Welcome to Asbury University’s Master of Arts in Digital Storytelling program! This M.A. program will prepare you to craft compelling narratives for a variety of contexts, including social media and web-related platforms. The program combines theoretical knowledge with the practical skills and technology knowledge needed for exceptional digital storytelling.
Our program is uniquely faith-based, encourages collaboration between students, and provides students with powerful feedback from peers, faculty, and industry professionals. You’ll have the chance to meet industry expert guest speakers and project leaders, and you’ll have access to unique opportunities like media apprenticeships that will help you build a phenomenal portfolio to showcase your talents. The Digital Storytelling program is built on the idea that learning how to tell a story crafted for your audience is more fundamental than the ever-changing technologies used to share that story. As a result, you’ll develop the skills necessary to adapt to any emerging technology.
The program itself is based on these four pillars:
Anyone can apply for the M.A. in Digital Storytelling program—regardless of how much media experience you have! If you don’t have previous media experience, you may need to take a few prerequisite courses to give you the knowledge necessary for the other courses in the degree program.
If you completed undergraduate courses in multi-camera studio television, single camera (film-style) shooting & editing, and basic audio production, you can move directly into the online Digital Storytelling M.A. degree and complete the program in 30 credit hours.
If you’re a media professional or have extensive media experience in television studio production, single camera shooting and editing, and audio production, you can move directly into the online Digital Storytelling M.A. degree and complete the program in 30 credit hours.
If you don’t have prior media experience and have not completed media classes, you’ll need to take three prerequisite courses: Multicam Television Production, Single Camera Production, and Audio Production. This means you’ll be required to take the 9 credit hours of prerequisites plus the 30 credit hours in order to complete the M.A. program. These three prerequisite courses can be taken on campus during the Fall and Spring semesters or as intensive two-week classes during the summer.
Credit for Professional Experience: Up to 3 hours of credit for professional experience may be considered in place of a specific course. Talk to your faculty advisor for more information.
Projected Program course cycle: Students can pursue their coursework at different rates. If you’re a full-time student, it’s possible to complete the program in three semesters (Fall, Spring, and Summer). Other students, especially those with families and professional obligations, choose to spread the program out over two-three years.
Ready to get started? Here are the classes you’ll need to take. Please note that if you have not completed prerequisites MC 121 (Audio Production), MC 261 (Television Production), and MC 302 (Single Camera Production), or their equivalent, you’ll need to take them as part of your degree path. All three courses are offered as two-week intensives during the summer, and are also available online.
Digital Storytelling Core (12 Credit Hours)
Experiential Courses (Choose 1 course = 3 Hours)
Media Writing Courses (Choose 1 course = 3 Hours)
Industry Courses (Choose 1 course = 3 Hours)
Elective Courses (Choose 3 courses = 9 Hours)
You may choose any DSG or MCG course (not previously used), an IDG course, or an MBA or NPM 500-level course. Below are some examples of courses you could choose.
The degree requirements are also available for download as a PDF.