Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media, Culture, and the Arts
 

Plato wrote, "Give me the songs of a nation and it matters not who writes its laws." Overstated? Perhaps, but for better or for worse, culture plays a driving force in what becomes part of our political landscape. Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, "So this is the little lady who started this big war." A century later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not become law until the wider culture deemed previous racial discriminatory behavior unacceptable. Clearly, cultural change often leads to political change. At The King's College we believe that a well-ordered society should be grounded in a culture that embraces God. Today, many say religion is a product of culture, but the opposite is true: Religion is the wellspring of culture. Scripture shows us that culture began in the garden when God gave man the cultural mandate to rule over all things (Genesis 1:28). With the Fall, culture became tainted with sin, but hope for a better world remains. Christ, who comes to make all things new, is the incarnate Word, and in him all things cohere. Christ calls Christians to embody this reality: God's image-bearers have great creative capacity. This power of creativity is particularly visible, for good or ill, in New York City. Over the past century, however, some Christians have tried to separate themselves from New York and its cultural products. These separatists have created a fortress mentality and have lost the spiritual if not moral authority to speak the transforming life of Christ into the wider culture. Others have embraced the culture, and in the process have compromised their faith and become indistinguishable from non-believers. Neither separatists nor embracers have fostered cultural renewal, transformation, or redemption.
Course		Year	Term	Title	Credits
YEAR 1					CREDITS
ENG	110	1	Fall	College Writing I	3
REL	112	1	Fall	Introduction to Old Testament Literature*	3
HIS	111	1	Fall	Western Civilization I	3
URB	110	1	Fall	Introduction to the City	3
PHL	110	1	Fall	Logic*	3
				Fall Total	15
ENG	120	1	Spring	College Writing II   (ENG 110)	3
ECO	110	1	Spring	Introduction to Economics*	3
REL	110	1	Spring	Christianity and Society*	3
MAT	155,160	1	Spring	Quantitative Reasoning*/Pre-Calculus*	3
ELC		1	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 1 CREDITS	30
YEAR 2					CREDITS
POL	210	2	Fall	Foundations of Politics*	3
ECO	211	2	Fall	Microeconomics*   (ECO 110)	3
HIS	212	2	Fall	Western Civilization II*	3
HUM	210	2	Fall	Principles of Cultural Interpretation	3
MED	251	2	Fall	The Enterprise of Mass Communication   (ENG 120)	3
				Fall Total	15
REL	211	2	Spring	Introduction to New Testament Literature*	3
POL	215	2	Spring	American Political Thought and Practice I*	3
HUM	211	2	Spring	Arts & Ideas I	3
MCA		2	Spring	MCA Elective of Choice	3
ELC		2	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 2 CREDITS	30
YEAR 3					CREDITS
SCI	312	3	Fall	Scientific Reasoning*   (PHL 110)	3
POL	313	3	Fall	American Political Thought and Practice II	3
HUM	312	3	Fall	Arts & Ideas II	3
MCA		3	Fall	MCA Elective of Choice	3
ELC		3	Fall	Open Elective	3
				Fall Total	15
REL	354	3	Spring	Biblical Interpretation*   (REL 112, REL 211)	3
POL	315	3	Spring	American Political Thought and Practice III	3
HUM	310	3	Spring	The Post-Modern World   (HUM 210)	3
MED	353	3	Spring	Media, Culture, and Society   (MED 251)	3
ELC		3	Spring	Open Elective	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 3 CREDITS	30
YEAR 4					CREDITS
REL	412	4	Fall	Foundations of Judeo-Christian Thought*   (REL 112, REL 211)	3
BUS	273	4	Fall	Principles of Management and Organization	3
HUM	451	4	Fall	Myth, Narrative, and Art or Open Elective   (HUM 312)	3
MCA		4	Fall	MCA Elective of Choice	3
ELC		4	Fall	Open Elective	3
				Fall Total	15
ENG	412	4	Spring	Persuasive Writing and Speaking   (ENG 120)	3
HUM	452	4	Spring	Humanities Integration Seminar or MCA Elective   (Sr. Standing)	3
ELC		4	Spring	Open Elective	3
ELC		4	Spring	Open Elective	3
MCA	451	4	Spring	Senior Project*   (Sr. Standing)	3
				Spring Total	15
				YEAR 4 CREDITS	30
				TOTAL FOR DEGREE	120

The interdisciplinary program in Media, Culture, and the Arts (MCA) at The King’s College prepares students for meaningful careers as cultural creators, critics, influencers, and gatekeepers. The degree emphasizes crucial skill sets: writing, public speaking, worldview discernment with rigorous academic standards and an emphasis on ethical leadership. We offer both theory-based and experiential courses. Accordingly, King’s employs professors to teach core classes, and creators, managers and critics to teach skills courses. Additionally, the college leverages its New York City setting by assisting students with internships and helping them interact with some of the world’s greatest media and arts institutions. The King’s College aims to train students to become leaders who can effectively engage culture and engender transformation.

The program begins, as do all academic programs at King’s, with the Common Core, a sequence of twenty liberal arts courses designed to give students a firm grounding in Judeo-Christian values and thinking, the literature of the Old and New Testament, Western civilization, research writing, the urban environment, scientific and quantitative thinking. Students also take introductory courses in politics, philosophy and economics, the central organizing disciplines of the College.

Once students choose MCA as their major, they begin with foundational coursework in media and cultural studies. The four courses of the Christ and Culture sequence introduce students to the principles of cultural interpretation, the development of world cultures from the birth of civilization to the present day, and the nature of postmodern worldviews. In the media courses, students study the history, theory and practice of media and media-related technologies, with an examination of how our mediated and increasingly urbanized world affects how we live. An additional required course is a business class on the management and organization skills needed to run media, cultural and arts organizations. The aim is to prepare graduates who are not just knowledgeable about media, culture and the arts, but ready to lead and guide such organizations.. The final required course, Senior Project, is a culminating capstone course that will help prepare students for the career that awaits them upon graduation,
Students will also choose five MCA electives that will best prepare them for the career field they have chosen. Presently, MCA electives are available in the disciplines of literature, creative writing, journalism, media studies, and the visual and theatre arts. In addition to the required courses, all MCA students take seven general electives. These electives can be chosen from any courses offered by the college, including those courses from the Business Management and Politics, Philosophy, and Economics programs.

Open Electives: These slots can be filled with any elective, up to two internships or any combination of the aforementioned. At least one Open Elective requirement must be met by a Liberal Arts and Science course.

* Indicates courses that are offered in both fall and spring semesters, and may be taken either semester

** Courses in bold (e.g. ENG 120, POL 210 and SCI 312) must be taken at King's. No transfer credit accepted.

While the Bachelor of Arts program in Media, Culture, and the Arts may be started at the beginning of any semester, students should be aware that not all courses will be offered each semester.

While completing this course of study, the following requirements must be met:

1. No fewer than 60 of the semester hours of coursework must be earned at The King’s College, and these 60 hours of credit must include at least 48 semester hours within the MCA program.
2. The successful candidate for this degree must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all work completed at The King’s College. In addition, all students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA in the courses that are a part of the Common Core.
3. A student must obtain a grade of C or higher in both ENG 110, College Writing I, and ENG 120, College Writing II, within his first three semesters of attendance. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the College.
4. The successful candidate must satisfactorily complete all the requirements for Interregnum.
5. The successful candidate for the BA degree must obtain approval for graduation from the Office of the Registrar and upon vote of the faculty.