Media Arts for Ministry

Camera and laptop sit on table

Certificate in Media Arts for Ministry

This program is designed for ministry, education, and other pastoral professionals who desire to integrate media into their work and ministry. Students will learn:

  • To design publications
  • To produce video
  • To build Web sites
  • To use social media
  • The artistry, technology, and theology that informs media making
  • Best practices for working with staff and volunteers

A complete listing of topics covered is posted below under Program Curriculum. Next cohort is offered in partnership with Catholic Extension. Click on lint to the application found below. Classes meet Tuesday evenings online and select Saturday mornings beginning June 10. Details are below under General Information.

The media arts have become the primary platform of discourse in today’s society. Through publication, video, and digital media, people tell stories, entertain, exchange ideas, conduct business, educate and evangelize.

The recent pandemic has demonstrated the great need for media arts professionals in the Church. Despite the availability of social media and personal media devices, staffing shortages, skills gaps, and limited resources prevent many parishes, schools, and pastoral organizations from taking advantage of the media opportunities presented by digital technology.

The Media Arts for Ministry professional certificate program is designed to address this reality by providing a formation that allows students to “work with what they have”; allowing busy pastoral staff, volunteers, and those at under-resourced organizations to achieve success with media amid their respective limitations.

Who Should Participate

This is an introductory program designed for those with little to no media arts or technology experience. All are welcome, especially those serving at parishes, schools, and nonprofit organizations whose mission and work would benefit from the use of the media.

Program Benefits

This program prepares students to confidently and competently express their pastoral voice through the media arts with the tools and resources at their disposal. Upon successful completion of the program, students will:

  • Know the fundamentals of media for Catholic ministry and service
  • Be able to use analog and digital technology to produce media that advances the mission and service of pastoral organizations
  • Value the media arts as an expression of the diverse cultures and voices of the Catholic tradition

Credit from this program may be applicable to some level of professional certification at the discretion of the certifying diocese. Please be sure to check with the appropriate diocesan office to confirm that this program qualifies.

General Information

Course and program requirements, schedules and tuition are subject to change; and additional fees may be incurred for books and materials. Click here to review all policies prior to enrollment. For additional information, contact the Center at (310) 338-2799 or crs@lmu.edu.

Please note: because this is an online program, enrollment eligibility is dependent on place of residency. Please review these provisions in full before enrolling.

  • Begins: June 10, 2023

    Enroll: Next cohort is offered in partnership with Catholic Extension. Application for enrollment is required.

    Course: PMMX 800

    Tuition: $1,600 | A minimum payment $200 is required to register for this program. Tuition payment plans are available. Please contact Ms. Rosa Calderon at Rosa.Calderon@lmu.edu to make arrangements.

  • This is an online program. Class will meet Tuesday evenings, as well as some Saturday mornings for labs days, via live videoconference.

    Tuesday ClassesSaturday Lab Days

    Classes meet Tuesday evenings 6:30-8:30 p.m. Pacific time.

    • June 13, 2023
    • June 20
    • July 18
    • July 25
    • August 15
    • August 22
    • August 29
    • September 5
    • September 12
    • September 19
    • September 26
    • October 3
    • October 10
    • October 17
    • October 24
    • November 7
    • November 14
    • November 28
    • December 5
    • December 12
    • January 16, 2024
    • January 23
    • January 30

    Saturday labs meet 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Pacific time.

    • June 10, 2023
    • July 29
    • August 26
    • September 16
    • September 30
    • October 21
    • November 18
    • December 16
    • January 20, 2024
    • February 10: Capstones
    • (Sunday) February 11: Capstones

    Connecting Online

    MyLMU is the primary Internet-based portal for students, faculty and staff at Loyola Marymount University. Once you log in to the portal with your credentials, you can directly and securely access the various online learning platforms, including Brightspace and Zoom, and your student record. Click here to begin.

  • Instructor

    Lecturers

    • Trisha Hilder, J.D.
    • Nancy Usselmann, F.S.P.
  • Students must complete a total of 10.0 semester hours in coursework with a letter grade of 'B' or higher in each course to receive a certificate of completion. Please refer to the course catalog for required text, class meeting location, and other general information.

    Coursework: PMAX 800

    Curriculum

    Foundations
    Didactic topics will include history of Church and media in the U.S., foundations of Vatican II, cultural literacy, theological aesthetics, communications and media theory, art and design literacy, media ethics and business, infrastructure, professional and volunteer development.

    Design
    Didactic topics will include typeface, photography, visual identity and iconography. Lab days will work with photography and design tools.

    Publications
    Didactic topics will include print medium and folio, desktop publishing, layout and writing, media presentations, advertising and communications collateral. Lab days will work with desktop publishing tools.

    Video
    Didactic topics will include cinema literacy, writing for the screen, film production, post-production, exhibition, broadcast and livestreaming. Lab days will work with on-location/on-set production, single camera and multi-camera, editing and post work, and livestreaming with related tools.

    Interactive Media: Social Media
    Didactic topics will include study of social media platforms, content production, audience interaction, writing and campaigning on social media, and analytics. Lab days will work with social media platforms and related tools.

    Interactive Media: Web and e-Communications
    Didactic topics will include Web site design and production, writing for the Web, email design and campaigning, and analytics. Lab days will work with related tools.

    Portfolio and Capstone
    During the course, students will be assembling a creative portfolio of their work (mostly produced during lab days). Students will present portfolios, accompanying visual identity guidelines and infrastructure for organizations, for peer-review at the conclusion of the course as a capstone to their studies.

     

  • PMAX 800
    Media Arts for Ministry
    10.0 Semester Hours

    This course enables students to express their pastoral voice through the media arts. Students will be trained as media generalists and, with the tools and resources at their disposal, build and sustain an infrastructure that supports the media work of their pastoral organizations, especially in marginalized and under-resourced communities.