A Flexible Degree Program

The Digital Storytelling and Content Creation program is open to all students. Courses are taught through a blend of in-person and online formats to allow for maximum schedule flexibility

Traditional undergraduate students can easily major in Digital Storytelling and Content Creation with a double-major, minor or double-minor in a related or complementary field such as Animation, Communication, Computer Science, Graphic Design, Digital Media Management, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, User Experience Design, Video Game Development, or Writing and Rhetoric.  

Transfer students who enter with an associate’s degree can graduate in two years. If you’ve taken the Texas Common Core, you’ll be able to finish in three. Some courses within the program are offered online to allow you greater flexibility in balancing academics, work and family responsibilities.

Degree Plan

Major Requirements: 
The Digital Storytelling and Content Creation degree requires 30 hours of major coursework.

General Education Requirements: 
All majors require 44 hours of general education that students complete over four years, in addition to their major courses.

View and download the full degree plan for the Digital Storytelling and Content Creation major (PDF). View the Transfer Advising Guides for Digital Storytelling and Content Creation.

Student Organizations and Campus Resources 

Get involved with student organizations that give you the opportunity to apply your storytelling and content development skills in a cross section of digital mediums.

• Hilltop Views, the student news site, published both digitally and in print. Student journalists report news from the campus and greater Austin community. You can get involved as early as your freshman year as a writer, editor, photographer, videographer or designer.
• The Command G graphic design group furthers skills through studio tours, museum visits, lecture series, workshops, screen printing and risograph workshops.
• Topper Radio is the student-run radio station.
• Topper Studios is the digital media club. Members are involved in creating podcasts, YouTube channels, short films, music videos and comedy sketches, and helping their fellow students produce digital content. Students in Topper Studios also frequently make promotional videos for other clubs at St. Edward’s.
• The Digital Media Center in the Munday Library is a resource for creating your own content and learning new skills. Here, you can produce and edit videos, podcasts and visual design projects with the help of your fellow students. The lab is equipped with top-of-the-line computers running the latest software including the Adobe Creative Suite. It also has a group editing/podcasting studio, a green screen room and a “whisper room” used for voiceovers. If you are skilled at software, hardware repair, graphic design or video editing, you can apply to work in the lab as a digital media specialist.

Any student at St. Edward’s may minor in Digital Storytelling and Content Creation. The minor provides a broad-based introduction to the discipline of digital storytelling as well as an opportunity for students to explore — in more depth — a specific concentration.

Students who wish to earn a Digital Storytelling and Content Creation minor must take the following required coursework, totaling 18 hours, plus one 3-hour elective course.

Required Courses: (15 required hours + 1 elective = 18 hours)

• Introduction to Digital Storytelling and Content Creation – DSCC 1301 
• Visual Studies 1 – VISU 1311 
• Digital Media Production and Design – JOUR 3314 
• Interactive Storytelling – VGAM 3328 
• Collaboration in the Digital Workplace – DSCC 4331 

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Visual Studies webpage.

Required Courses (9 hours)

• Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (3 hours)
• Community Service in Women's and Gender Studies (students need three (3) hours total, but can take the one- or two-credit courses over more than one semester)
• Feminist Theories and Practice (3 hours)

Electives (9 hours)

Nine (9) hours of elective classes in the following various disciplines and fields:

• Literature
• Sociology
• History
• Communication
• Religious Studies

Six (6) of these elective hours need to be upper-division courses.

Total of 18 hours

Required Courses (6 hours)

• Ethical Analysis
•  Internship in Philosophy 

Electives (12 hrs)
Choose four of these Professional Ethics courses:

• Legal Ethics
• Ethics and Public Policy
• Ethics and Technology
• Special Topics in Philosophy (when topic is relevant to applied ethics)
• Medical Ethics
• Environmental Ethics
• Business Ethics 

Total 18 hours

Required Courses (10 hours)

• Basic Musicianship
• Survey of Musical Theater
• Topics: Musical Theater Showcase
• Musical Theater Performance
• Applied Voice
• Applied Piano

Required Electives (8 hours)

Select eight (8) hours total from the following groups; at least eight (8) hours of minor coursework must be upper division.

Music Electives - Select at least six (6) hours from the following:

• Piano Class I (2 hrs)
• Piano Class II (2 hrs)
• Piano Class III (2 hrs)
• Applied Voice (1 hr)
• St. Edward’s University Chorale (1 hr)
• St. Edward’s Mariachi Alas de Oro (1 hr)
• Omni Singers (1 hr)
• Madrigal Chamber Choir (1 hr)
• Applied Voice (2 hrs)
• Applied Piano (2 hrs)
• Song Interpretation (1 hr)
• Omni Vocal Jazz (1 hr)

Dance Electives - Select at least two (2) hours from the following:

Dance courses based on level appropriate to student. These hours should be in two different dance disciplines.

• Ballet I (1 hr)
• Ballet II (1 hr)
• Tap I (1 hr)
• Tap II (1 hr)
• Musical Theater Dance (1 hr)

Remaining hours may be selected from any MUSI or THAR course to complete the total 18 hours for the minor.

TOTAL 18 
 

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Performing Arts webpage.

Required Courses 

Nine (9) credits must be 3000 or higher courses and those nine credits must be taken at St. Edward's University.

• PHIL 3301: Legal Ethics
• PHIL 2302: Logic or PHIL 3339: Advanced Logic
• WRIT 3326: Legal Writing
• CRIJ 1302: Administration of Justice
• CRIJ 2306: American Court System
• POLS 3336: Constitutional Law or POLS 4346: Civil Liberties or BUSI 2303: Business Law 

Note: Political Research and Statistics (3 credits) is recommended but is not required.

As the American Bar Association (ABA) notes, there is no single pre-law course of study. Instead, the ABA recommends that undergrads take classes where they learn to write and critically analyze different types of arguments.

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes. The Department of Philosophy faculty has also adopted the Chicago Statement on free speech, affirming our commitment to free expression. 

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Philosophy webpage.

Required Courses (15 hours)

• COMM 3330 Media Standards and Practices
• JOUR 2310 Copy Editing
• JOUR 3314 Interactive Media Production and Design
• JOUR 2321 Journalism I: Introduction to Writing and Reporting News
• JOUR 3322 Journalism II: Producing News Online

Electives (6 hours) 

Select two from the following; one must be upper-division

• JOUR 2328 Broadcast Journalism
• JOUR 3303 The Persuasive Writer
• JOUR 3304 Arts and Entertainment Writing
• JOUR 3320 Advanced Broadcast Journalism
• JOUR 3324 Sports Journalism for Broadcast
• JOUR 4305 Journalism III: Advanced News Writing and Reporting
• JOUR 4331 Special Topics in Print Journalism
• JOUR 4332 Special Topics in Broadcast Journalism
• JOUR 4350 Internship
• COMM 4324 Documentary
• WRIT 4342 Magazine Writing

Total of 21 hours 

What You Will Learn

The Journalism and Digital Media minor will teach students to identify news, develop story ideas, research and report information, write in a journalistic style, and publish or broadcast information. A significant component of the minor focuses on the ethics of the industry. 

A few examples of courses students in this minor take:

• Copy Editing - This course is designed to provide extensive practice in editing stories for focus, pace, style and the conventions of written English. It will provide a review of grammar and usage conventions of standard written English, practice with common proofreading and copy-editing symbols used in newsrooms, and practice in editing according to AP style.
• Journalism I: Introduction to Writing and Reporting News - The class introduces students to how news is defined, reported and shared in our minute-by-minute digital media world. Students are introduced to the history of journalism in the U.S. and taught to become thoughtful and consistent news consumers. The course also teaches students how to generate story ideas, write in journalistic style and produce news stories across platforms and with social media. Students are encouraged to publish their work in the student newspaper/website. Students are also introduced to professionals working in the field.
• Digital Media Production and Design - This course will build on students’ proficiencies with established and emerging multimedia storytelling tools and techniques. The goal is not only to understand when and how to approach news and other types of stories from an interactive design standpoint, but to explore how and why certain multimedia techniques may allow for a deeper understanding of the world around us. 

Skills You Will Gain

• Write for digital outlets
• Use social media as a reporting tool
• Shoot and edit video
• Use computer science and coding to enhance your work
• Graduate prepared to work in any type of media environment

Required Courses

TBA

1. In RELS 2319/3330 Judaism, students work with classmates in a havruta, a traditional approach to collaborative learning. Through the havruta framework, students engage one another in their learning about Jewish Studies.   
2. Jewish Studies minors conduct in-depth research that they share at conferences and in student publications.   

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Religious and Theological Studies webpage.

The German Minor consists of 18 hours:

• 6 hours of GERM 2311 and 2312
• 12 hours selected from:
  • GERM 3331
  • GERM 3334
  • GERM 3335
  • GERM 3338
  • GERM 3350

The elective classes above include Business German, internships, conversation courses, and courses on literature and culture. You can also earn credit through study abroad!

St. Edward's has an impressive track record of successful Fulbright applicants. Many of these students received grants to teach or conduct research in Germany. In fact, Germany awards more Fulbrights to U.S. students than any other country on earth!

Required Courses (18 hours)

Students who wish to earn an Art History minor must take the following coursework with at least nine (9) of these hours in upper-division coursework.

• CHLX 1302: Introduction to Chicanx and Latinx Studies 
• CHLX 3325: Identities, Communities and Social Justice

In addition, students must take 12 hours of elective courses, including at least nine (9) hours of upper-division coursework. At least nine (9) hours of courses may not be counted to satisfy requirements for any other major or minor. 

Electives include courses on the U.S. Mexico Borderlands, Chicana Writers and Artists, and other courses in Literature, Communication, Spanish, History, Sociology, Political Science and Art History.

Students can intern at various non-profit organizations in Austin that work with immigrant populations, particularly Latinx populations: Worker’s Defense Project, Casa Marianela, Caritas and others.

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Languages, Literature and Cultures webpage.

Required Courses (18 hours)

Students who wish to earn an Art History minor must take the following coursework with at least nine (9) hours of upper-division coursework.* 

• Art History I
• Art History II
• Modernists + Others –or– Topics in Contemporary Art

Students select three elective courses from among Topics in Art History (repeatable), History of Photography, PHIL 3310 (Aesthetics), and either Modernists & Others –or– Topics in Contemporary Art (whichever not taken for the required 9 credits).

Are you a current student? Contact your advisor for next steps on declaring your major or minor. 

*Art Majors (already taking 12 of these credits for the major) must take an additional three (3) credits in electives to fulfill university requirements for minors.

Through the Art History minors, students have access to local art, artists, exhibitions and art programs for critique experience. Students have also used local internships in galleries or museums toward their minor.

At St. Edward’s, our faculty are outstanding scholars, thought leaders, teachers and mentors who bring energy and enthusiasm to our vibrant learning community. They take pride in getting to know you, helping you achieve your goals and celebrating your successes.

View a list of our faculty members and their contact information on the Department of Visual Studies webpage.