Courses Offered in Media and Communication

This course is an examination of the effect and impact of media on contemporary life and society.  The course covers both the historical evolution of media as well as contemporary developments, controversial issues, and trends.  The course examines communication theories and models, historical and contemporary research, the media industries, and media law and ethics.  Three lecture hours per week. 

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Contemporary Society

Student will develop essential knowledge of, and practical experience applying, written English-language skills that underpin the media and communication discipline. The course will help students develop writing skills across a broad range of topics for a variety of platform and audiences. Three lecture hours per week. Required of all Media & Communication majors. Not open to students who have received credit for COM105.

Credits: 3.00

This course introduces students to a number of writing strategies through the examination of modern media. It also introduces techniques for responding effectively to the writing of others and ways to identify genres and rhetorical strategies appropriate to various audiences, platforms and expected outcomes. Students will produce a variety of texts that explore the role of media in shaping communal discourses and individual identity using self-reflections and critical examination of how they engage with modern media on a daily basis. Cannot be used to satisfy courses required in the Media & Communication major and minor except university-wide W-I requirements. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM110

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level I

This course covers the fundamentals of writing stories for print, digital, and emerging media. It will help students develop news writing skills across a broad range of topics for a variety of delivery platforms appropriate to both traditional and new journalism paradigms. Beat reporting, libel law, and ethical practices will also be addressed. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM202.
Prerequisite: W-1 course.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level II

In this course students will use a critical perspective to become informed consumers and creators of media texts--to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in print, electronic and digital formats. Issues discussed in class will address topics like the social impact of popular culture, influence of advertising on media content, mass media as a global industry, how to read the news, and media as a source of information and entertainment. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM220.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Pers Growth & Responsibility

This course will examine both the management and creative processes of techniques and issues in advertising as part of integrated marketing communications. Course discussion will also include social, economic and ethical aspects of advertising and the creative processes of copywriting, art, print design, and all advertising platforms. Three lecture hours per week.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Contemporary Society

In this course students will become prepared to interact in a professional manner with journalists and make use of social media by studying effective communication techniques self-presentation skills and critical thinking. Media training benefits activists, artists,authors business people government officials marketers non-profit directors political candidates public relations practitioners spokespeople and anyone else who might interact with journalists or use social media to promote themselves or their brand. Grounded in theoretical applications of public speaking this course offers students tools designed to enhance social and professional media experiences to effective) to promote themselves their organization or their brand. Three lecture hours er week.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Oral Communication

This course prepares students to a variety of media, including text, image, video, audio, and interactive platforms to tell stories across the communication discipline. Students will learn the fundamentals of storytelling, and will plan and complete projects applying these principles using a variety of digital tools. The course will also help students understand how effective storytelling works to inform, persuade and engage audiences. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM235.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Creative Expression & Apprec

This course is an introduction to the role, processes, and practices of public relations. The course will explore the concepts, theories, history, uses and techniques of public relations, as well as its foundation in rhetoric and ethics and its current applications, cases and controversies in a digitized and globalized world. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM349.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Contemporary Society

This course focuses on further developing students' visual literacy and knowledge of imagery and design to tell stories; how to gather, analyze and present quantitative and qualitative data; and the foundational theories and practices of audience engagement. Through experiential learning, students will further develop multimedia storytelling skills while also exploring the key ways to reach, inform and engage readers, viewers and listeners in an increasingly online and convergent media environment. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM250.
Prerequisite: COM235 or MCO235. Required for all Media & Communication majors.

Credits: 3.00

This course will explore the theoretical and practical usage of public relations in social advocacy work. Throughout the course, students will examine the social forces that create and maintain social injustice and how strategic methods of communication and community organizing are instrumental to galvanize a critical mass of marginalized populations. Through a public relations lens, this course will introduce and analyze advocacy rhetoric, communicative strategies for social justice, and methods for inter-movement organizing. Students will leave this course with the tools necessary to engage in strategic communication from an activist framework. Three lecture hours.

Credits: 3.00

This course focuses on an introduction of forms and techniques in professional communication environments. We will examine the fundamental elements of synchronous and asynchronous communication with emphasis on interactive experiences as well as clear and consistent message construction for a variety of audiences. Through low-stakes and high-stakes writing and speaking assignments, students will develop abilities to compose in numerous genres, such as resumes, business letters, and oral presentations attending to different purposes and audiences. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on their written and verbal communication while also engaging in/with peer review and instructor feedback. Students must be comfortable working independently in a variety of online formats including online learning systems, social media, and multimedia websites. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have credit for COM260.
Prerequisites: WI

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Oral Communication, Written Communication-Level II

This course introduces students to the foundations of journalism and the craft’s principal components: reporting and writing for the appropriate platform(s) and media. The course explores how to report stories appropriately while respecting libel ethics and copyright considerations and examines how to deliver news across multiple platforms. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: W-I

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level II

This course examines how organizations function, including their role in society and cultural rituals. Emphasis will be placed on the analytical process of observing, tracking and auditing the communication patterns within organizations of varying sizes. Focusing on communication structures within organizations to provide context, students will explore how social, intellectual, and occupational habits are created and shaped. Three lecture hours per week.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Pers Growth & Responsibility

This course provides students with a foundation in the research methods commonly used in advertising, public relations and journalism. Students will be introduced to the attitude necessary for scientific inquiry in the social sciences, as well as the capability to read and understand research reports based upon quantitative and qualitative methods, including sampling, surveys, experiments, content analysis, focus groups and critical analysis. Students will design, administer and interpret several such research tools. Three lecture hours per week.  Not open to students who have received credit for COM300.

Credits: 3.00

This course explores the role the American mass media play in the social construction of racial categories. Students will study how even though biological views on race lack scientific validation, racial categories remain central social, cultural, and political issues in American life. Using various formats the course will highlight how mediated representations have helped sustain a system of racial categorizations necessary for the survival of institutionalized racism and White privilege. The analysis is structured around four areas: fundamental definitions on race, critical analysis of media representations, audience reception and interpretation, and advocacy and activism. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have completed MCO230.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Diversity, Power Dyn, Soc Just

This course offers an exploration of the role of the mass media in today's society from a cultural studies perspective. Issues surrounding gender, race, and class are given special emphasis; other categories, such as age, family, and ability, are also considered. Attention is given to various theories that explain the relationship between mediated depictions of society and cultural ideas about within society. about various socio-cultural groups and the perpetuation of structural inequalities in society Three lecture hours per week. Prerequisites: Not open to students who have received credit for COM304 or COM206

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Contemporary Society, Diversity, Power Dyn, Soc Just

This course examines various aspects of gender in media. Using theories from gender studies. cultural studies and media/communication studies. we will unpack media texts to better understand how gender (and its intersections with race, ethnicity and class is constructed communicated and integrated into our everyday lives. We will utilize various writing genres to investigate the socio-cultural structures that help us to form our individual and collective identities. teaching us what it means to live within a gender continuum, and will explore the performative nature of gender and ways in which gender is linked to power, identity, voice and other identity categories (eg: race sexual orientation, socio-economic status, etc.) Three lecture hours per week. Prerequisite: W-I course; Not open to students who have completed MCO274.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Diversity, Power Dyn, Soc Just, Written Communication-Level II

By examining the mediated representation of LGBTQ+ fictional characters and the coverage of LGBTQ+ individuals and events, this course invites students to think critically about how mass media images shape our understanding of sexual and gender identities and their place in the American social hierarchy. Using discourse analysis grounded on cultural hegemony, students will engage with samples of media texts in order to analyze the impact of contemporary media representations of queer identities in America. Three lecture hours per week.

Credits: 3.00

This course is about communicating with diverse audiences. It provides theoretical foundations for understanding diversities based in language, culture, and identity and demonstrates applications in the areas of journalism, advertising, and public relations. Students will engage critically with the process of multicultural and global communications through analysis and discussion of examples across different media texts. Not open to students who have received credit for COM316. Three lecture hours per week.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: World Cultures

This course will deal with the planning, writing, editing, and visual layout of advertisements including public service announcements. Campaigns and individual ads will be developed with the use of design applications. Assignments will focus on the relationship between copywriting, target audiences, branding, and media formats. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: W-1 and MCO235

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level II

This production-based course teaches students to compose narrative audio stories like those heard on the radio and popular podcasts. Through attention to genre, purpose, and audience and practice with listening and audio analysis, students will learn strategies and techniques to craft their own audio stories. Students will gain experience in writing a pitch, writing a script, interviewing, recording sound, collecting and downloading sound, experimenting with sound effects, silence, and music, and working in audio editing software. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who completed ENL329 or ENL234. Prerequisite: W-I.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level II

This course uses comparative, global, and historical perspectives to examine media practices that foster civic participation. Students will learn civic media theories, academic and practitioner research, and project design methods to understand how media can be used for civic engagement. Case studies are used to explore civic media across platforms, contexts, audiences, and purpose to touch upon concepts like participatory culture, citizen journalism, resistance media, and media activism. Not open to students who have received credit for COM332. Three lecture hours per week.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Pers Growth & Responsibility

This course examines the history of the U.S. media and media institutions, situating them in the context of broader U.S. political, cultural, and technological developments, while also emphasizing the media’s contributions in these areas. Students will learn to access historical sources and apply historical methods to the study of media texts and institutions. The course considers the colonial era to the present day, encompassing developments in mass media (including newspapers, advertising, magazines, radio, and television) and social media.
Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM 333.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: The Human Past

This course prepares students for professional careers in the media & communication field. Students will learn how to search for internships and job prospects; how to work effectively in teams; how to efficiently plan and execute projects; and how to plan and develop a portfolio Entrepreneurship concepts will also be covered, including how good business ideas develop; how businesses thrive; and the basics of budgeting and freelance billing. Guidance on the graduate school application process will also be offered. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: Media and Communication majors and minors only. Restricted to juniors and seniors.

Credits: 3.00

This course will deal with the written expression of public relations strategies, tactics and programs. Students will explore, produce, reflect on their own, and respond to the peer and instructor feedback on traditional written vehicles including news releases, pitch letters and brochures, as well as new and emerging digital and social media tools. Three lecture hours per week. Not open to students who have received credit for COM351.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Communication-Level II

Proficiency with gathering, analyzing and visualizing data is essential in journalism today. Equally critical is the ability to use those data to serve the public interest by engaging audiences in ways that help them understand information and facts contextually and accurately. This course introduces students to using data as sources and to “interviewing” datasets using quantitative analysis and data visualization tools. This course will start with building the fundamental skills needed to find and use data in basic news stories and beat reporting. Students will use those skills to become familiar with how to use publicly available datasets to shape the story so it can be pitched, developed and published. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisite: A minimum grade of C in MCO273.

Credits: 3.00

This course helps students expand and apply their understanding of the PR campaign development, management and evaluation process. Working in teams, students will collaborate with a community client to develop a PR campaign that best addresses a communication issue facing their client. Students will examine public relations theories, case studies, best practices and contemporary strategies and incorporate  them with knowledge gained from previous courses as they research client situations, organizations and key publics; develop campaign goals, objectives and strategies; implement their campaign; and use contemporary methodological strategies to evaluate its effectiveness. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: MCO249. 

Credits: 3.00

This production-based course will teach students about the historical development and use of podcasts, audio-based digital communication channels that evolved from broadcasting and radio. Students will analyze podcasts based on a variety of subjects such as music, sports, and true crime, and their corresponding genres such as interviews, discussion, and narrative stories. Students will learn the process of creating a podcast, technical skills needed to craft professional audio work, and techniques for launching, marketing, and distributing a podcast to a target audience. Working in small teams, students will create a podcast and write, produce, and share several podcast episodes. Students may not earn credit if they have previously received credit for ENL 413.Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: WII

Credits: 3.00

Using lectures and workshop experiences, this course involves students in the research, writing and editing of radio, television, and online advertising. Students will produce at least one audio and one video advertisement. Projects will be oriented around social marketing topics. Three lecture hours per week plus laboratory work outside of class. Limited to Communications majors and minors.
Prerequisite: COM320 or MCO220 or MCO222.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Commun-Level III

This project-based studio course asks students to investigate the creation and use of civic media in society through analytical, participatory, and collaborative approaches. Emphasis is placed on co-design and the application of technology to civic problems to provide students with the tools they need to grapple with contemporary and civic challenges. Students will work with a community partner to create civic media projects that meet an identified real-world community need over the course of the semester. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisite: Completion of a WII course.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Commun-Level III

This course will deepen and broaden the traditional and web-based writing skills and knowledge of public relations concentrators. It will provide opportunities for students to move beyond introductory publicity and report writing. The course will cover the writing required for more challenging and complex organizational documents associated with marketing campaigns, issues management, crisis communication, speech writing, op editorials, and emerging social media tactics and tools. Students will explore, produce, and respond to their peer and instructor feedback to correct, refine and prepare them for professional PR writing environments. Three lecture hours or computer workshops per week.
Prerequisites: MCO249; MCO W-II; junior-level standing

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Commun-Level III

This course will focus on how to interest readers in longform nonfiction storytelling for print and online publications by using multiple narrative elements and digital platforms to tell stories. We will discuss the components of in-depth feature writing, which include character arcs, story development and structure, dialogue, scenes, transitions, word usage, point of view and style. Students will report on
and write pieces that incorporate text, images, and multimedia tools that include audio elements embedded in text, video clips intertwined with the story, and interactive graphics. The goal is to create memorable narrative non-fiction pieces that hold a reader’s attention throughout the story. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisite: W-II; Grade of C or higher in MCO373 or COM370 or MCO370.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Commun-Level III

This course offers an in-depth exploration of critical approaches to analyzing media texts, such as television programs, advertisements, and films, drawing upon a range of critical theories and methods. Students will learn varied communication styles and formats with which they can critically analyze media texts' cultural significance and advocate for social change. Three lecture hours per week.
Prerequisites: Completion of a WII course and at least one MCO DPDS or MCO WC course. Juniors and Seniors only.

Credits: 3.00

This course fulfills these general education curriculum requirements: Written Commun-Level III

In this course, students receive support in the creation a professional portfolio suitable for presentation at job interviews in the media and communication field. The portfolios will use materials from current and previous class assignments, publications, and internships. Students will also have the option to create new material for their portfolios. Required for B.S. in Media & Communication. Limited to Media and Communication majors. Limited to 10 students per section. One lecture hour per week.
Prerequisites: MCO350

Credits: 1.00

Independent projects for Media & Communication majors under the supervision of a member of the Media & Communication faculty. Open only to Junior or Senior Media & Communication majors. Permission of the Department Chairperson is required.

Credits: 3.00

A program designed to provide on-the-job experience and training in communication and media, tailored to the student’s area of interest. Through this field experience, the student explores career options, gains practical experience and skills, and makes contacts with potential employers. In addition to working at the internship site, the student will complete a series of assignments related to the internship experience. This course may be repeated for additional credit, but the total number of internship credits may not exceed 12. A total of 7-12 credits simultaneously may be taken rarely and only in close consultation with the department chair.
Prerequisites:  MCO 350. Limited to Media & Communication majors and minors and permission of Department Chairperson required.

Credits: 3.00 - 12.00

This course provides students with the opportunity to conduct an independent research project in an area of special interest in the field of Media Studies. The course is subject to the availability of a faculty member with expertise in the students area of interest. The supervising faculty member will serve as the research director and meet regularly with the student. Designed to accommodate one or two semester projects, the course allows the student to earn up to 6 credit hours by enrolling for two semesters. Only three of those credits can be counted as the Major Capstone Course. The course is developed collaboratively between professor and student so that it may be tailored to the individual students interest. Limited to Juniors and Seniors in the Media Studies Concentration.
Prerequisites: COM300 or MCO300 and permission of department chairperson.

Credits: 3.00

This experiential learning course provides students with the opportunity to work with clients from small businesses and non-profit organizations. In teams students apply the principles of public relations and advertising to develop effective client relationships and deliver traditional and emerging social media materials and tools as agreed upon by teams, clients, and instructors. 1.5 lecture hours per
week plus weekly fieldwork hours required. Not open to students who have completed COM412 COM455 COM507 COM510, or MCO507.
Limited to Media & Communication Majors concentrating in Advertising or Public Relations,or others with permission of Department Chairperson.
Prerequisite: Completion of MCO350 (Junior Career Seminar).

Credits: 3.00

An internship in journalism offers students the opportunity to work in a professional setting to gain on-the-job training. Interns take the skills and theories learned in the classroom and apply them to a job. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths. Work done at an internship in journalism is an essential part of developing a professional portfolio. May be repeated for a total of up to 6 credits. Three lecture hours per week.
Co-requisite: MCO513. Prerequisite: MCO350, completion of MCO473 or COM470 with a grade of C or higher. With departmental approval, students may substitute MCO512 for an internship.

Credits: 3.00