Media Studies

Learn the people skills of media, communication and culture. 

• credential in Media Studies with a certificate that requires only 10.5 units of study to enrich and expand your career paths
• take an accessible, entry-level course on the foundations of media analysis in the 21st century
• immerse yourself in studies of sound and the book
• develop practical skills in community-based media and communication

Announcing our 2023-24 courses (open to all students)

We are offering three new Media Studies courses in 2023-24. Each of them is open to all students.

You do not need to be actively registered in our certificate program to take any of these courses. 

• Media Studies 200, "Media in the 21st Century" (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024, taught by Jentery Sayers, 63 students per section): an introduction to media studies that surveys the cultural and material roles media play around the world, with an emphasis on building a common vocabulary for studying media (prerequisite: academic writing requirement satisfied)
• Media Studies 350, "Cultures of the Book" (Spring 2024, taught by Janelle Jenstad, 38 students): surveys approaches to the book around the world, from oral traditions, clay tablets and the codex to print, illustrated books, ebooks and audiobooks, with an emphasis on experiential learning (prerequisite: academic writing requirement satisfied)
• Media Studies 490, "Directed Studies in Media Studies" (email dirmdia@uvic.ca for details): a supervised study in an area of Media Studies to be determined by the student and the instructor

News and events

• September 29, 2023: UVic pledges to uphold ʔetal nəwəl | ÁTOL,NEUEL | respecting the rights of one another and being in right relationships with all things. Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity to honour former residential school students, their families and communities. Come together to listen, learn and share. All are welcome today, 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., on UVic's Quad. UVic Libraries also created an Every Child Matters guide, which lists educational and scholarly resources related to the remembrance of the many children missing from Canada's residential schools.
• July 14, 2023: Want to know which MDIA requirements and electives are offered at UVic in 2023-24? Check out this exhaustive list we made for you. It even includes a link to each course. 
• June 20, 2023: You can now follow us @uvicmdia on Instagram!
• April 27, 2023: Katie Croudy joins Media Studies as our new administrative assistant. Welcome and thank you, Katie! We look forward to working with you. 
• April 17, 2023: UVic featured Media Studies on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn this week. Spread the word! 
• April 12, 2023: We are excited to share Dr. Janelle Jenstad's course description for MDIA 350: "Cultures of the Book" (Spring 2024). This course caps at 38 students. Register ASAP to avoid the waitlist. 
• April 11, 2023: The Media Studies certificate now appears in UVic's Undergraduate Admissions "wizard." Add it alongside your degree program or pursue it as a standalone option. 
• March 13, 2023: We are thrilled to announce the launch of our certificate program at UVic. Our first cohort of students starts in 2023-24.

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.