General
The Global Citizen
Writing-intensive, first-year seminar on issues related to globalization. Uses the themes of social class and epistemology to investigate beliefs about different groups worldwide.
New Media
Interactive Writing and Design
Planning, design, content creation and information architecture for interactive media sites. Students complete several projects in content creation and site design.
Multimedia Journalism/Storytelling
Applied practice in reporting and presenting stories and large projects using multiple media in an online format. Students complete semester-long topical and hyperlocal coverage projects using a variety of media.
Interactive Project for the Public Good
Analyzing communication needs and rapidly creating an interactive media solution for real clients in an international setting.
Theory and New Media
Old and new theories of communication and their application in understanding and framing issues in emerging media forms. Applied project in new media creation and evaluative research.
Reporting and Editing for On-line Media
Technical skills, writing and editing for web-based mass communication. Students write for a semester-long class project web site.
Writing for Converged Media
Theory and practice of producing multi-media content for on-line newspapers, TV stations and public relations efforts.
Interactive Multimedia Design and Research
Principles of design for computer-based educational and entertainment products, as well as implementing these principles in a design project. Students also learn various methods of studying multimedia ranging from small, grounded heuristic evaluation projects to formal research projects using multimedia as a tool for studying other variables.
General Communication
Introduction to the Mass Media
Introduction to the role and importance of mass media. Students learn the history and development of all mass media in the first half of the course and consider the impacts of media on people in the second.
Mass Communication Theory
Survey of the historical development of communication theory, with special emphasis on the applicability of existing theories in light of emerging communication and media technologies.
Mass Media Research Methods
Through a combination of applied projects and readings, students learn to evaluate and apply quantitative, qualitative and critical research methodologies.
Critical Thinking About Communication
Builds on the freshman sequence in communication theory to equip students to critically evaluate the media and its effects. Students log their own media experience throughout the semester and read work which discuss the media from diverse points of view. Students also complete seven research projects using various techniques to equip them to evaluate the quality of published research.
News Editorial
Beginning Editing
Fundamental concepts of grammar and style, relationships in the newsroom and editing for an audience. Public relations and news students are introduced to fair and accurate headline writing and appealing, informative page design.
Advanced Editing
Information presentation for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in journalism. Students apply publication design principles in applied projects in newspaper, magazine, public relations and on-line media.
Newswriting for Newspapers/Beginning Reporting
Presents pertinent issues of the press in society, building student skills as media writers. Through weekly writing labs, out-of-class writing assignments and extensive revision, students learn to write in a newspaper style and emerge with a portfolio suitable for using to get internships and jobs.
Advanced Reporting
Reporting and writing skills gained through working as reporters for a campus newspaper. In addition to extensive writing practice, students drill on idea generation, story development, spot news, long-term stories and a story series.
Writing for Magazines
Concepts and skill development in writing clear, engaging feature stories for magazines. A variety of exercises, group editing and writing assignments develop facility in reporting and presenting facts in an engaging manner. Students develop full-length feature articles and submit them to magazines.
Public Relations
Writing for Media Markets
Foundational course in public relations writing. Includes introduction to targeted communication and extensive development of writing skills in both new and old media formats, press releases, brochures, reports, etc.
Special Studies in Event Planning
All aspects of planning special events including budgeting, reservations, planning and significant hands-on experience with an event.
Feature Writing for Non-Profits
Experiential class is taught off-campus. Students spend days visiting non-profit organizations, conducting observations and interviews, and spend evenings writing stories and in editing sessions producing feature stories for newsletters and web sites of the organizations.
