Dec 26, 2024  
USC Catalogue 2021-2022 
    
USC Catalogue 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE]

Digital Media Management (MS)


The acceleration of worldwide mobile internet access has made digital media indispensable to commerce, culture, and human connection. Digital media platforms and content are driving growth across industries, with sectors such as streaming video, music, games and online publishing experiencing an unprecedented increase in global revenues. Envisioning and deploying the digital media products of the future will involve collaboration between culturally diverse and geographically dispersed teams. The Master of Science in Digital Media Management (MSDMM) program is designed to prepare managers to better understand the evolving media landscape, to make data-driven and ethical decisions, and to build a more equitable future by leading diverse teams with the technical, artistic, analytical and production skills needed to create engaging content and technologies for the global marketplace.

Meeting the demands of diverse markets starts with digital media managers who can effectively advance an inclusive and equitable culture within their own organizations. MSDMM students will learn professional practices needed for the strategic management of their teams, including: recruiting and onboarding an optimal mix of talent, promoting anti-racist and non-discriminatory policies, and cultivating a work environment where each person thrives. Additionally, by analyzing how organizations use digital platforms to aggregate and empower users, students will explore how to support diverse perspectives in storytelling and content-creation, delivering a user experience that balances organizational needs with the ethical imperatives to foster inclusivity, equity and access.

Through an examination of the intersecting relationships between digital media practices, consumer culture and society, students will also acquire a holistic understanding of digital media culture and business practices, and develop a critically-oriented foundation that prepares them for their roles as future leaders. Students will use real-world case studies as a springboard to ideate, create and evaluate the cutting-edge techniques, data collection methodologies and creative guidelines that can be used to implement long-range strategies for ethical media management. The program encourages immediate application of key concepts to industry challenges and opportunities with consideration of emerging technologies. Strategies for effectively communicating complex ideas to a variety of audiences and stakeholders are incorporated throughout the program.

A Master of Science degree in Digital Media Management requires 24 units of coursework offered in the fall, spring and summer semesters. The program may be completed on a full-time or part-time basis. Students attending the program on a full-time basis can earn a degree within 12 months, and those on a part-time basis can complete the program in two years or less.