Digital & Media Studies

Bachelor of Arts Degree

 

Students in the Digital & Media Studies (DMS) program are making a positive impact in our community. The program embeds in its classes real-world projects that benefit non-profit organizations and businesses and provides active learning experiences for students.

The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is a beneficiary. DMS students Jason Almony, Maegan Anders, Noel Barrera, Chelsea Klotz, Lawrence McClorrine and Alec Thacker created “Growing Up in Toledo.” The digital exhibit features items in the library’s architecture collection, and is accessible online through the Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) Local History collection.

WGTE partnered with students in Dr. Shawna Rushford-Spence’s ENG 351 Media Writing class to produce the docufilm College Covid the Struggle is Real. For this project, students interviewed experts from Lourdes to explore how COVID-19 intersects with media, education, mental health and race in America. They also worked with professionals from WGTE to learn about television production, including how to create and broadcast content to viewing audiences.

Through internships, students also learn how the skills they practice in the DMS program can be put to work in the real world. Students have secured internships at a variety of area non-profits and businesses. Noelle Roth, the first DMS program graduate, completed a digital archiving internship with TLCPL and is now achieving her career goals working in the Monroe County Public Library System.

Chelsea Klotz is a contributing writer for Sylvania Advantage. Lauren Pippin is putting her web design skills to use: she redesigned the website for Sylvania Area Family Services and assists with search engine optimization for Lourdes.edu as part of her internship experience. Lauren also completed an internship with two Grand Rapids, OH art galleries.

The DMS degree can be tailored to fit each student’s career goals. Students choose a concentration area from art, art history, computer science, English, history, marketing, philosophy, psychology or theological studies. Then they ground that subject matter expertise with theory and methods courses in digital media and culture studies and skills classes in coding. In addition to the internship experience, students complete the program with a capstone that includes creating a professional portfolio to help them make the transition to graduate study or the workforce.