New Media Institute

New Media Institute

The New Media Institute equips students with the skills to create digital solutions for tomorrow’s media landscape.

overview

The New Media Institute (NMI) is an interdisciplinary academic unit dedicated to exploring the critical, commercial, and creative dimensions of emerging technologies. The NMI is committed to the teaching and training of new and emerging media professionals and to providing students with technical skills and knowledge. Curriculum focuses on critical investigations into the constantly changing technology and media landscape and the development of skills to design and build interactive digital products. As a key partner of the Innovation District, the New Media Institute connects our students with industry and university needs to provide interactive digital solutions to real-world problems and organizational objectives.

NMI offers the interdisciplinary NMI Certificate program for undergraduates, as well as residential and online Emerging Media master’s degrees for graduate students.

NEW MEDIA CERTIFICATE

The New Media Institute is home to the New Media Certificate, UGA’s largest interdisciplinary certificate. Classes in user experience design, web development, digital storytelling and emerging technologies, among others, are offered for certificate students.

Perspectives

“By starting out with advertising as a major and venturing into the New Media Institute with classes like web development, I reignited my passion for computer science and now actively pursue it in my day-to-day through my organization, UGAHacks.”

John Atkinson

Perspectives

“After I graduate with my undergraduate degree in December 2022, I will be pursuing a masters degree in Emerging Media as a Double Dawg at UGA. I’m really excited to learn more about how technology and design can make some cool, innovative projects for brands.”

Heaven Robinson

Perspectives

“I love how it stands to represent all of the different ideas on campus and being able to say I have a small part in bringing together all of these students, faculty, alumni and community members in Athens.”

Esther Kim

TEDxUGA curator

Faculty

  • Emuel Aldridge

    Senior Lecturer

    About: Emuel Aldridge is a graduate of UGA and has worked in the NMI since 2006. He currently teaches three courses at the NMI: New Media Production, teaching students how […]

  • Chris Gerlach

    NMI Lecturer

    Chris joined the NMI in 2013 as a Graduate Assistant, equipped with a strong foundation in integrated marketing communications and a curiosity for emerging technology. During his undergraduate years, he […]

  • Tyler Mazurek

    New Media Certificate Faculty Advisor + Instructor

    Tyler was first acquainted with the NMI as an Entertainment and Media Studies student. To explore his growing interest in all things NMI, he became a member of the inaugural […]

  • Kyla Sterling

    Emerging Media and Double Dawgs Faculty Advisor + Lecturer

    As Faculty Advisor for Emerging Media and Double Dawgs, Kyla oversees students’ journeys from recruitment to graduation—and beyond! She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the […]

  • Megan Ward

    NMI Administrative Director

    Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Megan Ward fled the Gator state to be a double-dawg, earning both her Bachelors and Masters in Public Relations from Grady College. An NMI alumna herself, […]

  • John Weatherford

    NMI Experiential Learning Faculty Advisor + Principal Lecturer

    As Principal Lecturer and Experiential Learning Faculty Advisor, John leads a variety of instructional efforts at the NMI. With a Masters and Bachelors degree in English from UGA, he combines […]

  • Barbara Bond

    Lead Business Manager

    Prior to Grady College, Barbara Bond spent the last ten years in the health care industry – nine years as a lead certified pharmacy technician and one year as a […]

  • Olivia Carino

    Part-time Instructor

    Olivia Carino (AB ’18, MA ’21) graduated in December 2018 with a degree in Communication Studies and a Minor in Sociology. In July 2019, she discovered her passion for web […]

  • Leah Spalding

    Part-Time Instructor

    Leah Spaulding serves as the Emerging Media faculty advisor in the New Media Institute. An alumna of the first cohort of the Emerging Media Master’s concentration, Spaulding now leads the […]

  • Dayne Young

    Program Coordinator

    Dayne is the program coordinator for both the NMI and the Carmical Sports Media Institute. With the NMI, Dayne serves as the TEDxUGA Producer, chair of the New Media Advisory […]

The Latest

Read the newest headlines, get updates and discover events happening at Grady.

Grady InternViews: Heaven Robinson

This is part of a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their summer internship experience.   Heaven Robinson is an Emerging Media Masters student working with Breaktime Media […]

#ProfilesofTenacity: Rachel Ziner

Rachel Ziner was taught the value of setting goals and achieving them from a young age. To her, tenacity comes after those goals are achieved. Ziner is a Double Dawg, […]

Emerging Media students create Historic Athens app

Using 21st Century technology to provide users with a sense of history from the 1800s and 1900s is the goal of a new Historic Athens app, created by a team […]

Innovative NMI student project teaches transferable skills, boosts employability

Identify a gap or problem, and find a solution. That’s one of the mantras of the New Media Institute (NMI), housed on the fourth floor of Grady College. And that […]

New podcast studio offers production space to students around campus

Podcasting is one of the fastest-growing ways of communicating and thanks to a partnership with the New Media Institute at Grady College and the Entrepreneurship Program at Terry College, there […]

NMI students build brand to support local Georgia seafood

Eating your way through local seafood cuisine along the Georgia coast may sound like a dream come true, but for a group of Grady College students, it was another day […]

Stepping Stones UGA app traces history-making paths of UGA desegregation

Following the steps that Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ ’63) and Hamilton Holmes took leading to the UGA Admissions Building…the terrifying night of riots at Myers Hall…and the refuge of the Killian […]

NMI students thrive in Innovation District

Nicholas Kreitz pours a cup of coffee, exchanges a few words with his boss as they pass one another by the kitchenette and slings his backpack over his shoulder as […]

#ProfilesOfTenacity: Rohit Rammohan

What does the word “tenacity” mean to you? I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot recently. In my mind, it means striving despite the circumstances to be the best […]

#ProfilesOfTenacity: Cesar Moncada

What are you passionate about? I am very passionate about helping others and using my skills as a form of service. The reason I chose to go into advertising and […]

New Media Institute publishes native apps from capstone class

A new bar has been set by the New Media Institute capstone teams with the acceptance and publication of four new native apps in the Apple App Store. The mobile […]

Events

Negotiating Salary and Benefits

Join us on Monday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. ET on Zoom to get advice and tips about negotiating salary and benefits in an ask me anything (AMA)-style panel. Come with questions – great for seniors entering these conversations or any students wondering how to approach these topics. Hear from these Grady College alumni and industry professionals:

  • Savannah Levins (ABJ ’14), 3x Emmy and 2x Edward R Murrow Award winning Investigative Reporter, 11Alive News (NBC) Atlanta (moderator)
  • Shari Hope (ABJ ’13), Sr. Manager, HR Enablement for Global Talent Organization at LinkedIn
  • Austin Hope, People Partner, GSRS & Economics
  • Daryan Rahimzadeh (AB ’12), Career Coach & Former Google Recruiter

Register here to attend: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/V9ZsLladQCGtiaut0BauNw

PAW Coffee Bar

Grady students are welcome to enjoy a coffee bar presented by the Grady College Propelling Achievement for the Workplace (PAW) Program. Stop by the PAF starting at 9:30 a.m. for a treat and to learn about the program. (While supplies last)

Women in Media – A Seat at the Table 2025

UGA Women in Media hosts its Seat at the Table event. More information coming soon.

Dawg Day of Giving

For 24 hours, we’re #CallingAllDawgs to make a gift of any size to any area of UGA. The collective generosity of thousands of Bulldogs during Dawg Day of Giving supports scholarships and resources for students, enables innovative research, and helps the University of Georgia build a better tomorrow. For more information, please visit this site.

Cox Institute Dinner

This event is invite only. Location and other details will be provided on the invitation.

TEDxUGA 2025 – Destination

Our journeys are shaped by the people we meet and the places we explore. When we pursue new ideas, forge connections, and embrace new experiences, we deepen our understanding of one another and the world. The University of Georgia is a place where many paths cross for the first time, where ideas converge and new possibilities emerge. These moments of connection – on campus and beyond – remind us that the journey is as impactful as the destination. And now you’ve arrived at your next Destination: TEDxUGA 2025. For more information about the event, presenters, and more, please visit the 2025 event page. Learn more & Register: https://tedxuga.com/register/

Tedxuga

TEDxUGA brings together a carefully selected group of UGA faculty, staff, alumni and students each year to share ideas worth spreading. This university-wide program is coordinated through NMI.