Emerging media studies explores how technologies like AI, social media, VR, AR, streaming platforms, and big data shape human behavior, culture, institutions, and society. BU launched the nation\u2019s first PhD<\/a> in this field, and the MA<\/a> that followed has been preparing students for research, technology, policy, and academic careers ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where students ask questions that don’t have established answers yet: How does AI influence public opinion? What does virtual reality do to empathy? How do social platforms govern themselves, and who holds them accountable? <\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll find the answers inside eye-tracking labs, VR rigs, and live social-data research environments. And you’ll publish them before you graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n