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Program Description
The DMTA minor will provide students with contextualized understanding of practices and trends in digital media, advertising, marketing and public relations. The minor is needed to provide a viable academic option for students who want to specialize in this fast-growing sector of the communications industry. In addition, completion of the minor will prepare students to pass a number of leading industry certification tests related to analytics, SEM, social media and digital media sales and marketing. The course sequence will begin with required basic courses in both IST (IST 110) and COMM (COMM 320 or COMM 370) to ensure students have the foundational information for the material that follows, and the ability to relate practices and trends in digital media to the larger communication and information technology landscapes. Students will then explore more focused courses in digital media, advertising, marketing and public relations. These areas reflect the major areas of digital communications activity. The digital media analytics course (3 credits) will lay groundwork in audience traffic measurement as well as detail the specifics of digital media system types and technologies. The search engine marketing class (3 credits) provides in-depth experience with the largest online advertising platform—Google Adwords. This course also makes connections to media analytics (also a central part of the Google marketer platform) and social media (also part of the Google Online Marketing Challenge). The digital public relations class (3 credits) will focus on non-paid digital activities, most importantly social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+, and how these activities can be successfully integrated into a communications campaign. The digital advertising class (3 credits) will review new trends in the buying and selling of advertising outside of search engine marketing. Of specific interest are new developments in content marketing, programmatic buying and hybrid real-time-bidding programs that bring together content providers and advertisers in an increasingly automated marketplace. This course sequence is designed to easily accommodate new and related digital courses and to complement existing courses in advertising/public relations, telecommunications, information technology, marketing and media.
What is Digital Media Trends and Analytics?
The minor in Digital Media Trends and Analytics will prepare students with the skills and understanding necessary to specialize in one of the communications industry’s fastest-growing sectors. From the largest online advertising platform (Google Adwords) to media analytics and social media applications, the minor addresses how those tools can be successfully integrated and utilized in communications campaigns. In addition, completion of the minor will prepare students to pass a number of leading industry certification tests related to analytics, digital media sales and marketing, search engine marketing, and social media.
You Might Like This Program If...
You want to be fully prepared for the fast-changing landscape in fields such as advertising/public relations, digital media, marketing and related fields. As communications professionals seek to connect advertisers and consumers in an increasingly automated marketplace, the minor will prepare those who complete it with a valuable skillset to contribute in that environment.
This minor is open to students in all majors.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| COMM 372 | Digital Public Relations | 3 |
| COMM/IST 450A | Search Engine Marketing | 3 |
| COMM/IST 450 | Digital Advertising | 3 |
| IST 110 | Information, People and Technology  | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| COMM/IST 310 | Digital Media Metrics | 3 |
| or COMM 422 | Advertising Media Planning | |
| COMM 320 | Introduction to Advertising | 3 |
| or COMM 370 | Public Relations | |
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Bellisario College Academic Advising
204 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-1503
commadvisor@psu.edu
Contact
University Park
BELLISARIO COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS
23 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-8314
laa182@psu.edu