• MDST 5559

    New Course in Media Studies
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.84

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course provides the opportunity to offer a new course in the subject of Media Studies. If offered, topics will be listed on the course offerings page for the particular semester.

  • MDST 2508

    Topics in Media Practice
     Rating

    4.67

     Difficulty

    2.25

     GPA

    3.84

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This course will provide practice-based learning opportunities for students in various forms of media, including video, podcasting, film, etc.

  • MDST 7701

    Media and Everyday Life
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.86

    Last Taught

    Spring 2025

    Media and Everyday Life turns a critical eye towards media's relationship to the everyday. We will conceptualize media as central forces in re-presenting, demarcating and franchising the ordinary. This course is designed to examine how media is produced as ordinary and universally intelligible (production), how it represents the everyday (texts), and how audiences phenomenologically engage with media in everyday life (reception and use).

  • MDST 3388

    Friday Night Lights
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.86

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This course will explore the TV show Friday Night Lights through study of its narrative, characters, themes, filming style and the media's response. Through episodic examinations, students will explore topics such as: team versus individual, the role of a coach, race and gender relations, socioeconomic and class structures identified through sport, the significance of high school football, and the media's role/influence in telling those stories.

  • MDST 8003

    Methods of Media Research
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.86

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This class teaches students the logics, ethics, and techniques of qualitative research in media studies.

  • MDST 3111

    Food Media and Popular Culture
     Rating

    3.67

     Difficulty

    2.00

     GPA

    3.87

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    Media representations of food across time and place offer a lens through which we can understand the cultural politics of food production, preparation, consumption and commercialization. Studying a range of food media genres, this course explores media storytelling around food, along with the racial, ethnic, gendered, class, and trans/national complexities that characterize our food narratives. A word of advice-do not to come to our class hungry!

  • MDST 2710

    Screenwriting
     Rating

    3.67

     Difficulty

    1.50

     GPA

    3.88

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    An introduction to the art and craft of screenwriting through the writing and discussion of short scripts. Will involve study of screenplays and films, and focus on the basic elements of screenwriting, including story structure, creation of character, and formatting. Prerequisite: Media studies major or instructor permission.

  • MDST 3755

    Social Media and Society
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.89

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This class examines computer-mediated communication forms known as "social media." What makes these technologies "social" or "media"? From algorithms to selfies, most aspects of social media have been met with both moral panics and utopian pronouncements. Students will develop a set of critical frames and analytical methods for understanding the role of social media in society.

  • MDST 8991

    Introduction to Digital Humanities
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.89

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    Introducing the history, theory, and methods of Digital Humanities. Students will learn the interdisciplinary origins of DH, debate contemporary issues, and explore opportunities at UVA. The course will cover a range of specializations including humanities computing and critical code studies, data visualization, mapping and spatial analyses, and digital archives and preservation. This course is a requirement for the Graduate Certificate in DH.

  • MDST 8000

    Media, Culture & Technology
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.89

    Last Taught

    Fall 2025

    This is a core course that surveys key texts in Media Studies. The course takes a historical approach to the development of the field, but also surveys the various developments in the social sciences, the humanities, and film studies relevant to the interdisciplinary study of media.