• MDST 3811

    History of American Broadcast News
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.26

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course traces the development of national news broadcasting in the United States from the 1920s to the present.

  • MDST 3900

    Specialized Field Experience in Media Studies
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course is reserved for Media Studies students interested in receiving credit for participation in student-led and UVA-affiliated enterprises that are media-related under the guidance of a faculty member or industry professional in the area of media studies. Students must put a proposal together for the project with a faculty sponsor, which must be approved by the add/drop deadlines. Restricted to Media Studies Majors.

  • MDST 4510

    Capstone Topics
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.80

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    A capstone seminar, this course offers students a supervised opportunity to pursue original research in media studies. Related to a theme selected by the instructor, the project will entail design of a research question, extensive collection and analysis of literature and data, and completion of a 15-20 page paper that provides new, critical insight or information on the subject examined.

  • MDST 4960

    Advanced Independent Projects in Media Studies
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course is designed to allow students to pursue independent research and study of a topic that is not contained within the course offerings of Media Studies. This course will not fulfill the capstone requirement

  • 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 7559

    New Course in Media Studies
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.93

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Media Studies.

  • 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 8005

    Master's Thesis Writing
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    3.92

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    In this course, students form a writing community to foster accountability and confidence in conducting, writing, and sharing original research. Instruction will address developing a regular writing habit, writing for different audiences, communicating in visual and multimedia formats, and the practices of placing work in academic journals, policy venues, or popular online and print publications. This course is heavily reliant on peer feedback.

  • MDST 8800

    Developing Media Research
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    The course aims to help students reach a core requirement of the degree, a publishable work. Students will workshop and improve a course paper, performing additional research, analysis and research design as necessary. This class also includes significant discussion of the practice of writing and the process of scholarly publication, journal selection, article submission, revising, resubmitting, and learning from rejection notices.

  • MDST 8900

    Graduate Independent Study
     Rating

     Difficulty

     GPA

    Last Taught

    Spring 2026

    A single semester of independent study under faculty supervision for MA or PhD students doing intensive research on a subject not covered in available courses. Requires approval by a Media Studies faculty member who has agreed to supervise a guided course of reading and research.