YourPace Media and Cultural Studies

Discover our 100% online English &Media Studies Degrees

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Media and Cultural Studies concentration gives you the critical, creative, and analytical tools to understand how media shapes culture, environment, and everyday life. Through this flexible, fully online competency-based program, you move at your own pace and bring your own cultural knowledge and personal experience to the material.

Grounded in cultural studies and critical media theory, this concentration is anchored in a principle that most programs overlook: media and the natural world are deeply intertwined. From how climate stories get told—and by whom—to the environmental costs of digital infrastructure, this concentration prepares you to think and work at the intersection of media, culture, and environment in ways that set you apart. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of how media shapes identity, society, and policy and develop the skills to write, produce, and analyze media across platforms and contexts. Whether you’re a working professional, parent, career changer, community leader, or adult learner, our interdisciplinary approach empowers you to produce creative and critical work that intervenes in the conversations that matter most right now.

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2026 RFI Revision

YourPace is a flexible, competency-based degree program with 8-week sessions and a flat tuition rate for students who must be 20 years old at the time of application

On-campus students also have the flexibility to take a variety of online courses in many of our programs.

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What Is Competency-Based Education?

Designed to leverage your previous knowledge, college coursework, and work experience, competency-based education enables you to earn your degree at your pace as you demonstrate mastery of relevant academic content.

How our YourPace online programs save you time and money:

Prove your knowledge, move ahead—the faster you advance, the more you save
Flat tuition rate per 8-week session, no matter how many courses you complete
With no weekly deadlines, you control the speed of completion*

*Time to completion varies by student and is based on several factors including prior college coursework, relevant work experience, amount of time dedicated to studying, and the number of courses completed each session.

Upcoming Session Dates

The Dates YourPace Students need to know

There are six opportunities throughout the year to begin our YourPace online program. Find the start date below that works best for you and apply before the application deadline. Please note, application and document deadlines are the same. UMPI must receive all documents including official transcripts by the document deadline to be considered. Transcripts can often take 10 or more business days from the request date to be received by UMPI, please plan accordingly.

Term	APP DEADLINE (4:00 PM ET)	DOCUMENT DEADLINE	CONFIRMATION DEADLINE (4:00 PM ET)	REGISTRATION DEADLINE	TUITION DEADLINE	CLASS START DATE	CLASS END DATE	Term Length
Summer 1	04/13/26	04/21/26	04/28/26	05/05/26	05/07/26	05/11/26	07/02/26	8 weeks
Summer 2	06/08/26	06/16/26	06/23/26	06/30/26	07/02/26	07/06/26	08/28/26	8 weeks
Fall 1	08/03/26	08/11/26	08/18/26	08/25/26	08/27/26	08/31/26	10/23/26	8 weeks
Fall 2	09/28/26	10/06/26	10/13/26	10/20/26	10/22/26	10/26/26	12/18/26	8 weeks
Spring 1	12/14/26	12/22/26	12/29/26	01/05/27	01/07/27	01/11/27	03/05/27	8 weeks
Spring 2	02/08/27	02/16/27	02/23/27	03/02/27	03/04/27	03/08/27	04/30/27	8 weeks

YourPace English & Media Studies Program Offerings

The University of Maine at Presque Isle provides a range of English & Media Studies program offerings in the YourPace modality designed to match your career goals. With flexible options and expert faculty, we provide the tools and support you need to succeed in this competitive field. Explore our program offerings below and find the perfect pathway to build your future in English & Media Studies.

Gain insights into our online Media and Cultural Studies Concentration

This concentration develops three interconnected sets of skills: the ability to write clearly and persuasively about media and culture; hands-on experience with media production; and a grounding in the history and theory that makes both of those skills meaningful. Courses are interdisciplinary by design, drawing on cultural studies, environmental humanities, and critical theory.

Students who complete the concentration leave with a portfolio of written and creative work, a vocabulary for analyzing media across platforms and historical periods, and the intellectual adaptability that our rapidly changing media landscape demands. These materials and capacities provide the kind of professional preparation that is valuable across industries and disciplines.

Though it will prepare you for meaningful work, our curriculum is designed for more than a career credential. It’s an invitation to think carefully about the world you’re living in and to develop the skills necessary to engage it with purpose.

As a graduate of this program, you will:

Analyze media texts, industries, and systems across cultures and historical periods using the frameworks of cultural and critical theory
Apply interdisciplinary methods to real-world communication challenges in organizations, communities, and public contexts
Examine how environmental, social, and cultural forces shape media production and reception and use that understanding to tell more responsible, strategic stories
Produce original, audience-aware content in media writing and production across professional, academic, and public platforms
Communicate research and ideas persuasively in written, visual, and oral forms tailored to diverse audiences and formats

In-person English Program Options

Not interested in the YourPace modality?
We offer multiple on-campus in-person English pathways to degree completion.

English Program Offerings

Get Published

Upcountry is a literary journal published by UMPI. It showcases a diverse range of creative works, including poetry, short stories, essays, and visual art, contributed by students, faculty, and writers from the broader community. The journal aims to celebrate and promote literary and artistic expression, providing a platform for emerging and established voices alike. Through its annual publication, Upcountry fosters a vibrant literary culture within UMPI and the surrounding region, highlighting the unique perspectives and talents of its contributors.

YourPace Tuition

Learn more about our affordable tuition

The YourPace Media & Cultural Studies Concentration offers an affordable flat tuition rate, ensuring you pay the same amount per session regardless of how many courses you complete. With no hidden fees or additional textbook costs, this flexible competency-based education program allows you to save more the faster you finish. Whether you’re looking to accelerate your degree or complete courses at your own pace, you’ll benefit from transparent pricing and a cost-effective learning experience through the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Financial aid is available in the form of loans on the FAFSA website. UMPI school code 002033

Tuition breakdown:

$1,800 per session

Flat-Rate Tuition

Frequently Asked YourPace English & Media Studies Questions

The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) offers the YourPace program, a competency-based education (CBE) model designed to provide flexible, self-paced learning for adult learners. This approach allows students to progress through their coursework by demonstrating mastery of specific competencies rather than adhering to a traditional semester schedule. Below are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the YourPace English & Media Studies program and competency-based education at UMPI:

The YourPace Media & Cultural Studies concentration offers flexibility for working professionals, allowing them to balance their studies with personal and professional commitments. Students can leverage prior knowledge and experience to progress more quickly, potentially reducing the time and cost required to earn a degree.

Student progress is assessed through various methods that require students to demonstrate their competence in specific areas. This may include projects, exams, presentations, or other assessments relevant to the competencies being measured.

UMPI provides a range of support services for YourPace students, including academic advising, tutoring, and access to online resources. Faculty members are available to offer guidance and feedback throughout the learning process.

Graduates of the YourPace English & Media Studies program can pursue various careers, including social media manager, marketing manager, public relations specialist, editor, content manager, freelance writer, journalist, communication manager, teacher, writer, and author.

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UMPI is ranked as one of the top 10 Regional Colleges in the North for graduates with least debt—UMPI is the top institution in Maine and all of New England to appear on this list. – U.S. News & World Report, 2024.

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YourPace Admissions

Requirements for these English & Media Studies program offerings

We’ve made the admission process simple and streamlined so it’s easier for you to get started. Those interested in earning their competency-based education degree in English & Media Studies should have the equivalent of a high school diploma and possess some prior college credit and/or work experience.

Admission Requirements:

No Application Fee

Minimum 1.75 GPA

YourPace Admissions Requirements

YourPace English & Media Studies Courses

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s YourPace English & Media Studies Program is designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in today’s dynamic landscape. Select the tab below to explore the degree option that aligns with your goals and start building a strong foundation for your future success.

Media and Cultural Studies Concentration, BA

Gain expertise in these online English & Media Studies classes

UMPI’s YourPace Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) program with a concentration in Media and Cultural Studies provides a flexible, fully online pathway for students to build expertise in media writing, media production, and media analysis. The program begins with a suite of required courses:

Media, Culture, and Society introduces the frameworks cultural critics and media scholars use to analyze how meaning is made, circulated, and contested across platforms and historical periods.

Media and the Environment examines the relationship between media systems and the natural world from how environmental stories are told and by whom, to the material ecological footprint of digital media itself.

The Poetics and Politics of Space: The Country and the City explores how media shapes our sense of place—rural and urban, local and global—and whose experience of landscape gets represented and whose gets left out.

Documentary Film History and Theory places you in conversation with one of the most politically contested forms of nonfiction storytelling, tracing the genre from its origins to contemporary practice.

You can personalize your education by selecting courses in Media Writing, Media Production, and Media Landscapes, building a path that reflects your interests and goals.

All courses are delivered asynchronously online, offering the flexibility to fit your education around your life. Graduates go on to dynamic roles across media-centric fields, such as journalism, documentary production, environmental advocacy, communications, and publishing and are equally well-prepared for graduate study in English or a range of fields across the humanities. The concentration’s core emphasis on communication as relational, collaborative, and adaptive means you’ll leave with communicative skills in various forms of media as well as the critical habits of mind that will make those skills matter.

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NECHE

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

University of Maine System

UMPI is a respected member of the University of Maine System.

C-BEN

UMPI is proud to be a member institution in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN).

What can you do with a degree in Media and Cultural Studies?

Next Step: Admissions

We’re so excited that you’re considering the University of Maine at Presque Isle! As a student at UMPI, we want your experience to be anything but ordinary! So what makes UMPI extraordinary? Our Learning Environment, Our Student Engagement and Our Location!

No matter what stage of life you are in, we can help you take the plunge into higher education and put you on YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS!

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YourPace Media and Cultural Studies

Discover our 100% online English &Media Studies Degrees