Program Description
The School of Media Arts and Design incorporates the study of mass media and mediated visual and aural expression, focusing on creative advertising, video and cinema production, interactive design, journalism, film studies, and creative writing. SMAD offers a program of study that prepares students for careers in the media and/or corporate environments that rely on mass media and related areas of expertise, or graduate study in mass communication and related areas. Students can complete either the Bachelor of Science (BS) or the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Communication Studies with a major in Media Arts and Design.
Admission and Minimum Grades
Special Admission and Retention Requirements
Admission to the School of Media Arts and Design is limited and competitive. There are two pathways to full admission to the SMAD major.
Direct Admission
Entering first year and transfer students who are awarded a competitive scholarship by the university, the College of Arts and Letters, or by the School of Media Arts and Design will be fully and directly admitted to SMAD. Those scholarships include the Dingledine-Bluestone Scholarships; the Senator Harry S. Byrd Jr.—D. Lathan Mims Renewable Scholarship; and the Alison B. Parker Memorial Renewable Scholarship. Their concentration will be determined by the SMAD Director, in consultation with faculty. Such scholarship holders are exempt from the admission application requirement but must fulfill any conditions attached to their awards.
Admission by Application
Students interested in majoring in the programs offered by the school must apply for a limited number of spaces in the major. An admission committee in the school reviews applications and offers admission based on availability to the most qualified students. A student may apply no more than two times for admission to the school.
September Application Period
The September application process is only for transfer students matriculating to JMU in the current fall semester or the immediately preceding spring or summer semesters and have declared the SMAD major. These students must be officially admitted to JMU as transfer students and must have earned at least 30 hours of JMU approved post high school college credit. They must be degree-seeking students and must be enrolled in at least 12 hours at JMU during the fall semester. The application is due at 4 p.m. on the second Friday of the fall semester.
Annual Application Period
Currently enrolled JMU students (including transfer students matriculating in January or in previous semesters) may apply during the annual application period that occurs in the spring semester. Students applying to the major at JMU must be degree-seeking and have completed at least 12 hours or be enrolled in at least 12 hours at JMU. The application is due at 4 p.m. on the third Friday of the spring semester. The exact date will be posted on the SMAD website.
Process
Students interested in applying for admission to this major must “declare” SMAD as a major and apply to become a “fully admitted” major. Declaring a SMAD major does not guarantee the student will be fully admitted into the SMAD major. Students must declare SMAD as a major prior to being eligible to enroll in SMAD 101 . A declared SMAD student may take SMAD 101 , but the student is restricted from SMAD courses beyond SMAD 101 until being fully admitted into the major.
A complete application to the major includes the following:
- Completion of SMAD 101 or enrollment in SMAD 101 . Students must earn a minimum grade of “C-” (minimum 70%) in SMAD 101 or they will have to retake the course. Students get only two attempts to earn a minimum of 70% in the course.
- Completion of the SMAD Admission Test with sections on English grammar and usage, time writing samples and basic computer knowledge.
- Submitting all required components on the “SMAD Admissions” Canvas course:
- An application letter/personal essay expressing reasons for interest in your first-choice concentration. If you wish to be considered for a second-choice concentration, submit a separate letter specifically for that concentration. (A student will only be accepted into one concentration.)
- Unofficial transcript(s). (Transfer students must include unofficial transcripts from previous institutions and JMU Transfer Credit Report.)
- A SMAD Admissions Questionnaire on Canvas that asks about media creation and experience.
- A SMAD Contract on Canvas.
Following review by the SMAD admission committee, students will be notified about their acceptance into the major. If accepted, students will be eligible to register for SMAD courses. Students not accepted into the major will be notified and may reapply the following January or a later January. Students may apply to the major no more than two times.
Change of Concentration
Students accepted into the major are assigned to a concentration. Students who wish to change concentrations after being accepted into the major may ask to do so only during the annual application period, which ends at 4 p.m. on the third Friday of the spring semester.
To request a different concentration, the student must submit on the “SMAD Admissions” Canvas course the following:
- A letter explaining why the student is seeking that change. This letter should be addressed to the Admissions Committee and be no more than two pages in length.
- A completed Concentration Change Application form, which the student can download from the “SMAD Admissions” Canvas course and fill out after consulting with their adviser and obtaining the adviser’s signature. The student must scan in and submit the finished form to upload on the Canvas site.
- The student’s unofficial transcripts.
A student seeking a concentration change must request access to the “SMAD Admissions” Canvas course. Directions for doing so are posted on SMAD’s website.
If the Admissions Committee approves the student’s request, the application will be reviewed by the SMAD director, who will grant final permission to change concentrations. There are no guarantees that the change will be granted, and students who change concentrations will not receive overrides or prerequisite waivers to expedite graduation.
Minimum Grades
If a student enrolled in SMAD 101 is accepted into the major and makes an “F” in the course, the student will be dropped from the major. In order to be eligible to reapply for the major, the student must re-take SMAD 101 and reapply. If a student enrolled in SMAD 101 is accepted into the major and makes a “D+,” “D” or “D-” in the course, the student may continue to take classes in the major; however, the student must retake SMAD 101 the next semester and earn a minimum grade of “C-“. Students are limited to taking SMAD 101 twice. Failure to achieve a minimum grade of “C-” after the second time will result in the student being dropped from the major, including being dropped from any SMAD courses for which the student is preregistered, and the student may not reapply for admission to the major.
To graduate with a major in media arts and design, a student must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0 (“C”) in the major.
