2025-2026 Catalog

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Media and Film, BA, BS

Degree Requirements - 126 credits

Students can earn a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree with this major.

Media and Film Major Requirements: 12 courses, 48 credits

Core Requirements (10 courses, 40 credits)

CJN-101Introduction to Communication

4
CJN-105Principles of Oral Communication

4
CJN-152Visual Aesthetics

4
CJN-H152Honors Visual Aesthetics

4
CJN-255Introduction to Media

4
CJN-2355Intro to Production

4
CJN-321Research Methods in Communication

4
CJN-3455Intermediate Documentary Production

4
CJN-400Media Effects and Audiences

4
CJN-4455Advanced Documentary Production

4
CJN-466Seminar in Media/Film

4

Note: All students should take CJN-101 and CJN-152 during their first year.

Students in the Honors Program have the option of completing the Honors version of a course.

Production Elective (1 course, 4 credits)

Choose at least one of the following:

CJN-280Producing for Documentary Film

4
CJN-327Cinematography

4
CJN-357Advanced Editing Skills

4
CJN-380Investigative Journalism and Documentary

4
 

Conceptual Elective (1 course, 4 credits)

Choose at least one of the following:

CJN-225World Cinema

4
CJN-292Film History: From Silent Cinema to the Modern Era

4
CJN-301Documentary Film and the Image of Conflict in the Middle East

4
CJN-303Current Issues in Documentary

4
CJN-H303Honors Current Issues in Documentary

4
CJN-387Media and Film Criticism

4
 

Residency Requirement Policy: In the College of Arts and Sciences, a two-course (8 credit) residency requirement must be satisfied for completion of a minor and a four-course (16 credit) residency requirement must be satisfied for the completion of a major.

About the Media and Film Major

Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.

View the Program Page

Concentration

Production Concentration (Optional): 4 courses, 16 credits

Choose at least four of the following:

CJN-280Producing for Documentary Film

4
CJN-303Current Issues in Documentary

4
CJN-H303Honors Current Issues in Documentary

4
CJN-327Cinematography

4
CJN-356TV Studio Production

4
CJN-357Advanced Editing Skills

4
CJN-380Investigative Journalism and Documentary

4
CJN-390Screenwriting

4
CJN-481Making the Short Film

4
CJN-505CJN Internship

1-12

Students in the Honors Program have the option of completing the Honors version of a course.

CJN-505 must be taken for at least 4 credits to count towards the concentration.

About the Media and Film Major

Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.

View the Program Page

Media and Film Major Learning Goals and Objectives

Learning goals and objectives reflect the educational outcomes achieved by students through the completion of this program. These transferable skills prepare Suffolk students for success in the workplace, in graduate school, and in their local and global communities.

Learning Goals

Learning Objectives

Students will...

Students will be able to...

Understand the media's potential contribution to democratic societies and to the development of informed citizens - Acquire media literacy skills
- Apply appropriate concepts to evaluate and critique media content
- Explain whether mediated communication provides the information necessary for understanding significant social and political issues
- Examine how producers of mediated communication can engage in meaning-making practices that help establish and sustain those that reinforce existing power structures
Understand the principles of documentary production, with an emphasis on advancing social justice - Develop story ideas
- Conduct topic and archival research
- Pitch documentary projects
- Create documentary proposals with a nuanced understanding of nonfiction storytelling
- Assess complex ethical issues in documentary production
- Direct verité scenes
- Interview people
- Edit documentary projects
- Navigate the documentary industry
Understand academic research in media and film - Develop research skills and assess academic research
- Arrive at a research question
- Select appropriate research methods
- Collect data and/or evidence
- Discuss research results
- Write intellectually grounded essays and research papers
Understand storytelling - Analyze narrative structure and incorporate it into their own work
- Assess how stylistic elements interact with narrative storytelling
- Develop characters, relationships, growth, dramatic questions, conflict, and story stakes
- Pitch fiction and non-fiction stories
- Write scripts and screenplays
- Evaluate the effect of the story on the audience
Gain a nuanced understanding of media production 
 - Analyze media, including films, TV shows, news, and online content
- Execute all three steps of video production (pre-production, production, post production) 
- Operate camera, audio and lighting equipment  
- Develop editing skills such as sequence editing, sound design, and color grading 
- Peer review fellow students’ work

 

 

About the Media and Film Major

Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.

View the Program Page

Honors in the Major

To become a candidate for honors in the major, a student must: 

  1. Have an overall GPA of 3.3 
  2. Have a GPA in the major of 3.5 
  3. Be invited to apply 
  4. Apply at end of sophomore year or first semester of junior year 
  5. Applications must include: 
    1. A short paragraph explaining why the student wants to earn honors in the major. 
    2. The name of one faculty member in the student’s major who will serve as a reference regarding the student’s ability to achieve the honors requirements. 
    3. A one-paragraph proposal in which the student shares one of their ideas for an honors project in their respective area of study. The paragraph should identify a specific communication problem that the student is interested in studying (in the area of communication, journalism, or media), and an explanation for how they would approach this topic in an honors capstone project. [Note: this is not considered a commitment to the proposed topic] 
  6. A three-person committee, made up of faculty representing each of the three majors in the department (global and cultural communication, journalism, and media), will review applications and consult the applicants’ references. The committee will determine which students are accepted into the honors program based on their assessment of each applicant.

To complete requirements for honors in the major, a candidate must:

  1. Have an overall GPA of 3.3
  2. Have a major GPA of 3.5
  3. Pass CAS H322, the interdisciplinary honors course in their junior year 
  4. Receive a grade of B or higher in CJN-321, Research Methods in Communication
  5. Complete an honors thesis, or non-fiction project (see below)* in their senior year, earning a B+ or higher on the project
  6. Present an honors thesis or non-fiction project to department faculty in their senior year
  7. Present an honors thesis or non-fiction project at the CAS Honors Symposium in the senior year

*The CJN honors thesis or non-fiction project requirement: complete an honors thesis, relying on primary and secondary sources, that examines scholarship focusing on a significant issue, controversy or research tradition related to communication, journalism or mediam OR complete a non-fiction project, for example a documentary or series of interrelated news stories, that demonstrates an ability to produce creative and informative content that examines a significant issue or controversy.

 

About the Media and Film Major

Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.

View the Program Page

Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's in Communication

Degree Requirements

  1. Students admitted to this dual degree program must meet all the requirements of an undergraduate major offered by the department of Advertising, Public Relations, & Social Media or the department of Communication, Journalism, & Media.

  2. Students must also meet all requirements for the Master’s degree in Communication offered by the department of Advertising, Public Relations, & Social Media.

  3. Students will take two Communication graduate courses during their senior year; one during the fall semester and one during the spring semester. The two graduate courses taken during the senior year will count toward BOTH the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. Credit hours will be awarded based on the graduate course description.

  4. The graduate courses taken during the senior year will be determined by the Communication graduate program director.

  5. Students are subject to the usual standards for academic standing, i.e., undergraduate standards for undergraduate courses and graduate standards for graduate courses.

Upon successful completion of all of the degree requirements, a student will receive a dual Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. The exact degree will be awarded based on the specific undergraduate program the student completes. A student may permanently exit the dual degree program and opt to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree if all the requirements for a Bachelor’s degree have been met. In this case, the graduate courses taken in the senior year will be counted as 4-credit courses applied toward the undergraduate degree requirements.

About the Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's in Communication

Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this accelerated bachelor's/master's degree.

View the Program Page