Honours Media Arts (B.A.)

Media Arts

https://csma.humanities.mcmaster.ca/

Offered as a Single or Combined Honours program, Media Arts is a production-oriented program uniting new media with traditional arts and humanities subjects. Through experiential learning, students in the program will engage with the creative, theoretical and critical aspects of digital media production and develop both the practical and conceptual skills necessary to pursue careers in Media Arts.

Admission

Enrolment in this program is limited and possession of the published minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Selection is based on academic achievement in MEDIAART 1A03  (or MMEDIA 1A03, if taken previously) and a supplemental application (see Note 2, below). It requires, as a minimum, completion of any Level I program and a Grade Point Average of at least 5.0 including a grade of at least C in MEDIAART 1A03  (or MMEDIA 1A03, if taken previously) . (See Notes below.)

Notes

1. Applicants must have completed any Level I program including the course MEDIAART 1A03  (or MMEDIA 1A03, if taken previously) by April of the year in which application is made. Decisions regarding admission into the Media Arts program are made in May when final grades for the previous Fall and Winter terms are known.
2. Application for this program must be made during the program/plan selection process at the end of the Winter term. Please see Application to Level II Programs  under Academic Regulations in this section of the Calendar for information with regard to the application procedure. Serious applicants are advised to rank the Media Arts program as their first program of choice for Level II. Starting in 2026-27, students must submit a portfolio of creative media arts project work and attend an interview with the application committee. Admissions decisions will be based on a combined assessment of the media arts portfolio, interview and the student’s Level I GPA and grade in MEDIAART 1A03 . The supplemental application will be available on the program website from March 15 to April 30 at https://csma.humanities.mcmaster.ca/undergraduate-programs/media-arts-program/.
3. Students entering Media Arts should be aware that, due to course sequencing and prerequisites, it takes a minimum of THREE years beyond Level I to complete program requirements. 
4. ​Students must register for the following required Media Arts courses in the following sequence:
     Level II:
              • MEDIAART 2A06  
              • MEDIAART 2B06 - Time-Based Media (must be completed by the end of level II)
              • MEDIAART 2DF3 - Design Fundamentals (must be completed by the end of level II)
              • MEDIAART 2G03 - Digital Audio (must be completed by the end of level II)
        Level III:
              • MEDIAART 3D03 - Interface, Code, Data (must be completed by the end of level III)
              • MEDIAART 3Z03 - Production and Critique (must be completed by the end of level III)
              • 12 additional units of Level III Media Arts
        Level IV:
   ​           • MEDIAART 4ST6 A/B - Senior Thesis Research and Production
5. The Faculty of Humanities introduced a new requirement for all Humanities degree students starting in 2024-25. The Skills for Life Concurrent Certificate comprises 18 units that provide a foundation for students to develop important academic and career-relevant skills such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, and digital literacy. The mandatory requirements below assume successful completion of HUMAN 1DL3 , HUMAN 1HL3  and HUMAN 1VV3  in Humanities 1. Students transferring to Humanities programs beyond Level 1 are exempt from the concurrent certificate. Please see Faculty of Humanities Academic Regulations for more information.

Course List 1

• ART 3IP3
• ART 3PB3
• MEDIAART 3AN3 - Animation
• MEDIAART 3C03 - Interactive and Spatial Audio
• MEDIAART 3DS3 - Documentary Strategies
• MEDIAART 3EE3 - Graphic Design
• MEDIAART 3EW3 - Environmental and Wildlife Photography
• MEDIAART 3H03
• MEDIAART 3I03 - Narrative Strategies
• MEDIAART 3PC3 - Photographic Collage and Composite Images
• MEDIAART 3Q03
• MEDIAART 3S03 - Sound and Image
• MEDIAART 3VA3 - Video Art and Digital Cinema
• MEDIAART 4F03 - Topics in Media Arts Production
• MMEDIA 3AN3
• MMEDIA 3C03
• MMEDIA 3EE3
• MMEDIA 3H03
• MMEDIA 3I03
• MMEDIA 3L03
• MMEDIA 3P03
• MMEDIA 3PC3
• MMEDIA 3Q03
• MMEDIA 3S03
• MMEDIA 3VA3
• MMEDIA 4F03

Course List 2

• CMST 3B03 - Practical Aspects of Media Production
• CMST 3Z03 - Mobile Practices, Technologies and Art
• CMST 3DJ3 - Digital Justice
• HUMAN 2DH3 - Creative, Collaborative, Critical: Approaches to Digital Scholarship
• INDIGST 3EE3 - Indigenous Film
• INDIGST 4LF3 - Diné & Dene Literature & Film
• MEDIAART 3K03 - Game Studies
• MEDIAART 3MU3 - Musics, Technologies and Audio Cultures
• MMEDIA 3A03
• MMEDIA 3K03
• MMEDIA 3MU3
• THTRFLM 2BB3 - Designing for Devised Performance
• THTRFLM 3PR3
• MEDIAART 3L03 - Game Design
• THTRFLM 3PS3 - Devised Theatre Production: Research and Development
• THTRFLM 3S06 - Devised Theatre Production

Requirements

Students who entered Honours Media Arts (B.A.) prior to September 2025 should refer to the Undergraduate Calendar of their entry year and their individual advisement report for their program requirements.

120 units total (Levels I to IV), of which 48 units may be Level I