In an age of emerging and converging technologies, these are exciting times for people working in the electronic media industries. Our students prepare for the transition to digital and high-definition production in an increasingly global market that distributes material via the traditional broadcast and cable networks as well as DVD and the Internet.
Majors in Electronic Media may choose from one of two tracks: management or production. Management majors prepare in areas such as advertising, global media systems, law, research, and programming, for management positions across the various media. Majors in the production track learn how to use the tools necessary to create mediated messages, but more importantly they learn how the technology allows them to communicate effectively.
All majors combine a solid liberal arts foundation with both theoretical and practical courses ranging from research and writing to audio engineering and digital editing. For many, classroom study is put to the real-world test via internships with leading media companies.
The Program
Students who wish to become Electronic Media majors may declare after they have earned 30 credits and successfully completed or are in the process of completing three core courses: both tracks must take Media and Society and Media Management and Economics while production students also take Electronic Media Writing and management majors take Introduction to Advertising. These courses help to give prospective majors a solid foundation in the history, regulation, business and creative aspects of the electronic media. Once these basic requirements have been met, students follow an application procedure for acceptance into the program.
Upon acceptance into the management track, students begin their production sequence or management-oriented required courses as well as take related electives. When course work has been completed, most students participate in an internship at a place of their choosing appropriate for their career plans.
Internships
A broad-based, competitive internship program offers qualified juniors and seniors challenging opportunities to extend their learning experience to the media workplace. New Paltz students have interned with organizations such as: American Movie Classics, ABC, BMG, CNBC, Comedy Central, HBO, Lifetime, MSG, MTV, NBC, The Shooting Gallery, and a wide variety of metropolitan-area radio and television stations. Interns have also worked on programs such as The Daily Show, Rosie O'Donnell and Law and Order.
Faculty
Members of the Electronic Media faculty have professional experience as well as graduate degrees in their field. Their individual areas of specialization include audio and video production, media management, global media, radio/television history and criticism, and media effects. Faculty are actively engaged in professional productions, consultants to a number of Fortune 500 media firms, hold office in national organizations, and publish media-oriented research.
Faculty
Lynn Spangler, Ph.D.- Professor
Daniel Schackman, ABD - Instructor
Gregory Bray, M.A., Instructor
Jerry Persaud, Ph.D.--Assistant Professor
Applying for the Major
Students who indicate an interest in Media Management when applying to the college will be admitted as pre-majors and advised by the Department of Communication and Media. To become a management major you must have 30 credits, completed the core, and have at least a 2.0 GPA.
- Submit a current progress report and any transcripts you might have from another school.
- Have a 2.5 overall GPA.
- Have taken the core courses with no lower than a C+ in any of them and an overall 2.67 average among the three: 90101 Media & Society, 90224 Media Management and Economics, and 90319 Electronic Media Writing. No core course may be repeated to obtain the required grades for application to the major.
You must apply for this major before you have completed 75 credits and you may apply only once. It is best to apply the semester in which you are finishing your core courses and at least one week before advanced registration for the next semester.
Transfer Students
It is important that you see the Department of Communication & Media academic advisor or chair to evaluate your transferred courses that might count towards the major, including if any can count as a core course. If you have not had all the required courses at your previous school, you will be enrolled as a pre-major.
Graduates
The emphasis on a Liberal Arts educational program combined with professional skills courses provides students with the ability to find employment in various media industries or continue studies in graduate school.
New Paltz Electronic Media graduates are employed by networks such as ABC, American Movie Classics, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox, HBO, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Oxygen, Showtime, and The Weather Channel. Other New Paltz graduates are working at AT&T, Clear Channel, Dan Klores Associates, The NPD Group, National Hockey League, New York Times Television, Ogilvy & Mather, Seltel, Sony Music, and J. Walter Thompson. Internationally, New Paltz graduates have joined the European Broadcasting Union, Singapore Broadcasting, and the Swedish Broadcasting System.
Communication & Media Course Descriptions
Journalism Course Descriptions
