Concentration in Communication: Professional Track

Students Admitted Prior to Autumn 2006
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Students Admitted Autumn 2006 and Later
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Overview

Concentration Coordinator: Bill Kunz

Download the Communication Concentration Overview

Students of Communication gain theoretical knowledge and practical skill in the mass media through an interdisciplinary and multicultural curriculum. Students will learn about the social, cultural, economic, political and historical context within which media operate. This concentration focuses on the full range of communication media - including radio, television, newspapers, magazines, film, advertising, public relations and the Internet - and how it pervades every aspect of our society. Students will study the considerable power media wield in mobilizing public opinion, in cutting across the boundaries between private and public life, and the strong role they play in national development.

Career Options

Recommended for careers in print and broadcast writing, reporting and editing, Web design and in the rapidly growing and interdisciplinary field of media research.

Student Learning Outcomes

Through a critical and cultural studies framework that addresses power differentials in society and through a rigorous schedule of courses in media theory and skills, students in the Communication Concentration are expected to:

• Be able to conduct thorough and investigative research for both media theory and skills assignments.
• Understand the power of the visual image and the written word and their ability to convey and sustain ideologies of gender, class, ethnicity, and orientation.
• Understand the ethical, legal, political, and economic contexts of the mass media.
• Understand the cultural issues in international and US media and develop a critical approach to media production and consumption.
• Develop skills to write, edit, and produce print and broadcast products.
• Be prepared for a variety of jobs in mass media such as newspaper and magazine writing, reporting and editing, and television production.
• Be prepared for graduate studies in mass communication, international communication, women's studies, and film studies, to name a few areas.

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