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Bachelor of Science-Mass Communication
Mass Communication is the mass production or mass distribution of news, art, entertainment, or persuasive messages intended for a large audience, in all media from print to corporate communications to independent online broadcasting – from the Wall Street Journal to Instagram. Our curriculum combines theory and practice to provide you with the breadth and depth of a liberal arts education and the hands-on production experience that will prepare you for the professional world.
If you enjoy writing, organizing information, engaging with media culture, and connecting with others, and you aspire to a meaningful livelihood communicating ideas, proposals, and useful information to readers, listeners, viewers, and audiences worldwide from your company, computer, or community, then mass communication is the career for you.
What You’ll Learn from Us
- How to inform, explain, influence, persuade, mediate, and negotiate
- Critical thinking and precise reasoning in legal and ethical mass media issues
- Effective oral, written, visual, and digital communication skills
- Media literacy skills in analyzing the influence of mass communication on citizens and society
- A historical understanding of the evolution of media industries and technology that will assist you in mapping cultural change and allow you to take an active and responsible role in shaping our contemporary media culture
- The theoretical and practical principles of public relations and advertising
- The theory and practice of publication design and layout (including the Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Photoshop, and WordPress)
- The theoretical and practical principles of multimedia production (including the Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Premiere)
As a mass communication major, you will earn a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication from a university system with a stellar national and international reputation. Your degree will prepare you to work in many fields of mass communication or to continue studies in a graduate program.
In general, you will learn about the world of mass media, polish verbal and writing skills, devise public relations campaigns, write news stories, research topics from advertising and politics to comic books and video games, or create ads, magazine layouts, and even short films.
The first course, Introduction to Mass Communication, will survey all mass media and communication industries so you can decide to focus on the ones that interest you the most. Required courses in media writing, media law and ethics, mass communication theory, and research methods, will provide a professional foundation for any specialization studied through elective courses in advertising, broadcasting, journalism, media studies, or public relations.
What You’ll Do Here
Mass Communication majors will have many professional development opportunities, including (but not limited to):
- writing for our digital campus newspaper Eagle Eye, or starting a multimedia blog
- studying the history of American film and television or providing coverage of a film festival;
- devising an advertising strategy for an area business;
- preparing audio files for broadcast or podcast;
- producing short films or graphic design work to establish a professional portfolio; or
- working in public relations to contribute to a Texarkana non-profit organization.
Graduates of our program have produced marketing materials for the university, programmed a weekly film series with guest speakers, contributed to an A&M-Texarkana graphic design showcase, and took a trip to the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Los Angeles. And our Mass Communication Club has competed at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention and been awarded Student Organization of the Year.
Mass Communication Careers
Advertiser
Broadcaster
Campaigner
Consultant
Community Affairs Director
Copy Editor
Corporate Communications
Director
Documentarian
Editor
Editorial Project Manager
Events Manager
Filmmaker
Fundraising Manager
Graphic Designer
Journalist
Lobbyist
Managing Editor
Marketing Manager
Marketing Researcher
Media Critic
Media Relations Director
Media Spokesperson
Narrator
News Director
Newscaster
Press Secretary
Producer
Public Affairs Analyst
Public Relations Consultant
Publicist
Publisher
Recruiter
Screenwriter
Social Marketer
Special Events Promoter
Teacher/Professor
and many more
Interested?
Please contact Prof. Kevin Ells at (903) 223-3040 / kells@tamut.edu.
Degree Requirements
Students should refer to their DegreeWorks degree audit in their Web for Students account for more information regarding their degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Requirements | 42 | |
| MAJOR CORE REQUIREMENTS | ||
| *Students MUST earn a grade of "C" or better in all coursework in the MCOM major or minor* | ||
| COMM 1307 | Introduction to Mass Communication 5 | 3 |
| MCOM 1336 | Visual Media Production | 3 |
| MCOM 2303 | Audio Production | 3 |
| MCOM 2311 | Media Writing | 3 |
| Choose 1 of the following courses in Strategic Communication: | 3 | |
| Advertising and Public Relations | ||
| Introduction to Public Relations | ||
| Principles of Advertising | ||
| MCOM 2360 | Publication Design and Production | 3 |
| MCOM 300 | Mass Communication Theory | 3 |
| MCOM 305 | Media Law and Ethics | 3 |
| MCOM 350 | Mass Communication Research Methods | 3 |
| Choose 1 of the following: | 3 | |
| Internship in Mass Comm (EL) | ||
| Thesis | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| 12 semester credit hours in Upper Division Mass Communication electives | 12 | |
| *Students MUST earn a grade of "C" or better in all coursework in the MCOM major or minor* | ||
| MINOR REQUIREMENTS | 18 | |
| Minimum 18 semester credit hours in an approved, existing minor program from this or another college | ||
| ELECTIVES (as needed to satisfy minimum degree requirements including 45 semester credit hours of Upper Division Coursework) | ||
| TOTAL HOURS | 120 | |
- 5
This course is a blanket prerequisite for all upper division MCOM courses, except when taken concurrently with instructor permission.
Note: Must complete lower division courses as prerequisites for most upper division courses. See Course List for specific requirements. A minimum of 45 upper division hours are required for this degree. Resident credit totaling 25% of the total hours is required for the degree.
Bachelor of Science-Mass Communication 4 Year Plan
First Year
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 1301 | Composition I requires minimum grade of 'C'; satisfies core curriculum | 3 |
| HIST 1301 | United States History I satisfies core curriculum | 3 |
| COMM 1307 | Introduction to Mass Communication requires a minimum grade of 'C'; satisfies core curriculum | 3 |
| Mathematics Core Curriculum Requirement | 3-4 | |
| Language, Philosophy and Culture Core Curriculum Requirement | 3 | |
| IS 1100 | University Foundations | 1 |
| Fall Total Semester Credit Hours | 16-17 | |
| Spring | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 1302 | Composition II requires a minimum grade of 'C'; satisfies core curriculum | 3 |
| HIST 1302 | United States History II satisfies core curriculum | 3 |
| creative arts core curriculum requirement/ | 3 | |
| MCOM 2311 | Media Writing requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 |
| Social and Behavioral Science Core Curriculum Requirement | 3 | |
| Spring Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total First Year Semester Credit Hours | 31-32 | |
| NOTE: The following courses are included in the major GPA calculation: COMM 1307, MCOM 2311 | ||
Second Year
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| Life and Physical Sciences Core Curriculum Requirement | 3-4 | |
| Select one of the following courses in Strategic Communication: requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 | |
| Advertising and Public Relations | ||
| Introduction to Public Relations | ||
| Principles of Advertising | ||
| PSCI 2305 | U.S. Government and Politics | 3 |
| MCOM 1336 | Visual Media Production requires a grade of 'C' or higher | 3 |
| Mass Communication Upper Division Elective requires a minimum grade 'C' | 3 | |
| Fall Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | Semester Credit Hours | |
| Life and Physical Sciences Core Curriculum Requirement | 3-4 | |
| PSCI 2306 | State and Local Government | 3 |
| Component Area Option B of the Core Curriculum | 3 | |
| Mass Communication Upper Division Elective 300-400 level MCOM or COMM; requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 | |
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Spring Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Second Year Semester Credit Hours | 30-32 | |
| NOTE: The following courses are included in the major GPA calculation: MCOM 2320, 2340, 2350, 1336, MCOM Upper Division Electives | ||
Third Year
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| MCOM 305 | Media Law and Ethics requires a grade of 'C' or higher | 3 |
| MCOM 2303 | Audio Production requires a grade of 'C' or higher | 3 |
| MCOM 2360 | Publication Design and Production minimum grade of 'C' required | 3 |
| MCOM Upper Division Elective 300-400 level MCOM or COMM; requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 | |
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Fall Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | Semester Credit Hours | |
| MCOM 300 | Mass Communication Theory requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 |
| MCOM Upper Division Elective 300-400 level MCOM or COMM; requires a minimum grade of 'C' | 3 | |
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Upper Division Elective 300-400 level course | 3 | |
| Spring Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Third Year Semester Credit Hours | 30 | |
| NOTE: The following courses are included in the major GPA calculation: MCOM 305, 2303, 2360, 300, MCOM UD Electives | ||
Fourth Year
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| MCOM 350 | Mass Communication Research Methods requires minimum grade of 'C' | 3 |
| Choose 1 of the following: requires minimum grade of 'C' | 3 | |
| Internship in Mass Comm (EL) requires minimum grade of 'C' | ||
| Thesis | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Minor Required Course Minimum 18 semester credit hours from minor listed in catalog | 3 | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Fall Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | Semester Credit Hours | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Elective - Upper or Lower Division as needed to meet upper division and overall requirement | 3 | |
| Spring Total Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Total Fourth Year Semester Credit Hours | 30 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours Required for the Degree | 120 | |
| NOTE: The following courses are included in the major GPA calculation: MCOM 350, 310, 490, 493, 494 | ||
Note: All courses in the major must be completed with a grade of 'C' or higher. A minimum of 45 upper division hours are required for this degree. Resident credit totaling 25% of the total hours is required for the degree.
