Academic Catalog

Communications - Digital Media Innovations Concentration, B.A.

Communications Major Program

In the Communications, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Modern Languages Department at MCLA, we educate our students to become effective, adaptable critics and creators of a variety of human discourses - individuals who are comfortable with storytelling across a range of mediums and who want to create stories that inform, entertain, enlighten, and educate. To this end, the department offers a four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

Students majoring in Communications think, study, and write about the multifaceted ways people communicate across cultures. Critical thinking, strong writing and multimedia storytelling skills are at the heart of the Communications major. Courses typically combine hands-on media production with theory across digital media platforms. The Foundation of the program gives students a broad background in media theory and practice, with opportunities to explore forms of storytelling across different media and across cultures. Beyond the Foundation, students choose one or more of the following concentrations: Broadcast Media, Digital Media Innovation, Journalism, or Public Relations & Corporate Communications.

Students graduating with a concentration in Communications will be able to:

  • Communicate effectively in oral, written, and other forms of discourse;
  • Employ relevant technologies in the production, critique, and presentation of texts;
  • Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in collaborative learning and problem-solving environments;
  • Craft thoughtful, creative texts that demonstrate a keen sensitivity to language, form, style, and effect;
  • Analyze texts closely and critically, demonstrating how languages, style, form, and genre create effects and shape meanings;
  • Articulate an understanding of how cultural, historical, and ideological contexts condition both the creation and the reception of texts across time and in today’s complex, diverse world;
  • Use various critical methods and theoretical frameworks in scholarly dialogue with others about the interpretations of texts;
  • Design and conduct research, applying it to problem-solving and contributing to various forms of public discourse;
  • Reflect on how the knowledge and abilities developed in the Communications, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Modern Languages Department transfer meaningfully to other academic and non-academic, real-world situations.
Communications Major Foundation Courses24
Departmental electives (ENGL or COMM courses)6
COMM 214Digital TV: Theory and Production I3
or COMM 310 Avid Editing
COMM 315Social Media Strategies3
COMM 323Publication Design and Typography3
COMM 405Data Journalism & Infographics3
or COMM 481 Advanced Special Topics in Communications
Select two electives of the following (some require prerequisites):6
Digital Media
Information Technology for Business
Introduction to Photography
Audio Production
Media Theories
Radio Practicum
Advanced Special Topics in Communications
Teaching Assistantship in Communications
Independent Study
Internship in Communications
Programming in Java I
Graphics I
Web Development
Web Page Design
Total Hours48