<p>Ball state is continuing to push for national leadership in new media:</p>
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Ball State University, the alma mater of David Letterman that has been developing a reputation for advanced media studies, Thursday unveiled a major initiative designed to advance the study of emerging media and to better prepare students for careers in a rapidly changing digital economy. The program, backed by $17.7 million in funding over the next five years from a combination of institutional and private sector sources, is another in a series of commitments the Indiana state university has made to become an area of academic excellence for the media industry.
<p>Nice development for BSU. Along with the visibility created by their nationally ranked and undefeated football team, I expect them to see a surge in applications.</p>
<p>This is wonderful for students interested in this major. However, my S and I recently attended one of their preview days. We were not impressed. They spend the entire presentation touting how great they are in the area of media. It was like a one-horse show. I had to wonder about all the other kids who were interested in other areas. If they put this amount of disproportionate emphasis on it while marketing, I had to wonder how the <em>other</em> students fared after matriculation.</p>
<p>Yeah, unfortunately, Ball State is going to be known for the next few years as the team that turned down an OPPORTUNITY to play @ Boise State in a bowl game. They turned it down for some of the worse reasons imaginable, then, promptly went out and lost their next game ... ruining their undefeated season. Now they're stuck playing Tulsa in a bowl game that nobody cares about, and which won't get them near the notoriety they would have gotten had they OK'd the Boise State bowl game. Just a bad, bad decision by Ball State.</p>
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<p>the entire presentation touting how great they are in the area of media</p>
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<p>Ball State has very well regarded programs in new media, broadcast communications, and business entrepreneurship. Architecture is also a school that attracts students from other states. It seems that their other programs attract mostly in-state students.</p>
<p>I'm from Indiana and, while I don't speak for everyone...we pretty much consider it a teaching school. You go there if you want to be an educator. In particular, a lot of our music educators graduated from Ball State. I believe it DOES offer a "full ride" to National Merit Finalists.</p>
<p>Ball State was previously known as the “Ball State Teacher’s College”, which is probably where this assumption comes from among Indiana residents. The school reached university status in the 1960’s. While the Teacher’s College is still part of the university, Ball State now receives national attention for its programs in architecture (specifically urban planning, landscape, and digital fabrication), entrepreneurship, and emerging media.</p>