Communications Major Program

Modern society has come to rely on journalism and journalists to draw connections between the parts of a huge, complex, restless system that might easily fragment and turn against itself. The centrality of journalists in explaining a dynamic, ever-changing world makes journalism a profession requiring a wide variety of inter-related skills: observation, analysis, and above all, mastery of clear expression, explanation, and interpretation.

At MCLA, you learn the craft of journalism along with other arts like storytelling, social and historical analysis, and rhetorical persuasion. You also develop a "nose for news" and understand the news value of a story as a commercial commodity.

After your introductory journalism courses, you are invited to participate in news teams who write and edit the campus newspaper, produce television news broadcasts, and function as editors or columnists. To extend your competence in this demanding and exhilarating profession, we encourage you to intern at a newspaper or broadcasting outlet.

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

• Communicate effectively in oral, written, and media forms of discourse;

•  Employ relevant technologies in the production, and presentation of texts;

• Demonstrate an ability to work effectively in collaborative learning and problem-solving environments;

• Craft thoughtful, and creative texts that demonstrate a keen sensitivity to language, form and effect;

• Analyze media 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;

• Know and understand various methods and research frameworks to explore and answer critical Communication questions as well as explain study results via scholarly dialogue;

• Reflect on how the knowledge, skillsets and abilities developed in the Communications Department transfer meaningfully to other academic and non-academic, real-world situations.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Communications Major Foundation Courses		24
Multi-Media Journalism in Practice
COMM 239	Writing and Reporting the News I	3
COMM 339	Writing and Reporting the News II	3
COMM 350	Multi-Media Practicum	3
Choose One:		3
COMM 240	Sports Journalism
COMM 250	Radio News: Reading and Reporting
COMM 315	Social Media Strategies
COMM 323	Publication Design and Typography
COMM 328	Issues in Journalism
COMM 405	Data Journalism & Infographics
ENGL 221	Literary Journalism
Global Communication and Media:
COMM 302	Communicating Across Cultures	3
Choose One:		3
ANTH 306	Cross-Cultural Documentaries
COMM 319	Global Issues in Communication
COMM 400	Intercultural Communication
COMM 410	From Semiotics to Significations
GIST 150	Introduction to Global and Intercultural Studies
IDST 351	Race and Racism from a Global Perspective
MODL 310	Language & Indigeneity in Latin America
Electives: Choose one from below list or any course not taken in above categories		3
AMGT 305	Writing for Arts and Culture
COMM 205	Introduction to Photography
COMM 260	Podcasting
COMM 324	Broadcast Journalism
COMM 337	Advanced Photography
COMM 338	Photojournalism
COMM 415	Media Meaning-Making: Theory/Practice
COMM 481	Advanced Special Topics in Communications (by subject - may be repeated)
DATA 350	Practicing Data Science
Total Hours		45