Digital Media & Communications

In Depth

Our students develop skills to research, critically analyze, and creatively produce media that matters.

Beyond receiving an incredible education, you will develop multiple media and professional communication skill sets that will help you establish successful life-long careers in areas that include marketing, digital strategy, reporting, documentary film, photography, television, graphic design, strategic communications, social media, visual journalism, research analytics, fashion, public relations, advertising, and interface design, among many others.

Our curriculum has four core strands that will be present through the classes you take:

1. Media Studies

We focus on the research and analysis of all media types and styles–news, advertising, photography, film, magazines, radio, television, and the web. You’ll explore important questions related to the impact and influences that media have on us as individuals and as a society.

2. Digital Media Arts

Students have access to state-of-the-art computer labs, software, and a digital media creation studio that give you a playground to create in nearly any format. You’ll learn to produce films, photography, digital audio, television, interactive websites, and animation.

3. Journalism

You will develop the skills and critical thinking to produce compelling, exploratory, investigative stories. How can you contribute to making a more informed citizenry? How can we better understand our local, regional, national, and international connections? These are our guiding questions.

4. Global Media & Cross-Cultural Focus

Our strong international media studies focus includes classes on global communication and culture, and media as it relates to topics such as race, gender, aging, and travel writing. Studying abroad or away is also a requirement of the Digital Media and Communications major, as cultural immersion helps students to become global citizens.

Professional Portfolios. All students develop a comprehensive digital portfolio of their work, which might include research, theses, news articles, films, websites, photo essays, graphic art and design, and animations. Your portfolio will be a valuable resource as you transition to the professional world.

Senior Capstone. For our senior capstone experience, students take a two-semester senior seminar class in which they thoroughly research a socially significant, newsworthy topic, conduct their own interviews and original research, and then write a book, produce a documentary film or create a documentary web site. This in-depth product becomes a cornerstone achievement in the portfolios of our students and has directly led to career opportunities for our students.

Digital Media Skill Sets

Digital Media and Communications students learn a wide range of technologies and techniques that give you a foundation from which to adapt to and excel in a dynamic field.  You will complement what you learn in the classroom with hands-on experiences such as internships or developing content in the media creation studio. 

• Digital Skill Sets: Digital photography, filmmaking, writing, reporting, graphic design, web design. These are the skill sets students develop throughout every course in Digital Media & Communications. 

• Critical Media Research and Media Literacy Skills: Our program is grounded in teaching critical media literacy and information literacy skill sets. These skills underpin the creation of strong, valuable digital content across media. 

• Creative Independent Media Projects and Research: Students work directly with faculty on professional research and portfolio projects which examine the impact media have on work, health, family, gender, race, school, music, sports, politics, and more. 

Careers

Media and communication fields are growing incredibly fast worldwide.  Our alums have developed careers working at both large and small media organizations including leading employers like The New York Times, CBS, PBS, NPR, ABC, Disney, ESPN, Nickelodeon, WNYC, The New Yorker, and Vermont Public.  They’ve also established their own media companies and developed careers within companies and organizations including Burton, Volcom, Oakley, Timberland, Ski Magazine, VT Tourism, NerdWallet, Backcountry Magazine, and Teton Gravity Research. 

Excellent Outcomes 

Our students go on to impressive careers built on the skills that they learned in the classroom, in our state-of-the-art digital creation studio, and during experiences including internships and study abroad. Here are some real-life examples of St. Michaels graduates to give you a taste for what’s possible with a degree in Digital Media & Communications: 

• Jonah Kessel, Deputy Director, OP-DOCS, New York Times 
• Kayle Hope, Hope Films 
• Rory Doyle, Photographer 
• Craig Hagedorn, Film Trailer Editor/Marketing, Los Angeles, CA 
• Sam Davies, Three Peaks Media 
• Courtney Wittenstein, Partner, Tidal Marketing 
• Yucheng (Vincent) Mou, Interface UX Designer 
• Luke Whyte, Data Visual Designer 

Our graduates have recently won Pulitzer Prizes reporting for the New York Times. Others have won Emmys for their work in television. They’ve been awarded prestigious Fulbright Fellowships for international post-graduate work. They’ve won top awards from Sony, Zeiss, and The World Press Photography Association for their efforts in documentary, photography, and multimedia production. 

Digital Media and Communications graduates have job titles like: 

• Digital Media Strategist 
• Senior Digital Communications Manager 
• Multimedia Producer 
• Videographer 
• Photographer 
• Journalist 
• News Analyst 
• Social Media Strategist & Content Producer 
• Associate Editor 
• Director of Marketing  
• Communications Director 
• Senior Marketing Project Manager 
• Graphic Designer 
• UX Designer 
• Executive Producer 
• Director of Product Operations 
• Director of Cinematography 
• Software Test Engineer 
• Web Outreach Manager 
• Senior Development Manager 
• Digital Media Specialist 

Internships

Digital Media and Communications students can apply their knowledge and skill sets in a wide variety of internships, preparing them for life after college. You’ll learn to think critically and creatively, solve problems, navigate team dynamics, and gain confidence in a range of technologies so that you can thrive in an internship setting.  

• Students have the chance to experience internships with top organizations such as Burton Snowboards, Special Olympics, VTDigger, Flynn Arts, VPR, Vermont Tourism, American Cancer Society, Sports Media, KSV Communications, and WCAX-TV (CBS). 
• Local-Global Communities: Our students work with a wonderful array of local community organizations and non-profits to produce media for global audiences, among them the Chill Foundation, Special Olympics, VT Adaptive, Friends of the Winooski, and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 

Internships where our students have received professional feedback and guidance include the following: 

America’s Funniest Home Videos
American Cancer Society
Arts Riot
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Boston University
Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware
Burlington City Arts
Burlington Free Press
Burton Snowboards
Chelsea Green Publishing
Chill Foundation
Church St. Marketplace
Climberism and Alpine Climbing Magazines
Cumbancha World Music
Dynapower
EatingWell Media group
ECHO Lake Aquarium & Science Center
ESPN Radio
GameFace Media, Boston
Green Mountain Farm to School
Headfirst Companies
IXIS Digital
Krystal Clear Media Group, New York
Mamava
Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National Life Insurance
Population Media Center
Prenatal Method Studio
Resolute Digital, New York
Rutland Medical Center
Shark Communications
Stowe Area Association
Traverse City Film Festival
Tuihzi Public Relations, Beijing
United Nations, Switzerland
Urban Rhino, Video & Animation production
Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports
Vermont Craft Brewers Association
Vermont Department of Tourism
Vermont Life Magazine
Vermont Military Museum and Library
Vermont Public
Vermont Works for Women
Visura Photography
Waterfire (nonprofit arts)
WCAX TV
Westchester Magazine
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

GLOBAL: Study Abroad-Away

In Digital Media and Communications we value study abroad or study away experiences as we’ve witnessed the transformative education that this kind of experience provides. When students go abroad, they immerse themselves in the society, culture, history, politics, art, storytelling, and media of a different place, gaining fresh insight and perspective on themselves and their surroundings.  Our students have studied all over the world in places including Ghana, Bhutan, Tibet, Argentina, Bolivia, Vietnam, Belize, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Japan, and China, and many other countries. It’s an important way for our students to broaden their perspectives and become true global citizens as they experience a fresh perspective on art, culture, news, and politics. 

You can choose to study abroad for a full semester during your junior year or take a shorter faculty-led study trip which provides international media experience while earning 2 academic credits. 

Check out the student photography from their study abroad experiences in the Global Eyes Study Abroad Celebration. 

Examples of past faculty-led study trips include: 

• South Africa: Apartheid, Revolution, and Representation 
• China: Chinese Media and Culture 
• India: Media Nomads: Youth, Television, Trekking in the Buddhist Himalaya 
• Bhutan: Media Nomads and the Bhutan Center for Media and Democracy 
• Mongolia & China: In the Footsteps of Genghis Khan 
• Tanzania: Applied Health & Development Approaches in East Africa 
• Culture and Communication in Modern Greece 

Upon return to campus, many students choose to take Travel Writing & the International Experience, a study abroad re-entry course, and submit photos to the SMC Global Eyes International Study Abroad Photography Competition. 

Global Connections 

Many of our graduates work internationally in countries like Sweden, Spain, Germany, Japan, France, China, India, Nepal, Chile, Barbados, Nicaragua, Bhutan, and Thailand. Other global work opportunities include international English language learning programs, The Peace Corps, and the Fulbright Program.