Communication, B.S.
Program Description
The Communication program provides a career-oriented program designed to give the student broad practical and theoretical knowledge of various aspects of communication, television, radio, newspaper, advertising, public relations and digital multimedia.
Courses in Communication, which include experiences of a practical nature, begin in the freshman year to provide the student immediate exposure to communication processes. Field experiences, permitting the student to observe and work in a chosen communications medium, begin early in the program. They allow students to explore media settings, develop skills, and make contacts that are critical to success in this industry. By the senior year, the student may reach and maintain a clear, independent focus on the practical art of communication through the mass media and student’s role in that process.
In addition, the Communication student is given the opportunity to acquire a comprehensive liberal arts background. While enriching the specialized program, this may provide the student with a humanistic perspective for the evaluation of the student’s role in relation to society and assist toward mutual improvement of self and society.
Communication majors may not take any Career Component course Pass/Fail.
All Communication majors should complete 100-level Communication courses, writing courses (ENG 110 College Writing/ENG 112 College Writing for Multilingual Students and ENG 200 Advanced College Writing/ENG 202 Advanced College Writing for Multilingual Students) and SPE 130 Fundamentals of Public Speaking during their first year at Medaille College. It is also important to complete as many other required 100-level courses as possible in the first two years.
Students may not go out on field experiences (COM 277 Field Experience I, COM 377 Field Experience II, COM 388 Field Experience, COM 477 Field Experience III) unless their average is 2.0 or better, and unless they have all prerequisite courses completed, as stated in the Undergraduate Catalog.
The Department of Communication operates and maintains the College radio lab and television studio. Medaille College’s on-campus radio lab offers students an opportunity to learn production, news, and on-air techniques. The student staff is responsible for all aspects of operating a radio station from programming to final product. The campus radio lab is now online at WMCB The Fuze.
The TV studio allows students to learn various aspects of broadcast production from computer graphics to directing and editing a television program.
Program Goals
- Enables and encourages proficient practitioners and critics of public communication
- Enables and encourages students to engage in oral, written, and audio-visual communication and web technology in order to prepare them for the profession of communication
- Enables and encourages students a commitment to lifelong intellectual learning
- Enables and encourages professional ethics, as well as personal growth
- Encourages student’s competence in research methods and critical thinking
- Enables and encourage students to engage in critical study of each mass medium
- Foster student’s excellence in professional performance in communication
Program Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Successfully engage in oral presentations.
- Use appropriate resources and research methods to achieve specific audience objectives.
- Analyze and critically review the various forms of oral, written and audio-visual communication.
- Write effectively in the style appropriate to each mass medium (electronic, TV, radio, visual, etc.)
- Analyze and articulate the history, development and operations of each mass medium and how they relate to each other.
- Demonstrate visual communication through a coherent framework including, but not limited to, video, film, audio-visual communication and web technology.
- Demonstrate excellence in job performance through the development of skills including, but limited to, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing and office etiquette and portfolio construction.
Degree earned: B.S.
Total number of credits: 120-121
Credit Distribution
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Core | ||
| Writing Courses | ||
| ENG 110 | College Writing | 3 |
| or ENG 112 | College Writing for Multilingual Students | |
| ENG/HON 200 | Advanced College Writing | 3 |
| or ENG 202 | Advanced College Writing for Multilingual Students | |
| Critical Dialogues Course | ||
| INT 110 | Introduction to Dialogues in Critical Thinking 1 | 3 |
| American Dialogues Course | ||
| Select one course of the following: | 3 | |
| Photographers, Writers, and the American Scene | ||
| Social Issues in Policing a Multicultural Community | ||
| Justice and Democracy in America | ||
| African-American History | ||
| Cultural Interaction in Colonial North America | ||
| Enduring American Dialogues | ||
| Creative and Reflective Dialogues Course | ||
| Select one course of the following: | 3 | |
| Contemporary Photography as Cultural Landscape | ||
| Beginning Drawing | ||
| Basic Photography: Criticizing Photography | ||
| Introduction to Creative Writing | ||
| Creative Nonfiction Writing | ||
| Creative Expression | ||
| Introduction to Theatre and Performance | ||
| Sustainability Dialogues Course | ||
| Select one course of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Introductory Biology | ||
| Human Nutrition | ||
| Botany | ||
| Enviromental Studies | ||
| Introductory Chemistry | ||
| Scientific Discovery | ||
| Physical Science | ||
| Principles of Physics I | ||
| Global Dialogues Course | ||
| Select one course of the following: | 3 | |
| British Literature I: Middle Ages to the 18th Century | ||
| British Literature II: Late 18th Century to The Present | ||
| Themes and Topics in World Literature & Culture | ||
| Major Global Literary Figures | ||
| Baccalaureate Capstone I | ||
| Medieval World | ||
| The History of Ireland | ||
| History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | ||
| The Arts in Society | ||
| Psychoanalysis & Politics | ||
| Seminar in Religion and Belief | ||
| Classical Music Studies | ||
| Truth & Justice | ||
| Citizenship Dialogues Course | ||
| Select one course of the following: | 3 | |
| Baccalaureate Capstone II | ||
| Capstone in Citizenship | ||
| Psychology Capstone | ||
| MAT 114 | Intermediate Algebra 2 | 3 |
| MAT 201 | Statistics and Society | 3 |
| SPE 130 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| Major Requirements | ||
| COM 101 | Introduction to Mass Communication | 3 |
| COM 110 | Journalism in the Digital Era | 3 |
| COM 130 | Survey of Broadcasting: History, Programming and Operations | 3 |
| COM 150 | Media Promotions and Marketing | 3 |
| COM 200 | Digital Media Production | 3 |
| COM 211 | Mass Media Writing | 3 |
| COM 300 | Introduction to Communication Theory | 3 |
| COM 311 | Social Media Strategies | 3 |
| COM 355 | The Theory of Media Criticism | 3 |
| COM 400 | Media Communication Law and Ethics | 3 |
| COM 475 | Media and Society Seminar | 3 |
| Select one COM (Any) Communication elective | 3 | |
| Select one COM (300/400 level) Communication elective | 3 | |
| Experiential Learning | ||
| COM 277 | Field Experience I | 3 |
| COM 377 | Field Experience II | 3 |
| COM 477 | Field Experience III | 6 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Courses | ||
| Liberal Arts and Science electives | Select any three LAS courses | 9 |
| 300/400 level Liberal Arts and Science electives | Select two LAS courses | 6 |
| PHI 200 | Logic | 3 |
| or PHI 300 | Ethics | |
| SPE 315 | Advanced Public Speaking | 3 |
| Select one HIS (Any) History elective | 3 | |
| Free Electives | ||
| Select 12 credits of Free Electives 3 | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 120-121 | |
- 1
Required of first-year students; all other students may substitute a 300/400 level Liberal Arts and Sciences elective
- 2
Students who meet the math competency may substitute a Liberal Arts and Sciences elective
- 3
May include any College course.
Suggested Sequence
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | |
| INT 110 | Introduction to Dialogues in Critical Thinking | 3 |
| ENG 110 | College Writing | 3 |
| COM 101 | Introduction to Mass Communication | 3 |
| COM 130 | Survey of Broadcasting: History, Programming and Operations | 3 |
| MAT 114 | Intermediate Algebra | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| ENG 200 | Advanced College Writing | 3 |
| COM 110 | Journalism in the Digital Era | 3 |
| COM 150 | Media Promotions and Marketing | 3 |
| SPE 130 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| MAT 201 | Statistics and Society | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| American Dialogues | 3 | |
| COM 211 | Mass Media Writing | 3 |
| COM (Any) | 3 | |
| COM 200 | Digital Media Production | 3 |
| LAS Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Creative Dialogues | 3 | |
| COM 311 | Social Media Strategies | 3 |
| COM 277 | Field Experience I | 3 |
| PHI 200 or PHI 300 |
Logic or Ethics |
3 |
| LAS Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| Sustainability Dialogues | 3 | |
| COM 355 | The Theory of Media Criticism | 3 |
| COM 377 | Field Experience II | 3 |
| LAS Elective | 3 | |
| LAS Elective (300/400) | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| COM 300 | Introduction to Communication Theory | 3 |
| COM (Any 300/400 level) | 3 | |
| SPE 315 | Advanced Public Speaking | 3 |
| HIS (Any) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| Global Dialogues | 3 | |
| COM 475 | Media and Society Seminar | 3 |
| LAS Elective (300/400) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| INT 450 | Capstone in Citizenship | 3 |
| COM 400 | Media Communication Law and Ethics | 3 |
| COM 477 | Field Experience III | 6 |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Please Note: The above shows the ideal suggested sequencing and scheduling of courses and credits by semester. It is based on eight semesters for a traditionally-structured baccalaureate degree. Degree program requirements and the scheduling of courses are subject to change, based on writing/math placements and course availability. This chart should be utilized a guide and is not a written contract. Students will be notified of changes that may affect their academic progress.