Faculty of Information and Media Studies

www.fims.uwo.ca

Undergraduate programs in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies give you a broad overview of media, communication, information and their technologies. Our programs in Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT), Media and the Public Interest (MPI) and Media Theory and Production (MTP) take you inside both the public sector and corporate world to learn how media and technologies affect everything we do - from the way we learn, work, and produce news, information and entertainment, to the way we think, communicate, and relate to each other.

Our programs will change the way you think, write and understand media, and will give you a marketable set of skills to apply in the workplace as well as a solid theoretical background should you decide to continue your studies at the graduate level.

You may also wish to view information on Information and Media Studies careers.

 

Program Information

Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT)

Are you intrigued by issues related to media and technology? In MIT, you'll examine the social, cultural, political, and economic effects that media, information, and communications technologies have on our world. You will think critically about a wide range of media and cultural texts from books, films, television, and music to hypertext, art, comics, and video games, among others. What do these texts tell us about ourselves? What makes reality television such a phenomenon? How are our relationships and communities shaped by technologies such as instant messaging, cell phones, and blogs? These are the types of questions considered in the MIT program.

In addition to a solid grounding in theory and analysis, hands-on experience is available in selected MIT elective courses, such as: digital imaging and website design, introduction to journalistic writing, digital music, and multimedia theory and production.

Media and the Public Interest (MPI)

Are you concerned with issues of equity, justice,
democracy, and citizenship? Unique in Canada, MPI
is the only undergraduate program that gives you
the opportunity to study the relationship between
media institutions and social justice issues such as
equity, democracy, class, race, and gender.

Students enter MPI after first year and take courses
that investigate the ways in which contemporary
social movements use and analyze media to further
their causes. The program includes courses such as
Alternative Media, Social Movements and Media,
and Activism in Mainstream Media.

 

The program is for students who are interested in
social action and making a difference in their community.
MPI students are encouraged to put their
learning into action outside the classroom. Several
courses feature a service learning component,
which involves volunteering with a community
organization, and a practicum is required in the
final year of the program.

 

MPI students will acquire an interdisciplinary
education useful for those who plan to work with
communication issues in civil society movements,
the non-profit sector or the public service. The
program also provides the necessary background
for graduate work in media studies, communication
and other disciplines.

 

Media Theory and Production (MTP)

Earn a three-year BA in MIT and a two-year college
diploma in only four years. This collaborative degree/
diploma program offered in partnership with Fanshawe
College is for students who want to combine a solid
academic background with hands-on technical skills.
After completing your fi rst year at Western as an MTP
student, you will select one of the four streams of
study at Fanshawe College, and will take courses on
both campuses to complete your requirements.
Admission to each of MTP streams is competitive
and based on academic performance in first year.

 

Multimedia Design and Production

MTP students in the Multimedia Design and Production
stream will gain experience in computerbased
web design and programming, 3-D, special
effects, animation, game design, effects for film
and video and design for print. A multimedia
production lab with PCs and Macs is available for
students 24/7.

 

Broadcasting - Television

This stream will take you behind the scenes of
television production. Students will gain hands-on
experience creating programming for Fanshawe's
student-operated, closed circuit television station
and will write, produce, shoot and edit programs
occasionally aired throughout the region.

 

Broadcasting - Radio

The radio stream is a hands-on approach to training
students for careers in radio broadcasting and
emerging broadcast media. You will learn how to
be an announcer, producer, creative writer, music
programmer and more, through live experience at
Fanshawe's radio stations, CFRL and 106.9 The X.
The stream also includes experience with new media
tools such as video conferencing and internet
radio programming.

 

Journalism - Broadcast

This stream provides students with practical training
for a career in broadcast journalism. Learn
to use broadcast news gathering equipment to
capture live news and sports events, conduct interviews,
and write and edit news stories. Develop
your broadcast skills with live on–air performances
on Fanshawe's multiple broadcast stations.

 

Programs by Faculty

• Faculty of Arts and Humanities
• Faculty of Engineering
• School of Nursing
• School of Kinesiology
• Faculty of Health Sciences
• Faculty of Information
  and Media Studies
• Faculty of Music
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Social Science
• Management and Organizational Studies
• Second-Level Entry Professional Programs
• Faculty of Law

Academics

• Academic Choices
• Scholar's Electives
• Western Scholars
• Graduate Studies
• Affiliated University Colleges