Media Studies

Prospective Students

Check out our Requirements, as well as the Media Studies Major Map.

Welcome and First Steps for New Junior Transfer Students Beginning Fall 2023

Welcome to UC Berkeley! Congratulations on being admitted to the College of Letters & Science!

We are delighted you are interested in applying to the Media Studies major and look forward to advising you. This page is intended to help incoming transfer students prepare for applying to the Media Studies major, as well as answer questions you might have.

Below are a few important dates related to Media Studies, Golden Bear Advising (GBA), and Golden Bear Orientation (GBO):

Below are the first steps incoming transfer students should take in preparation to participate in Golden Bear Advising (GBA) and enroll in classes on Tuesday, June 11:

  1. Get to know us. Read through the Media Studies website, paying particular attention to the Declared Fall 2021 or Later Curriculum on the Requirements page as well as the Applying: Overview and Applying: Prerequisites pages.
  2. Complete Golden Bear Advising (GBA), including your L&S Modules, and watch for bCourses notifications and emails from the Media Studies Program*.
  3. Identify the Media Studies courses you’ve already completed and make a plan for applying to the Media Studies major. See below, Section A.
  4. Decide which concentrationDigital Studies, Global Cultural Studies, or Media Law & Policy–you want to pursue. See below, Section B.
  5. Plan your first semester courses and enroll. See below, Section C.
  6. Check out FAQs. See below, Section D.

    *If you applied intending another major and are now interested in Media Studies, email mediastudies_advising@berkeley.edu from your @berkeley.edu email address and ask to be added to our bCourses Group for GBA.

Section A: Identify the Media Studies courses you have already completed and make a plan to take the remaining courses needed to be eligible to apply to the Media Studies major during your first or second semester at Cal.

As a transfer student interested in the Media Studies major, what you plan to take during your first semester at Cal will depend on what prerequisite coursework you completed prior to transferring. Transfer students should start off by reviewing the Applying: Overview and Applying: Prerequisites pages.

Identify your Media Studies transfer coursework
  • If you attended a California community college, look up your community college, UC Berkeley and Media Studies on assist.org.  If a course is on Assist, it has been approved as a Media Studies prerequisite. For courses not on assist.org, you will need to submit the course description and syllabus for approval using the Intended Majors Media Studies Course Substitution Form for review.

    Notes: 1) It is important that you check assist.org for yourself now. 2) If two community college courses are required to equal one Media Studies prerequisite, make sure you have taken both community college courses; otherwise, you have not satisfied the prerequisite requirement. This can happen with History 7B and Economics 1 equivalents. It could happen with others.) 3) If you satisfied IGETC requirements, it does not mean you satisfied major prerequisite requirements. They different sets of requirements.

  • If you attended another school that is not on assist.org, compare the list of Media Studies prerequisites to your other school’s transcript. If you think you have a course that may satisfy any of these prerequisite requirements, you will need to submit a course description and syllabus for review using the Intended Majors Media Studies Course Substitution Form. The decision will be emailed to you.
Plan to apply to the Media Studies Major in your first or second semester at Cal

After you have reviewed the major prerequisites and have identified the requirements you have already satisfied via your transfer coursework, you have got the information you need to determine what courses you need to take to be eligible to apply to the Media Studies major and when you will be able to apply. It is important that you take the courses you need to be eligible to apply to the Media Studies major during your first or second semester at Cal. See Applying: Overview for information about standard and appeal applications.

  • If you still need to take Media Studies 10 OR you have two or more prerequisites to complete for the Media Studies major, you are not eligible to apply to the major during your first semester. You must take the remaining courses you need to apply to the Media Studies major and an alternate major during your first semester to prepare to apply to either major your second semester. Students intending high demand majors are advised to have an alternate major. See High Demand Major information on L&S Declare or Change Major page
  • If you have satisfied all four of the Media Studies prerequisites OR you have satisfied three of the prerequisites, including Media Studies 10, and can enroll in the fourth prerequisite during your first semester*, you are eligible to apply to the major during your first semester at Cal. We encourage you to apply as soon as you are eligible during the relevant application period, preferably the first application period in the semester. We do not accept applications outside the application periods. See Applying: Overview.

*Beginning Fall 2020, all students planning to declare the Media Studies major must complete Media Studies 10 at UC Berkeley if they did not take an approved equivalent at a California community college summer 2020 or earlier per assist.org. Media Studies 10 is offered during Summer Sessions 2023

The Media Studies application is on Applying: Overview. You can access it via the Media Studies homepage too. 

Students applying via a standard application will be admitted to the major, but students applying via an appeal application are not guaranteed admission. See Applying: Overview

Media Studies is a high demand/impacted major; because of this, the College of Letters and Science recommends planning for an alternate major while completing prerequisites for high demand/impacted majors. See Exploring Majors & Minors and Declare or Change a Major, which includes some alternate major ideas, on the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising website.

Section B: Deciding which concentration you want to pursue

The Media Studies major offers three areas of concentration in its curriculum beginning fall 2021 for students to choose:

You should take some time to familiarize yourself with the concentrations and decide which one would be best for your academic interests. Students select their area of concentration when they apply to the major, and may begin taking concentration area electives before declaring, so it’s good to determine which concentration you’d like to pursue early on. These electives will be part of your major application GPA, along with your prerequisites, if you complete them before you apply to the major.

Section C: Planning your first semester courses and enrolling

General Information/Tips
  • Read Courses: Course Enrollment Information on the website.
  • Review Courses: Courses by Term on the website. This page includes term-specific courses being offered.
  • Look up course descriptions and class meeting information on classes.berkeley.edu.
  • Plan to take between 13 to 16 units. We recommend taking 13 units*, the minimum required by the College of Letters and Science, your first semester. It is important to be kind to yourself as you adjust to a new school, new academic community, and new classes. We want you to set yourself up to have a successful first semester and application to Media Studies.
  • All courses taken for the Media Studies major must be taken for a letter grade**.
  • Make a list of the courses you need and would like to take your first semester. It is important to have an alternate course plan in case you end up on any wait list. If you add yourself to the waitlist for a course, have an alternate course plan and attend both classes. You are not guaranteed a seat in a waitlisted course.
* Students are required to take a minimum of 13 units each semester. See L&S Unit Minimum and Maximum in a Semester if you have questions about course loads and requesting a reduced course load.
** Due to COVID-19, P grades were allowed for spring 2020 at all schools. 
What courses do we recommend you take if you are not eligible to apply to the major your first semester at Cal?

We encourage you to take the courses you need to be eligible to apply to Media Studies and an alternate major at the beginning of your second semester. One of three requirements of a standard application is that transfer students must apply within their first two semesters, so you will need to prioritize remaining prerequisite coursework in your first semester. Below are some possible courses to consider:

  • Media Studies 10: Introduction to Media Studies – This course is a must if you have not taken an approved equivalent at your other school before fall 2020 or are not taking Media Studies 10 at UC Berkeley during Summer Sessions 2023.
  • Remaining prerequisite(s) for Media Studies – This is important too if you need the prerequisite to be eligible to apply during your second semester.
  • Remaining prerequisite(s) for an alternate major or an elective that can work for both Media Studies and an alternate major.
  • A major elective–an approved concentration elective or upper-division elective (numbered 100 – 199)  from any of the three concentrations. See Courses: Courses by Term.
  • Do not plan on enrolling in or wait-listing for core courses (Media Studies 111B, 112 or 113) offered by Media Studies. You will need to wait until the semester you are eligible to apply to the major to waitlist or enroll in core courses offered by Media Studies.
  • Note: The Media Studies application GPA will include the prerequisites and any course that applies to the major completed before the application is submitted.
What courses do we recommend you take if you are eligible to apply to the major your first semester at Cal?

We encourage you to take two courses for the major and 1-2 other courses to satisfy non-major degree requirements. Below are some possible courses to consider when selecting the two courses to take related to the major:

  • Your last remaining prerequisite, if relevant.
  • A core course (Media Studies 111B, 112, or 113) if space is available. See Courses: Courses by Term.
  • A major elective–an approved concentration elective or upper-division elective (numbered 100 – 199)  from any of the three concentrations. See Courses: Courses by Term.
  • A prerequisite for an alternate major if you will be submitting an appeal application to Media Studies or do not yet know whether you will be submitting a standard or appeal application. See Applying: Overview.
What other courses do we recommend beyond the ones listed above to help you reach between 13 – 16 units?

Section D: FAQs

  • Q: Where do you go if you have questions not answered on the Media Studies website?
  • A: If you have a specific question or two, email mediastudies_advising@berkeley.edu and include your student ID# in the email. If you have multiple or complex questions, schedule an appointment or come to drop-in advising with a Media Studies Student Academic Advisor, Laura Demir and Chelsea Prieto. Our advising pages include instructions for both meeting options.

We look forward to meeting you.

Go Bears!

Greetings Fall 2022 New Freshmen,

Welcome to Cal! We are delighted you will be joining the University of California, Berkeley academic community and are interested in the Media Studies major.

In the beginning, you will be working with the L&S College Advisers in the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising. Get to know their website. It will be a valuable resource throughout your time at Cal. You will learn a lot through Golden Bear Orientation (GBO) and Golden Bear Advising (GBA)too.

While you may have expressed an interest in Media Studies when you applied to the University, we encourage you to explore all your major options to make the best, informed choice for you. We want you to study what sparks your individual academic interests and make the most of your time at Cal. There are a number of ways to explore majors on campus. A few are listed at the end of this webpage.

Read the Media Studies website in its entirety so you will be knowledgeable about the major you are considering. Reading About the Major, Requirements – declared fall 2021 or later (with concentrations), and course descriptions in the Berkeley Academic Guide Course Catalog will help you determine if your interests match what our major offers. Reading Applying: Overview and Prerequisites will help you plan to complete the major prerequisites if you choose to be an intended Media Studies major.

If you decide you want to be an intended Media Studies major, the College of Letters and Science recommends that you choose to complete the prerequisites for an alternate major in addition to Media Studies, a High-Demand/Impacted  major. See Explore Majors & Minors and Declare or Change Majors on the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising website.

While we know you are eager to ask questions, we ask that you wait until after you have completed the College of Letters and Science modules in bCourses during Golden Bear Advising (GBA). Many questions are answered by their modules. See GBO Dates & Deadlines.

If you have a specific question or two after reading the links above and completing your L&S GBA modules, email mediastudies_advising@berkeley.edu. You will receive a response from a Media Studies Student Academic Advisor. When you reach out to us for advice, identify yourself as a fall 2022 new freshman, who is exploring the Media Studies major. Student Academic Advisors have advising appointment options too

Enjoy your summer! Go Bears!

Media Studies Student Academic Advisors


A few ways to explore major options at UC Berkeley:

Greetings Spring 2023 New Freshmen and Transfer Students interested in the Media Studies Major,

We encourage you to read the Media Studies website in its entirety, especially the pages related to applying to the major. See Applying: Overviewand Prerequisites.

New Transfer Students, please schedule an appointment with a Media Studies Student Academic Advisor, Laura Demir or Chelsea Prieto, to discuss your spring 2023 enrollments and eligibility to apply to the major. If you are not able to schedule an appointment at a time that works for you, come to drop-in advising. Visit Laura’s advising page or Chelsea’s advising page for availability and instructions for both advising options. 

What you should take in the spring is determined by whether you will be eligible to apply to Media Studies in spring 2023, summer 2023, or fall 2023. Be sure to do your L&S Modules in bCourses early when your Golden Bear Advising (GBA) starts on October 4th. See Dates and Deadlineson the Golden Bear Orientation (GBO) website.

New Freshmen, the L&S College Advisers in the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising will be your main advisers as you start your academic career at Cal. When you have questions about various majors, you can reach out to major advisors too. You may complete three prerequisites for the Media Studies major during your first two semesters at Cal. You must complete two semesters at Cal before enrolling in Media Studies 10.

If you have questions, email mediastudies_advising@berkeley.edu. This email address is answered by the Student Academic Advisors. 

All the best,

Laura and Chelsea

Laura  Demir and Chelsea Prieto
Media Studies Student Academic Advisors