Move the World with Your Mind
The stories we tell shape our culture. The stories you tell will create the world of your future, infused with the beliefs, goals, and dreams you share. Pursue those dreams with an Associates degree (A.A.) in Mass Media Studies and Production from Montgomery County Community College. Storytelling is at the heart of all that we do in Mass Media Studies and Production. These stories range from fact-based news reporting to personal expressions of life experience to fictional flights of fancy.
Production Concentration
We offer a Production concentration for those seeking to develop the technical skills they will need to succeed. Studying under accomplished faculty members, we prepare our students to work as filmmakers, cinematographers, news camerapersons, editors, directors, video engineers, producers, writers, and creators of social media and web content.
We provide hands-on experience for our students from day one with a wide array of professional equipment including JVC, Sony, and Panasonic, Canon DSLRs, and the Blackmagic 6K Pocket Pro. We have an expansive collection of lenses, lighting, manual and powered programmable dollies, jibs, and stabilizers.
One Program, Two Concentrations
In today’s world, there is an insatiable and ever-expanding need for content. Just think about every movie theater, every cable channel, every streaming platform, and every social media application. Each of these thousands of outlets needs someone to create the stories they broadcast. That someone can be you.
For those stories to be told well, students need both technical production skills and the creative and analytical skills that inform them. Our program builds the foundation for future success in a broad range of communications industry careers.
All MSP students take both media production and media studies courses. We believe that production skills require an understanding of narrative structure, critical thinking, and ethical consideration to be fully realized. Likewise, communication industry studies and critical analysis require a firm grasp of the reality of the production process.
Theater
The newly renovated theater will provide real-world learning experiences for students. They’ll be recording video as well as recording and mixing audio performances, and that’s going to make a difference when they interview for professional jobs. The theater will provide invaluable opportunities for students to engage in professional production, which is unique for a college.
Program outcomes
- Apply effectively the essential communication skills, including reading, writing, speaking, listening and visual image creation;
- Explain the history, theory and practical applications of mass communication;
- Apply professional, legal, and ethical principles of communication to diverse audiences and contexts;
- Distinguish the various tasks and ongoing development requirements performed by communication professionals in a rapidly changing environment;
- Apply rhetorical analysis and media literacy skills to advance civic responsibility and an understanding of communication in a free society.
Explore Careers
Program Curriculum
General Education Requirements
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
ENG 101 | English Composition I | 3 |
ENG 102 | English Composition II | 3 |
CMS 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
MAT 106, MAT 130 or MAT 131 | Mathematics Applications, Probability and Statistics or Introduction to Statistics I | 3 - 4 |
PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
Scientific Reasoning | Scientific Reasoning Elective | 4 |
Elective | ANT 104, SOC 101, HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 203, HIS 205 or POL 124 | 3 |
Elective | Any Literature, Music, Dance or Theatre course** | 3 |
Elective | ART 101, ART 102, ART 103, ART 104, ART 151, ART 155 or ART 180 | 3 |
Major Requirements
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 107 | Introduction to Video Production and Literacy | 3 |
MSP 111 | Mass Media and Society | 3 |
MSP 125 or MSP 126 | Introduction to Broadcast Writing or Introduction to Scriptwriting | 3 |
MSP 170 | Media Production Workshop I | 1 |
MSP 171 | Media Production Workshop II | 1 |
MSP 200 | Ethics, Responsibility, Mass Media and the Law | 3 |
MSP 270 | Media Production Workshop III | 1 |
MSP 291 | Mass Media Capstone | 3 |
MSP 179 or MSP 278 | Introduction to Digital Filmmaking or Video Production II | 3 |
SRT 104 | Sound Recording Technology | 3 |
Electives
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Elective* | Electives | 9 |
Full-time sample course schedule
Semester 1
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 111 | Mass Media and Society | 3 |
ENG 101 | English Composition I | 3 |
CMS 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
MAT-106A, MAT 130 or MAT 131 | Math Applications, Probability and Statistics or Statistics I | 3-4 |
PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
Semester 2
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 107 | Introduction to Production and Literacy | 3 |
ENG 102 | English Composition II | 3 |
SRT 104 | Sound Recording Technology | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
MSP 170 | Media Production Workshop I | 1 |
Scientific Reasoning | Any Scientific Reasoning Elective | 4 |
Semester 3
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 200 | Ethics Responsibility, Mass Media and the Law | 3 |
MSP 125 or MSP 126 | Introduction to Broadcast Writing or Introduction to Scriptwriting | 3 |
MSP 171 | Media Production Workshop II | 1 |
Elective | ANT 104, SOC 101, HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 203, HIS 205 or POL 124 | 3 |
MSP 179 or MSP 278 | Introduction to Digital Filmmaking or Video Production II | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
Semester 4
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 291 | Mass Media Capstone | 3 |
Elective | Any Literature, Music, Dance or Theatre Course | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
MSP 270 | Media Production Workshop III | 1 |
ART Elective | ART 101, ART 102, ART 103, ART 104, ART 151, ART 155 or ART 180 | 3 |
Part-time sample course schedule
Semester 1
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 111 | Mass Media and Society | 3 |
ENG 101 | English Composition I | 3 |
Semester 2
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 107 | Introduction to Production and Literacy | 3 |
MAT-106A, MAT 130 or MAT 131 | Math Applications, Probability and Statistics, or Statistics I | 3-4 |
Semester 3
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
ENG 102 | English Composition II | 3 |
Semester 4
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
CMS 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
SRT 104 | Sound Recording Technology | 3 |
MSP 170 | Media Production Workshop I | 1 |
Semester 5
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 200 | Ethics Responsibility, Mass Media and the Law | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
MSP 171 | Media Production Workshop II | 1 |
Semester 6
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Elective | Any Literature, Music, Dance, Theatre Elective* | 3 |
Scientific Reasoning | Any Scientific Reasoning Elective | 4 |
Semester 7
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 125 or MSP 126 | Introduction to Broadcast Writing or Introduction to Scriptwriting | 3 |
MSP 270 | Media Production Workshop III | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
Semester 8
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
MSP 291 | Mass Media Capstone | 3 |
MSP 179 or MSP 278 | Introduction to Digital Filmmaking or Video Production II | 3 |
Elective | Open Elective | 3 |
Semester 9
Course ID | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Elective | ANT 104, SOC 101, HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 203, HIS 205 or POL 124 | 3 |
ART Elective | ART 101, ART 102, ART 103, ART 104, ART 151, ART 155 or ART 180 | 3 |
*See advisor for specific course information/recommendations.
*Any TAOC approved Literature, Music, Dance or Theatre