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Be part of a uniquely innovative community within an art, design, and architecture school centered in Brooklyn as you explore the ever-changing landscape of contemporary media and how it interacts with culture and society. Blend critical theory with creative skills to reflect on the media’s effects on economy, race, gender, and politics.
Media Studies word cloud (white background)
Type
Graduate, MA
Start Term
Fall Only
Credits
30
Duration
2 Years
Courses
Plan of Study

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the program has filled. Please contact us at gmarchett@pratt.edu for any deadline questions.

Picture of a person taking a picture of another person sitting on a barstool with a camera

A Graduate Program in Media Studies Designed for Aspiring Media Scholars and Professionals

Combining critical theory and creative practices, your graduate education in media studies will enable you to understand how media influence the way we perceive and interpret the world. In Media Studies, we approach media not only as technologies of creating and sharing information but as productive spaces within which power, identity and differences are articulated, negotiated, and challenged. Our small classes allow students to work closely with faculty who are experts in areas such as digital media, global communication culture, film, performance, music, and sound. Through guest lectures, internships and collaborative projects, students engage with scholars and industry professionals who lead  them to the forefront of media research and innovation.

Student Work

Take a look at recent examples of work by our students in our media studies courses. 

The Experience

Three students sit in front their respective desktop computers. They are all facing away from the camera. The appear to be discussing amongst themselves. They are in a well lit room.

Join our vibrant community of thinkers and creators at the Brooklyn campus, and prepare to make your mark in the ever-evolving media landscape.

Apply today and discover the transformative power of media in our interconnected world.

Internships & Electives

The program offers a range of internships and electives within media studies. You can develop particular areas of concentration through coursework, mentored studies and in one-to-one work with thesis advisers. In elective seminars, you’ll join discussions focused on individual or team presentations on the analysis of texts, films, objects, themes, and theories, engaging the interface between the theorization and production of media.

Professional Outcomes

With an MA in Media Studies from Pratt, graduates are able to: 

  • work as media professionals 
  • work across media platforms dedicated to promoting the arts, humanities, education, culture, and social justice
  • work as writers, curators, administrators, critics, or social media professionals
  • promote their creative practice within the contemporary media environment 
  • pursue a PhD in cinema, media, cultural studies, race and gender studies, queer studies, and more

Our Faculty

Our faculty are leading academics and media practitioners with a wealth of expertise in areas such as digital media, cinema studies, critical race studies, experimental media art and performance studies. With a focus on transdisciplinarity and practice-based research, they bring diverse views, methods and professional expertise to their classrooms.

Jonathan Beller
Professor, Graduate Program
Minh-Ha Pham
Professor, Graduate Program
Ethan Spigland
Professor, Graduate Program
Faith Holland
Assistant Professor, Graduate Program
Shayla Lawz
Assistant Professor, Media Studies
Dalia Davoudi
Assistant Professor, Media Studies
Karin Shankar
Assistant Professor, Performance and Performance Studies

Our Alumni

Book cover with text reading Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America above film still of white hooded figures surrounding actor painted black

Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges, and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.

Where They Work

  • Eric Trenkamp, GPMS ’20, author of Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles—book based on MA thesis project.
  • Keisha Nicole Knight, GPMS ’18 created Sentient.Art.Film, a creative distribution initiative for distributing experimental films. 
  • Lauren La Melle, GPMS ’18 Office Manager at Aubin Pictures and creator of ScaryCrit — a podcast about horror films and Blackness.
  • Alexa McDougall, GPMS ’20 Project Manager at NBCUniversal Media.  
  • Paige Polk, GPMS ’19  joined the Advancement Project National Office team in DC as Sr. Digital Campaigns Innovator, where she builds interactive digital projects related to their community organizing campaigns.

Ready for More?

HERE’S HOW TO APPLYOUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
@hmspratt
Humanities & Media Studies at Pratt Institute

@hmspratt

  • Women in International Cinema. Prof. Amy Guggenheim.
Mondays, 2:00 to 4:50pm.
  • Queer Archives. Prof. Dalia Davoudi.
Thursdays, 2:00 - 4:50pm.
  • Introduction to French I, Fall 2025, Prof. Katherine Billingsley, 2 sections: MW 9:30 to 10:50 am and MW  11:00 am to 12:20 pm.
  • On Tuesday, 3/25, Karin Shankar’s Introduction to Performance Studies class went to watch “Sumo” at The Public Theater, a play by Lisa Sanaye Dring, co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Ralph B. Peña. The play presented a range of themes and questions central to Prof. Shankar’s class this semester. These themes included: sport, ritual, Non-Western performance traditions, performance and nation, and performances of masculinity. The play was a visually stunning piece of theatre, including live demonstrations of Sumo, Taiko drumming, multimedia projections, and stage combat: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/sumo/
  • Karin Shankar’s “Postcoloniality and Aesthetics” class went on a field trip to watch Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English” by Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toosi, at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The play deals with the politics of foreign language learning, translation, accented English, exile, displacement, and being strangers (and friends) in a strange language. The production was directed by Knud Adams.
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
Women in International Cinema. Prof. Amy Guggenheim.
Mondays, 2:00 to 4:50pm.
Women in International Cinema. Prof. Amy Guggenheim. Mondays, 2:00 to 4:50pm.
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
Queer Archives. Prof. Dalia Davoudi.
Thursdays, 2:00 - 4:50pm.
Queer Archives. Prof. Dalia Davoudi. Thursdays, 2:00 - 4:50pm.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
Introduction to French I, Fall 2025, Prof. Katherine Billingsley, 2 sections: MW 9:30 to 10:50 am and MW  11:00 am to 12:20 pm.
Introduction to French I, Fall 2025, Prof. Katherine Billingsley, 2 sections: MW 9:30 to 10:50 am and MW  11:00 am to 12:20 pm.
Introduction to French I, Fall 2025, Prof. Katherine Billingsley, 2 sections: MW 9:30 to 10:50 am and MW 11:00 am to 12:20 pm.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
On Tuesday, 3/25, Karin Shankar’s Introduction to Performance Studies class went to watch “Sumo” at The Public Theater, a play by Lisa Sanaye Dring, co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Ralph B. Peña. The play presented a range of themes and questions central to Prof. Shankar’s class this semester. These themes included: sport, ritual, Non-Western performance traditions, performance and nation, and performances of masculinity. The play was a visually stunning piece of theatre, including live demonstrations of Sumo, Taiko drumming, multimedia projections, and stage combat: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/sumo/
On Tuesday, 3/25, Karin Shankar’s Introduction to Performance Studies class went to watch “Sumo” at The Public Theater, a play by Lisa Sanaye Dring, co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Ralph B. Peña. The play presented a range of themes and questions central to Prof. Shankar’s class this semester. These themes included: sport, ritual, Non-Western performance traditions, performance and nation, and performances of masculinity. The play was a visually stunning piece of theatre, including live demonstrations of Sumo, Taiko drumming, multimedia projections, and stage combat: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/sumo/
On Tuesday, 3/25, Karin Shankar’s Introduction to Performance Studies class went to watch “Sumo” at The Public Theater, a play by Lisa Sanaye Dring, co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Ralph B. Peña. The play presented a range of themes and questions central to Prof. Shankar’s class this semester. These themes included: sport, ritual, Non-Western performance traditions, performance and nation, and performances of masculinity. The play was a visually stunning piece of theatre, including live demonstrations of Sumo, Taiko drumming, multimedia projections, and stage combat: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/sumo/
On Tuesday, 3/25, Karin Shankar’s Introduction to Performance Studies class went to watch “Sumo” at The Public Theater, a play by Lisa Sanaye Dring, co-produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Ralph B. Peña. The play presented a range of themes and questions central to Prof. Shankar’s class this semester. These themes included: sport, ritual, Non-Western performance traditions, performance and nation, and performances of masculinity. The play was a visually stunning piece of theatre, including live demonstrations of Sumo, Taiko drumming, multimedia projections, and stage combat: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2425/sumo/
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
Karin Shankar’s “Postcoloniality and Aesthetics” class went on a field trip to watch Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English” by Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toosi, at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The play deals with the politics of foreign language learning, translation, accented English, exile, displacement, and being strangers (and friends) in a strange language. The production was directed by Knud Adams.
Karin Shankar’s “Postcoloniality and Aesthetics” class went on a field trip to watch Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English” by Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toosi, at the Todd Haimes Theatre. The play deals with the politics of foreign language learning, translation, accented English, exile, displacement, and being strangers (and friends) in a strange language. The production was directed by Knud Adams.
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
9/9

From the Catalog