Media PsychologyBS
Program starts in the fall. Review deadlines.
Understand the “why” behind media, marketing, and advertising campaigns. With Emerson College’s Media Psychology BS program, you’ll become an educated creator and consumer who understands the impact of media on society.
At a Glance
- Learn from distinguished faculty and media industry professionals from day one.
- Participate in student-run marketing organizations, join the Emerson chapter of the American Marketing Association, and work at Emerson’s student-run marketing agency, EC Agency.
- Work with real-life clients through your senior capstone project.
Become a Thoughtful Media Consumer
The media you consume shapes how you learn, communicate, form relationships, and understand the world around you. Housed in the Department of Strategic Marketing & Business, Emerson’s Media Psychology BS explores the relationship between people, media, and technology through the lens of psychological science. By combining psychology, communication, media studies, and research methods, the program helps you understand how media influences behavior, and how people shape the media they create, consume, and share.
You’ll study behavioral topics like the way people learn, what motivates and persuades them, and shapes personal identities online and off, as well as how these influences apply to the media we consume. Coursework blends psychological theory with quantitative and qualitative research, media literacy, critical analysis, and creative problem-solving. You’ll learn to approach questions of user experience, media design, storytelling, marketing, accessibility, and ethics from multiple perspectives while developing the research and analytical skills needed to evaluate complex real-world challenges.
As you move through the program, you’ll apply what you’ve learned through research projects, client work, internships, and the culminating capstone course. You’ll collaborate with students, faculty, and industry professionals on research and media projects. Emerson features numerous student-run marketing organizations you can get involved with to strengthen your media literacy skills. You’ll graduate with a new perspective on consuming media, professional connections, and a deep understanding of how media and technology shape human behavior in our hyper-connected world.
Understanding the psychology behind the media we consume takes a scientific mind. As a Media Psychology student, you’ll conduct real qualitative and quantitative research to guide your learning. You’ll create tangible pieces of research that have real-world implications for marketing, product launches, and advertising strategies.
Your experience as a media creator and researcher will extend well beyond the classroom. Boston is home to a number of marketing agencies, educational institutions, corporations, nonprofits, and other organizations where you can intern and network with marketers, advertisers, and media professionals. Additionally, you can join the Emerson chapter of the American Marketing Association, or work with real clients at our student-run marketing agency, EC Agency.
Germany: Media Management & Problem Solving
Spend two weeks in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, Germany, learning how to solve strategic marketing and media challenges. You’ll explore the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape the ways large organizations across Europe do business. You’ll work with real companies, using real-time data to help create a cohesive brand story and connect with audiences.
Sydney: Global Communication and Leadership
Spend two weeks in Sydney, Australia, to learn from international communication leaders. You’ll earn 4 credits during this intensive, faculty-led program, coming back to Emerson with brand-new perspectives on the ways effective communication and leadership work on an international scale. You’ll gain practical and technical understanding of international public and media relations, social media, branding, crisis communication, and more.
Salzburg: Creativity, Media & Global Change
Examine, analyze, and debate the effect of media, digital culture, and new technology on global issues and themes. Build digital stories, business plans, and content that sheds new light on the role of media and technology across borders, and cultures.
Learn from Media Psychologists
Gain a better understanding of how media and technology shape human behavior from those who have spent their careers studying that intersection.
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Apply to Emerson
On any given day, you’re creating something. You’re researching, writing, performing, filming, designing, or building an idea from the ground up. Whatever it is, you care deeply about the work, and you want to see where it can take you.
Our Undergraduate Admission team is here to find the path that fits your goals, answer your questions, and prepare you for a career in the ever-evolving communication and arts industries.
Learn more about applying to Emerson on our Application Process page.