Here Are The New Undergrad and Graduate Majors Emerson Started Offering in Recent Years

Starting in the fall of 2019, Emerson College is offering a Global BFA in Film Art in partnership with the Paris College of Art.

By David Ertischek ’01

Emerson Lions don’t sit back on their haunches. We grow. We evolve. In that vein, the College has always looked to expand the majors it offers, to adapt and remain relevant as the communications and entertainment industries evolve.

This fall, Emerson College will offer a number of new undergraduate and graduate majors. Some of them are the first of their kind.

Undergrad Majors

Parlez-vous français? This fall, Emerson College is offering a Global Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film Art, which is a joint major in conjunction with the Paris College of Art. This new partnership will be operated on three campuses: Paris, Boston, and Kasteel Well in the Netherlands. Students will spend each academic year in Paris and summer residencies alternating between good ‘ole Boston and the Netherlands. They will be creating film and media art, including short experimental films and videos, gallery installations, web series and more.

The Public Relations Bachelor of Science (BS) will focus on media relations, politics, public diplomacy, crisis communication, social media, special events, public affairs, corporate communication and more. Classes will include International PR and Global Communication Management; Public Affairs Matrix: Media, Politics and Advocacy; The Corporate Communications Function and Social Responsibility; and Guerrilla PR. This is a Communication Studies major. Students have the opportunity to partake in local, national and global campaigns and PR projects, including the Globe Com Project, in which Emerson represents the United States and works with 15 universities worldwide on an annual case.

Graduate Programs

In fall 2019, the College will be offering a Theater Education and Applied Theatre Master of Fine Arts (MFA), which is an extension of the current Master of Arts degree. They will overlap for the length of the MA program, but the MFA affords the opportunity to do an additional year to earn an MFA. An MFA degree is useful, because it allows people to teach at colleges and universities.

The Civic Media: Art and Practice Master in Arts (MA) will be called Media Design, starting this fall. The new program will be a bit different than its predecessor as it will be officially housed in the School of Communication, but not within a specific academic apartment. Faculty from different SoC departments will teach classes for this intensive one-year program. It teaches how to use design and technology to solve civic, societal, and governmental problems. Students are partnered with nonprofit organizations such as the City of Boston to co-conduct research and create prototype projects to address issues.

In fall 2018, the college started offering a Speech@Emerson Master of Science in Communication Disorders (MS). This is an online version of the College’s MS in Communication Disorders. This degree is for people who want to be a speech-language pathologist. Graduates go on to work with kids on the autism spectrum, adults who have strokes, people who have had hearing loss — all increasing demographics as more children are identified on the spectrum and baby boomers age. This truly is a program you can do from anywhere as there are currently more enrolled students living in California than Massachusetts.

The Digital Marketing and Data Analytics (MA) became a new program in the Marketing Communication Department in fall 2018. Of course, this program is all online as it’s about digital marketing. The MA program teaches in-demand skills to advance a career in marketing and advertising. Emerson also offers graduate certificates to receive just the Digital Marketing part or the Data Analytics part. The MA requires eight classes and the certificate programs require four classes.