The Middle Georgia State University (MGA) School of Arts & Letters is rolling out new “work-ready” concentrations in various degree programs to help students chart specific paths into careers.

“Part of the new School of Arts & Letters mission is to prepare intellectually agile graduates who are ready to serve our communities and the creative economy of Georgia,” said Dr. Mary Wearn, the school’s dean. “As part of that mission, we are building a modular, work-ready liberal arts curriculum that articulates and supports career pathways for those studying the arts and humanities.”

A concentration is a subfield within a degree program. For example, a student pursuing MGA’s Bachelor of Arts in New Media & Communications could choose public relations as her concentration.

Public relations is, in fact, one of the new concentrations of the New Media & Communications degree. In other examples, the Bachelor of Arts in History now includes a documentary film concentration, with an option to add Georgia Film Academy certification, a program designed to help students gain basic film production skills, knowledge, and experience. For the Bachelor of Arts in English, concentrations now include professional writing. In another change, some students in the Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Musicianship will be required to declare a professional pathway.

“These are some radical changes for a humanities curriculum that has not fundamentally changed for a dozen or so years,” Wearn said.

In fall 2020, the School of Arts & Letters will introduce the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Art & Design, with concentrations in film and visual communication, the latter geared toward students interested in advertising and marketing careers. The Applied Art & Design degree will require students to earn the Georgia Film Academy certificate or to minor in business, information technology, or professional writing.

“The goal in all of these curricular revisions is to provide flexibility, encourage interdisciplinary exploration, and articulate career options for liberal arts students,” Wearn said. “Our students will graduate with the excellent communication, critical, and creative thinking skills developed via liberal arts education and also with the practical and professional skills demanded in the workplace.  We believe School of Arts & Letters degrees will give students greater agility to adapt and evolve across the span of their professional lives.”   

Here is the complete list of School of Arts & Letters degrees and their revamped concentration options:

B.A. in Applied Art and Design (coming fall 2020)

·         Film

·         Visual Communication (geared toward careers in advertising and marketing )

B.A. in Contemporary Musicianship 

·         Performance

·         Industry (geared toward the business side of music; a professional minor is required)

B.A. in New Media and Communications

·         Public Relations

·         Sports Communication

·         Film

B.A. in English

·         Professional Writing

·         Creative Writing

·         Pre-Law (English has a strong history of placement of their graduates in law school)

·         Teacher Certification (secondary education)

·         Literature

B.A. in History

·         Documentary Film (with an option to add the Georgia Film Academy Certificate)

·         Teacher Certification (secondary education)