The Curriculum
The iMedia program involves an intensive curriculum designed for students to complete within 10 months because of the rapidly changing world of interactive media. Students take courses beginning in late July or early August. In the fall, students take a broad range of courses in theory and production and are able to narrow their focus in the spring. All students complete a Winter Term course. Graduation is in May.
Foundation Courses
The iMedia program is open to students with an undergraduate degree in all disciplines. Those who have not completed undergraduate courses in media writing and in media law and ethics are required to successfully complete seminars in these two content areas unless they can prove extensive professional media experience that the School of Communications determines warrants a waiver. The seminars are provided by the School of Communications the week before the program begins and are included in tuition.
iMedia Curriculum
Required Courses (28 hours):
August term
Fall term
| COM 525 | Digital Video Production | 1 sh |
| COM 530 | Theory and Audience Analysis in an Interactive Age | 3 sh |
| COM 540 | Interactive Writing and Design | 3 sh |
| COM 550 | Producing Interactive Media | 3 sh |
| COM 560 | Interactive Media Strategies | 3 sh |
| COM 565 | Visual Aesthetics | 3 sh |
Winter term
| COM 570 | Interactive Project for the Public Good | 3 sh |
Spring term
| COM 590 | Interactive Media Capstone | 6 sh |
Elective Courses (Choose three):
(Representative list only; others will be added as needed)
| COM 561 | Intellectual Property Law | 3 sh |
| COM 562 | Multimedia Storytelling | 3 sh |
| COM 563 | Virtual Environments | 3 sh |
| COM 564 | Public Opinion through New Media | 3 sh |
| COM 566 | Interactive Media Management and Economics | 3 sh |
| COM 567 | Application Development | 3 sh |
| COM 568 | Special Topics in Interactivity | 3 sh |
| COM 569 | Professional Apprenticeship | 3 sh |
| COM 572 | SEO, Analytics and Social Media | 3 sh |
| COM 573 | Datamining and Visualization | 3 sh |
| COM 574 | Digital Brand Communications | 3 sh |
iMedia Student Status Policy
All iMedia students are considered full time and are expected to take the full course load in order to graduate.
Graduation and Degree Requirements
To earn the M.A. in Interactive Media degree, the graduate student must:
- Successfully complete the 37-hour curriculum with no more than 1 "L" grade per semester and no failing grades. Students who have not taken the prerequisite courses in media law and media writing as undergraduates must complete those respective seminars before beginning the program.
- Successfully complete the capstone project with approval by the instructor of record. The project demonstrates the student’s ability to create an interactive product, communicate clearly, and manage and integrate all aspects of the interactive curriculum appropriately.
It is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with the preceding requirements for graduation.
Grading System for the M.A. in Interactive Media Program
Graduation is dependent upon the quality of work and mastery of material in the 37 hours required to complete the Master of Arts in Interactive Media. Students will be evaluated using the following grade scale:
| Grade |
Evaluation |
Credit |
| H |
Honors |
3 hrs |
| P |
Pass with mastery |
3 hrs |
| L |
Low pass |
3 hrs |
| F |
Failure |
0 hrs |
| I |
Incomplete |
|
| WD |
Medical withdrawal |
|
| W |
Withdrawal |
|
| NR |
No report |
|
If, in the judgment of the academic program director, faculty and administrators of the School of Communications, a student fails to make satisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree or to demonstrate sufficient promise in the discipline, the student will not be allowed to continue in the program. Registration in the following semester for academically ineligible students will be cancelled automatically.
A student becomes academically ineligible to continue in the program for the following reason: the student receives a grade of "F", or more than one grade of "L" per semester. For iMedia, the August and January terms are considered part of the fall and spring semesters, respectively.
Class Schedule and Course Load
The School of Communications schedules classes in the iMedia program in the fall, winter and spring terms according to the undergraduate calendar of the University. The iMedia program is an intensive, full-time program. Students take one all-day, three-week course that begins four weeks before the fall term. In the fall semester, students take five 3-hour courses. In addition, all students will be enrolled in a one-hour pro-seminar (0 credit hours) and in a one-hour video course (1 credit hour). In the winter, students take one course that requires them to leave campus. This course has an international component. The spring semester is comprised of three 3-hour courses and one 6-hour course.
Classes that meet three times a week last 70 minutes per session. Classes that meet twice per week last 100 minutes per session. Courses that meet five days per week for half the semester will meet for the same total amount of time as full-semester courses. Classes that meet once a week last 155 minutes per session. The spring capstone course will meet 3 hours, twice a week.
Program Learning Objectives
The principal objective of the iMedia program is to produce media professionals who can create, produce and manage interactive media projects for media corporations or for any company requiring an interactive component within its area of operation. Theory and practice are stressed throughout the program.
Upon completion of the iMedia program, students will demonstrate:
- The ability to create interactive projects through the use of media tools specific to the required task.
- Understanding of the uses of interactivity in all areas of communications.
- The theoretical foundations for using and creating interactive media.
- The ability to work as a project member and leader.
The Faculty
The faculty of the School of Communications have a well-earned reputation for being outstanding teachers and scholars in their respective areas of communications. They are considered some of the best instructors at Elon University and bring breadth of professional experience and knowledge to the classroom. They hold postgraduate degrees from universities across the country and have worked for varied media outlets on all levels. Many have won top awards as teachers, researchers and as professional media practitioners. The iMedia faculty have diverse experiences in interactivity from both professional and academic perspectives.
The School of Communications faculty are teachers first, but they are also theorists and practitioners of media. All faculty members actively work to improve their teaching and are engaged in communications research according to their media specialty. Many serve as consultants with media companies and hold national positions with communications organizations. All of these activities serve to improve the quality of classroom instruction.
Elon’s classes are small and faculty members are accessible. This atmosphere of personal attention, combined with dedication to teaching and reasonable cost, sets the School of Communications’ iMedia program apart.