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Emerging Media and Technology - B.S.

Technology touches every facet of society; in the Emerging Media and Technology major, you’ll explore technology at the intersection of design, education, communication, project management, computer information systems, data and more. Students learn technical applications and skills in problem solving, design, user experience, creative applications and programming and gain experience working in interdisciplinary teams to solve tech-focused problems.

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Bachelor’s Degree in Emerging Media and Technology

Kent State University’s Bachelor’s Degree in Emerging Media and Technology offers students a dynamic education focused on the intersection of media, technology, and society. The program emphasizes hands-on learning in areas like digital storytelling, interactive media, data visualization, and user experience design. Students explore how technology is reshaping communication, media production, and content creation while gaining critical skills in project management and collaboration. This interdisciplinary degree prepares students to innovate in the rapidly changing landscape of digital media and technology.

Program Information for Emerging Media and Technology - B.S.

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Emerging Media and Technology teaches technical applications and skills in problem solving, design, user experience, creative applications and programming. Students synthesize technical and organizational skills in a series of experiential, hands-on and project-based courses in which they work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams. The degree program offers students the space to play, imagine and solve problems. Students also learn to recognize the rapidly changing nature of emerging media and technology and learn the skills needed to adapt.

The Emerging Media and Technology major is interdisciplinary, drawing from a number of disciplines, including emerging media, design, information sciences, human-computer interaction and communication. The technology curriculum is grounded in social science and the humanities, introducing students to theories of how technology shapes and changes people and societies.

Students may apply early to the following master's degree programs and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program Policy in the University Catalog for more information.

Admissions for Emerging Media and Technology - B.S.

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate competency in the technical skills needed to pursue jobs in emerging media and technology, which includes web development, coding, data, human-computer interaction, creative applications, programming and problem-solving.
  2. Utilize emerging media technologies to design better experiences, improve existing systems and analyze digital social structures.
  3. Recognize the rapidly changing nature of emerging media and technology and learn the skills needed to adapt.
  4. Apply interdisciplinary solutions to solving technical, social and human problems related to emerging media and technology.
  5. Employ teamwork and project management as a problem solving technique.
  6. Critically analyze the effectiveness of their own work and the work of others.
Coursework
On This Page

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
DI 20100INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN INNOVATION 3
or VCD 13000 VISUAL DESIGN THINKING
EMAT 10010INTRODUCTION TO EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 3
EMAT 10310MY STORY ON THE WEB 3
EMAT 25310CREATIVE CODING 13
EMAT 32210DATA IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 3
EMAT 33310HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION 3
EMAT 40999INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS (ELR) 3
EMAT 41510PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM DYNAMICS (WIC) 23
EMAT 49992INTERNSHIP IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY (ELR) 1-6
VCD 21000INTRODUCTION TO WEB DESIGN 33
Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level)3
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
College of Communication and Information Core Electives, choose from the following:9
CCI 10095
SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
CCI 12001
PHOTOGRAPHY
CCI 40089
BRANDING AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR ITALIAN LIFESTYLE (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40095
SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
CCI 40189
ITALIAN POP CULTURE (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40289
ITALIAN CINEMA (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40389
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40489
MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 45089
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 46089
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION (DIVG) (ELR)
COMM 15000
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION (KADL)
COMM 35852
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (DIVG)
LIS 30010
INFORMATION FLUENCY IN THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND
MDJ 20001
MEDIA, POWER AND CULTURE (DIVD) (KSS)
MDJ 21008
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES
UXD 20001
INTRODUCTION TO USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)9
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)6
Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)6-7
Kent Core Additional6
Minor or Certificate Requirements and General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours) 443
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

Students who have taken IT 20011 or IT 20021 for another program may use it as a substitute for EMAT 25310.

2

Minimum C grade is required to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

3

Students who have taken IT 11006 or IT 21011 for another program may use it as a substitute for VCD 21000.

4

A maximum of 4 credit hours of Physical Activity, Wellness and Sport (PWS) courses may be applied toward the degree program. Students must declare a minor or certificate, either from the following list or another relevant minor or certificate with approval by the school director. With approval by the school director, students may use a block of courses to fulfill this requirement:

  • Applied Data and Information
  • Communication Studies
  • Computer Engineering Technology
  • Computer Forensics and Security
  • Computer Information Systems
  • Computer Science
  • Data Analytics
  • Digital Media Production
  • Esports
  • Game Design
  • Game Programming
  • Health Technologies and Informatics
  • Information Design
  • Management for Non-Business Majors
  • Modeling and Animation
  • User Experience Design
  • Web Design and Development
  • Web Programming

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
EMAT 10010 INTRODUCTION TO EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 3
EMAT 25310 CREATIVE CODING 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Two
DI 20100
or VCD 13000
 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN INNOVATION
or VISUAL DESIGN THINKING
3
College of Communication and Information Core Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
EMAT 10310 MY STORY ON THE WEB 3
EMAT 32210 DATA IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY 3
VCD 21000 INTRODUCTION TO WEB DESIGN 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Minor or Certificate Requirement or General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
College of Communication and Information Core Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Minor or Certificate Requirement or General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Five
EMAT 33310 HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Minor or Certificate Requirements and/or General Electives 6
 Credit Hours15
Semester Six
EMAT 41510 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM DYNAMICS (WIC) 3
College of Communication and Information Core Requirement 3
Minor or Certificate Requirements and/or General Electives 9
 Credit Hours15
Semester Seven
EMAT 49992 INTERNSHIP IN EMERGING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY (ELR) 1
Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level) 3
Minor or Certificate Requirements and/or General Electives 11
 Credit Hours15
Semester Eight
EMAT 40999 INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS (ELR) 3
Minor or Certificate Requirements and/or General Electives 11
 Credit Hours14
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Emerging Media and Technology - B.S.

Graduates of Kent State University’s Bachelor’s Degree in Emerging Media and Technology are prepared for careers in a variety of tech-driven fields. Potential roles include digital content creators, UX/UI designers, data analysts, social media strategists, and multimedia producers. With their ability to integrate technology and creative storytelling, graduates can find opportunities in industries such as media, marketing, entertainment, and technology development. This degree also equips students for positions in web design, digital marketing, and app development, making them valuable assets in the evolving digital economy.

Computer and information systems managers

10.4%

much faster than the average

461,000

number of jobs

$151,150

potential earnings

Computer occupations, all other

5.7%

faster than the average

431,100

number of jobs

$92,870

potential earnings

Computer systems analysts

7.4%

faster than the average

632,400

number of jobs

$93,730

potential earnings

Market research analysts and marketing specialists

17.7%

much faster than the average

738,100

number of jobs

$65,810

potential earnings

Project management specialists and business operations specialists, all other

5.9%

faster than the average

1,361,800

number of jobs

$77,420

potential earnings

Software developers and software quality assurance analysts and testers

21.5%

much faster than the average

1,469,200

number of jobs

$110,140

potential earnings

Web developers and digital interface designers

8.0%

much faster than the average

174,300

number of jobs

$77,200

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.
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