The Master of Arts in Civic Media in the School of Media Arts provides students with an applied perspective on the local information ecosystem and the intersections between media systems, communities, and civic and industrial agencies. The program offers students a critical lens on how digital technologies are transforming society and culture, producing new forms of interaction, and modeling new information ecosystems. Students in the program will work hand in hand with diverse communities to collaboratively create, design, deploy, and assess civic media tools and practices. Students will develop new applied practices that support and foster localized civic media, information literacy, democratized action and engagement, social justice and social welfare, and the build of smart, responsive cities informed by open data and responsive community-centered design and technologies.

As a result of successfully completing program requirements, students should be able to:

• effectively collect, organize, and interpret open data collected from a variety of public, government, and other sources;
• interpret and translate information and data into stories and experiences that engage audiences, enhance local awareness and build civic capacity using a variety of new media technologies, strategies, and forms;
• apply theoretical and conceptual knowledge of civic media ecosystems to the design of ventures and projects that build community capacity, strengthen democratic participation and foster diversity, inclusion, equity and access, particularly in urban and diverse communities;
• effectively lead and/or participate in teams, networks and communities of practice that apply the strategic use of digital technologies to transform society and culture, produce new forms of participation and engage in effective problem solving of complex social and communication issues; and
• apply understanding of systemic processes of oppression to the building of bridges between diverse groups and institutions using community-centered technologies and culturally responsive practices.