Greetings, Digital Sciences and Emerging Media and Technology alumni! I am excited to launch this newsletter and share some great stories from Kent State with you. Today, I would like to share our School’s story from the last several years.
After becoming part of the College of Communication and Information, the School of Digital Sciences hired four new joint-faculty members who arrived to the Kent Campus in 2019. These new faculty members quickly got to work, joining a group of active Digital Sciences faculty members, to revisit and revise the School’s curriculum. Our goals included ensuring we were offering cutting-edge curriculum and providing students with the skills needed to succeed in modern technology industries.
We quickly learned that the name “Digital Sciences” did not convey to employers or other academic institutions our core commitment to strong interdisciplinary technology, design and project-based communication skills. After conducting a survey of other programs in the country and consulting with students and employers, we settled on a new name: “School of Emerging Media and Technology” (abbreviation: EMAT).
We also made our undergraduate curriculum more flexible by allowing students to pair our major classes with any minor on campus, rather than choosing from a narrow list of concentrations. And, we launched a new undergraduate minor in Web Design and Development.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed our ability to communicate our rebranding, move to renovated classrooms and offices in Franklin Hall and more flexible undergraduate curriculum. By the time our first semester with a new name commenced in Fall 2020, all our classes were transitioned off-campus to protect the health and safety of our students.
But today, I want to assure you that while the program name has changed, our focus on training tomorrow’s digital leaders remains the same. And, the work to deliver this promise to many populations continues. In Fall 2022, we launched a revision of the Master of Digital Sciences graduate program as the Master of Science in Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT M.S.). We are excited to have a graduate program that offers specializations in data analytics and coding; social scientific research; applied communication, information and strategy; applied creative technology; and training and development technology.
EMAT students are continuing a tradition of doing cutting-edge, hands-on work. For example, we have partnered with Spotify to teach our EMAT students how to use data science tools to improve user experience. Our students work with world renowned children’s authors to bring their stories to life through augmented reality. And, our students work with local organizations to rebuild websites, mobile apps and other digital tools.
The future is bright for the School of Emerging Media and Technology! I hope the launch of our alumni newsletter will help you see how the School, now 12 years old, continues to support our students in meeting their academic and professional goals!