Media Cultures Programme code: W1-S1KM19.2024

Learning in media culture takes place in three ways: 1) 'I experience' - we offer subjects that provide the opportunity to consciously experience media culture and media communication processes as elements of our everyday worlds. Just as there are many cultures and techniques, there are many media cultures, their respective media communication communities, media orders: literacy, analogue audiovisuality (cinema, television) and digital audiovisuality, VR, AR, IoT, AI. Together with the students we identify cultural-communicative mechanisms in the experienced media everydayness; 2) 'I get to know' - this is the most comprehensive block of classes in which students acquire, deepen and organise their knowledge and improve their skills in analysing and interpreting various texts and phenomena of media cultures needed to understand the reality around them; 3) 'I act' - this path is of a practical nature; within it, students not only learn about the functioning of media behind the scenes in different cultural sectors and carry out new media projects as part of various workshops, but also learn how to use specific tools and create professional media communication, and take part in internships. Media Cultures is an all-academic degree that focuses on exploring, experiencing and acting in the field of mediatised culture. Students take courses on topics such as social media, film, performative practices, cultural, visual and mass communication.They gain knowledge of the complex relationships between different generations of media and, by exploring the cultural contexts of mediality, develop a critical approach to all media phenomena, with an emphasis on new media phenomena. Above all, they develop skills that enable them to move consciously in a mediatised reality. The competences acquired in this way can provide students with a starting point for activities of a practical nature. For this reason, part of the teaching can be carried out outside the university, in places and institutions that are in some way connected to selected areas of the media. The programme also includes compulsory internships - we try to ensure that our students do these in places where their knowledge can be put to best use. The degree concludes with the preparation of a standard bachelor's thesis or a bachelor's project, depending on the student's choice, aimed at using the skills acquired during the course to disseminate and popularise media cultures.

The condition for admission to the diploma examination is to achieve the learning outcomes provided for in the study program, to obtain a certificate of an appropriate level of language proficiency in a foreign language and to obtain positive grades for the diploma dissertation. The condition for graduation is to pass the diploma examination with at least a satisfactory result. A graduate receives a higher education diploma confirming obtaining the qualifications of the appropriate degree. Detailed rules of the diploma process and the requirements for the diploma thesis are set out in the Rules and Regulations of Studies at the University of Silesia and the diploma regulations.

Internships are an integral part of the study program, carried out by students in individual fields, levels, profiles and forms of study. Internships are to help in confronting the knowledge acquired during studies with the requirements of the labour market, acquiring skills useful in the profession, learning about practical issues related to working in positions for which the student is prepared during the course of studies. The internship is to familiarize the student with professional language relevant to a specific industry and work culture. The rules for the organization of internships are set out in the Rector's ordinance. Detailed rules of apprenticeship taking into account the specifics of particular fields of study are set out in the field's of study apprenticeship regulations, in particular: learning outcomes assumed to be achieved by the student during the apprenticeship, framework apprenticeship program including a description of issues, dimension of apprenticeship (number of weeks of practice); form of internship (continuous, mid-year), criteria for choosing the place of internship, obligations of the student staying in the internship, obligations of the academic tutor, conditions for completing the internship by the student and conditions for exemption from the internship obligation in whole or in part. The number of ECTS and the number of hours are specified in the course structure.

Media Cultures is a field of study that implements the University of Silesia's strategy of promoting those areas and types of knowledge about traditional cultures and broadly understood contemporary culture that show graduates ways to actively participate in current and future cultural formations shaped by information societies. The curriculum offers general humanistic knowledge, combined with technological skills and expertise in media studies, especially in the field of media and communication as it is conditioned by the latest media, i.e. knowledge that is considered to be the basis for the progress of civilisation. The programme enables students to participate in the scientific, cultural and artistic life of the University, takes into account the individualisation of educational programmes and supports cooperation with national and foreign universities and scientific and research centres. Through modern and attractive teaching, the development of creative and innovative attitudes, a sense of responsibility for the culture of the region and the country, the opening up of higher education to the immediate environment and to the globalising world, we place particular emphasis on the comprehensive preparation of graduates for effective decision-making and action in an increasingly dynamic labour market, closely linked to multimedia and new communication skills.