Media Study at UB

The Department of Media Study’s mission is to conduct research and to provide educational programs in film and media production and theory to graduate and undergraduate students at UB. DMS is renowned for its pioneering contributions to experimental film, video, and sound art, theory and practice. Today, the department has expanded along with the media arts field to encompass emerging practices in addition to our existing strengths in film and video production. Our methods are diverse: historical, theoretical, practice-led and practice-based. DMS embraces a diversity very few media arts departments can match. We provide a community where students can develop their own voices as media makers and researchers to prepare them not just to thrive in a media-saturated world, but to shape it.

We don’t believe in stereotypes. In fact, we actively work against them. If you’re looking for a path that will challenge your limits, you’ll find it in the UB Department of Media Study. And if you, like us, think making things is fun and creativity is a joy, we invite you to begin your journey here.

Undergraduate students learn to make everything from videos and documentaries to computer games and interactive installations. No prior experience with any form of media is required. Our courses take students from the basics to advanced thinking and doing, in areas that include film-making, web design, gaming and computer programming.

Renowned for its many contributions to experimental film, video and sound art, theory and practice, the department now adds various forms of computational media, including game design, to its strengths. Employing diverse methods in experimental and radical approaches to the discipline, we prepare students to both thrive in and shape a media-saturated world.

We maintain a range of cutting-edge technology and facilities. Our students have access to a large collection of equipment for traditional and emerging media creation; state-of-the-art computer labs with commercial and open-source software; a large production studio with green screen and lighting grid; smart classrooms; and a 200+ seat auditorium with high definition projection and sound.

Our graduates have found success in film, video and broadcasting industries; in information-centric areas such as web design and video games; as well as emerging fields that require a combination of technical skills plus the ability to rapidly synthesize new information. Several exceptional graduates have won Academy Awards, Emmys, Clios and major film festival awards.