Master's Program
Thirty years ago news and entertainment were delivered to homes through three national networks. The “news” consisted of a half-hour nightly program featuring one of the few well-known news anchors. Our local morning paper delivered yesterday's news, and that was enough to keep us informed. Prime-time television featured white characters, who were generally from the upper middle class, and Mod Squad was considered a daring innovation. We played records on a phonograph when we weren't listening to our 8-track tapes, and no one had even heard of e-mail.
In 2002, we face a very different media world: 24-hour news channels, political spin-doctors, media mega-mergers, digital information storage and instant worldwide communication. Elections are won or lost on image. Political statements are delivered through the 20-second sound bite, and anyone anywhere can look into your home via satellite if they are willing to pay for the privilege.
We live in a “mediated society.” Through these means of communication we meet our friends and enemies. We receive information about our own and other cultures – and with this knowledge we form our political and economic opinions. Yet despite this flood of information, or perhaps even because of it, we seldom have the time or the requisite data to think through and solve the complex societal problems of the day. We need to understand what is happening and why. Only with this knowledge can society know how to use the highly-developed technologies of mass media in a way that advances rather than suffocates humanity. The Master of Arts degree in the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) offers students the opportunity to study the most current research on the interactions among media, politics, economics and human development.
Professors who conduct ongoing research in the field of mass media teach the theory-based curriculum. Students are challenged to learn and apply the knowledge gained by academic researchers, and to go beyond this by researching issues on their own and adding new insights to the field's understanding of media and society.
Graduate students are able to work with individual professors on research projects, often developing new academic interests in the process. SMPA is located just minutes from the White House and Capitol in a city where news is not just reported, but created. Excellent research resources are available from the university and from the District itself: access to prominent media professionals, political leaders and other decision-makers; the Library of Congress; the Newseum; and all the cultural treasures of the Smithsonian, to name a few. Students can pursue jobs and internships at policy organizations, media firms and government entities – all just a few minutes away from campus.
The student body at GW is one of the most diverse in the nation. The SMPA program has attracted students from the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, China, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Korea, and Indonesia as well as many different areas of the United States. Some students come straight from undergraduate programs; some work in media related occupations before pursuing their graduate degree.
Still others come from backgrounds outside of the media world, but all have a common interest in understanding modern media institutions. Their diverse backgrounds add to the richness and depth of the program.
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It's not about understanding how to communicate. It's about understanding the medium and how to use it.