Department of Communication, Media, & Screen Studies

The Communication, Media, and Screen Studies concentration is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the integral and influential role of communication and media in society and our daily lives. Students will develop theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the areas of interpersonal communication, advertising and promotion, organizational communication, and media literacy.

The Film, Television, and Media Production concentration provides students with hands-on training in the creation and production of audiovisual content for film, television, and digital platforms. Students in this concentration will develop skills in writing, directing, editing, and other aspects of visual storytelling.

As a desired and practical complement to many academic programs, our Minor in Communication program offers a variety of courses to match students’ interests and provide the desired skills requested by employers. Foundational courses will enhance your public speaking, message design, and interpersonal/organizational communication skills while also improving your ability to think critically and creatively. You can then choose from a wide variety of intermediate/advanced level courses, which explore areas such as: Advertising & Public relations; Film, Television and Media Production; and Interpersonal and Organizational Communication. In addition, you will be provided with a faculty advisor to monitor your progress and help you achieve your academic and professional goals.

The Film Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program offered in the Department of Communication, Media and Screen Studies. The core courses provide students foundational skills for thinking critically about, and appreciating the aesthetics of, mainstream and no-so-mainstream cinema, its impact on their lives, and its place in their world. The broad understanding these critical and foundational skills provide serves as a starting point upon which students can build by choosing appropriate film courses from other compatible disciplines throughout the university. Thus, student interests are not confined to a single department or to one field of study. The minor is appropriate for students who are not specifically interested in film production; but at the same time, it will provides the student filmmaker a broader understanding of the cultural, global and formal aspects of cinema and thus inform his or her work in meaningful ways.

Students pursuing the Minor in Media Studies engage media in a variety of critical contexts. Core courses in the minor include an introduction to media theory, visual media, the various persuasive uses to which media is put, and the institutional control and bias of mediated messages. Beyond these core areas, students choose 9 credits of electives informed by their personal or career interests—television, cinema, social media, propaganda, and gender and relational issues, to name just a few possibilities.

Students pursuing the Social Media Minor study social media history, theory, development, criticism, management and analysis of the societal and individual impact of our advancing digital culture. The minor prepares students for career opportunities that support and fulfill the growing online needs of national and global organizations and to become informed and critical social media users, producers, managers and consumers. The Social Media Minor answers the growing demand for graduates trained in the professional use of social media, and responds to the rapidly evolving digital culture that has irreversibly transformed how we experience ourselves, others, and our world. No longer a novel distraction, social media has become a complex and integral component of everyday life about which everyone needs knowledge and understanding. The Social Media Minor, in its capacity to promote the critical analysis of societal changes and challenges posed by the advancing digital culture, is a vital step toward acquiring that knowledge and understanding.

The minor in Public Relations will help prepare students for careers in media relations, publicity and promotion, public affairs and government relations, event planning, corporate communications, and crisis management. Building and maintaining positive relationships with external audiences is the core of public relations. Students will develop a combination of writing, social media, persuasive and technical skills, then apply them through tactics and media choices to create a favorable image for their clients. 

The minor draws from Journalism, Marketing, Professional Writing and Communication, Media & Screen Studies courses to help students learn about media relations and branding campaigns for corporate, governmental, and nonprofit clients. Course options in Art, Media Studies, Political Science, Public Health and Sport Management give students content-area context in the field.

The new minor in Arts Administration and Cultural Advocacy offers an introduction to that professional world by helping you develop skills for a more diverse range of careers in areas such as: 

• theatre, performing arts, museum, and library management

• archival and curatorial work

• non-profit cultural organization administration

• grant-writing and development

• arts education

• and more ... 

We know there’s no single pathway into these fields.  What matters is how you combine your major and areas of interest with the knowledge and practical tools needed to develop a meaningful voice in the creative sector. The 19-credit minor is particularly ideal for Art, English, History, Music, or Theatre majors, interdisciplinary students, and those hoping to add an arts-related focus to another professional discipline.