concentration

Creative Communication

Media Arts and Production is a new concentration in the J-School that focuses on concept development, audience understanding and multi-faceted creative ideas and skills to produce great work. Media Arts puts discovery, excitement and passion at the forefront of learning.


The Intersection of Research and Creativity

The William Allen White School Of Journalism and Mass Communications Media Arts concentration is for thinkers and doers who want to merge creativity, technology and ideas. The concentration will empower students to explore and develop as creative media producers and storytellers, media and audience researchers, critical thinkers, and enterprise leaders in an ever-evolving media environment.

Our curriculum is designed to get students to think multi-dimensionally, see the big picture and connect with various audiences through multiple media outlets.

Graduates will be able to bridge the creative process with business needs, resulting in powerful, emotional experiences that resonate.

 

Student writing on a whiteboard

Curriculum

You’ll have plenty of options to learn the skills to take you on your creative journey.

Media Artists in Demand

The creator economy is experiencing explosive growth and shows no sign of slowing down. Media Arts was developed to fill a need for a new generation of tech-savvy creators needed to fill the surge in jobs in the new world of emerging media.
computer on desk with wireless keyboard and mouse with colorful shapes popping out of the screen

Potential Job Outlook

Media creators are in high demand due to growth in podcasts, videos and blogs. In 2015, fewer than 28,000 job titles included “creator.” As of September 2021, over 123,000 LinkedIn members had “creator” in their job titles. In the first 11 months of 2021, nearly 147,000 premium job postings on LinkedIn carried “creator” in the title. In November, those job posts were up 220 percent. These are just a few of the jobs that are part of the boom:

• Creative copywriter or director

• Social media content creator

• Creative video producer/director

• Digital content creator/strategist

• Audience & brand experience team

• Digital magazine editor and producer

• Influencer/blogger

• Gamification specialist

• Podcast & audio producer/director

• Website & digital content producer

And many more!

A new generation of tech-savvy creators are needed to fill the surge in jobs in the emerging media industry.

Job TitleAvg. Annual SalaryJob Growth Outlook
Art Director$97,27011% (faster than average)

Web Developers and Digital Designers

$77,200

13% (faster than average)

Producers and Directors$76,40024% (much faster than average)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021

 

 


Outside the Classroom

Students in Media Arts can further flex their creativity by joining one of our student media organizations or by participating in JSchool Tech workshops to learn Adobe programs.
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