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Emerging Media and Technology - M.S.

Tech up your skills, unleash your creativity, and shape the future of digital media with the M.S. in Emerging Media and Technology. With a curriculum that combines theory and practice, our program prepares graduates for careers in cutting-edge fields such as virtual and augmented reality, web design & development, computational social science, training technology, technical project management and data visualization. Join a dynamic community of innovators and apply today. Read more...

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Program Information

Program Description

Full Description

The Master of Science degree in Emerging Media and Technology is designed to augment a student's skill set, affording new career opportunities for students from diverse undergraduate and professional backgrounds. Due to the program's STEM foundation and interdisciplinary nature, students learn quantitative and coding skills for emerging media platforms, including interactive websites and apps; data-based analysis, communication and visualization; theoretical understanding of the relationship between the technology industry and society; and the tools for working in and managing interdisciplinary teams on interactive technology projects.

Students in this program develop individual plans of study and engage in experiential learning through interdisciplinary elective graduate coursework in one of the following specialization areas: data analytics and coding; social scientific research; applied communication, information and strategy; applied creative technology; or training and development technology.

Admissions

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
  • Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
  • Official transcript(s)
  • Goal statement
  • Two letters of recommendation from professional or academic evaluators
  • Interview (effective for spring 2024 admission term, an interview will no longer be required)
  • English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning one of the following: 1
    • Minimum 587 TOEFL PBT score
    • Minimum 94 TOEFL IBT score
    • Minimum 82 MELAB score
    • Minimum 7.0 IELTS score
    • Minimum 65 PTE score
    • Minimum 110 Duolingo English score

Admission decisions will be made by the graduate program coordinator with consultation from the members of the graduate faculty.

1

Effective for the spring 2024 admissions term, the following minimum English proficiency scores will be required: 550 TOEFL PBT, 79 TOEFL IBT, 77 MELAB, 6.5 IELTS, 58 PTE or 110 Duolingo score.

Application Deadlines

  • Fall Semester
    • Application deadline: April 15 (international student) and July 1 (domestic student)
  • Spring Semester
    • Application deadline: October 1 (international student) and December 1 (domestic student)
  • Summer Term
    • Application deadline: April 1

Applications submitted after these deadlines will be considered on a space-available basis.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate competency in skills related to emerging media and technology, including technical problem-solving through
    1. coding;
    2. data-based analytics, communication and visualization; and
    3. interdisciplinary teamwork and project management.
  2. Apply interdisciplinary solutions to solving technical, social and human problems related to emerging media and technology.
  3. Demonstrate increased depth and breadth in applying emerging media and technology solutions in one of the areas of:
    1. data analytics/coding;
    2. social scientific research;
    3. applied communication, information and strategy;
    4. applied creative technology; and
    5. training and development technology.
Coursework

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements
EMAT 51510PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM DYNAMICS 3
EMAT 60010FOUNDATIONS OF EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 13
EMAT 60310CREATIVE CODING FUNDAMENTALS 3
EMAT 62110INTERACTIVE DATA 3
Interdisciplinary Specialization, chose from the following: 212
Applied Communication, Information and Strategy
Applied Creative Technology
Data Analytics/Coding
Social Scientific Research
Training and Development Technology
Culminating Requirement
Choose from the following:6
EMAT 60999
EMAT 69992
CAPSTONE PROJECT IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
and INTERNSHIP IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
EMAT 69199
THESIS I
Minimum Total Credit Hours:30
1

Students with previous programming experience may be waived from taking EMAT 60010. These students will be given a registration exception to enroll in EMAT 62110. In addition, they will required to complete 15 credit hours for the interdisciplinary specialization to graduate with the minimum 30 credit hours toward the degree.

2

For the interdisciplinary specialization, students develop a course plan with approval of their faculty advisor by the end of their first semester in the program. The makeup of this coursework is flexible, but each course should be designated under one of the five areas.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
3.000
  • Minimum 50 percent of coursework must be at the 60000 level.
Program Delivery
  • Delivery
    • In Person
  • Location
    • Kent Campus
STEM Status

The Emerging Media & Technology Master of Science degree is considered a STEM degree, and therefore does qualify for the 24-month STEM extension on Optional Practical Training (OPT).

More specifically, the EMAT MS degree falls under the broad United States government category of "Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies," and is assigned Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code 303101 Human Computer Interaction. This program classification is included in the STEM designated degree program list from the US Department of Homeland Security.

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries

Software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers

21.5%

much faster than the average

1,469,200

number of jobs

$110,140

potential earnings

Special effects artists and animators

4.1%

about as fast as the average

67,500

number of jobs

$77,700

potential earnings

Web developers and digital interface designers

8.0%

much faster than the average

174,300

number of jobs

$77,200

potential earnings

Computer and information systems managers

10.4%

much faster than the average

461,000

number of jobs

$151,150

potential earnings

Computer and information research scientists

15.4%

much faster than the average

32,700

number of jobs

$126,830

potential earnings

Computer systems analysts

7.4%

faster than the average

632,400

number of jobs

$93,730

potential earnings

Computer programmers

-9.4%

decline

213,900

number of jobs

$89,190

potential earnings

Sociologists

3.6%

about as fast as the average

3,200

number of jobs

$86,110

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.