The Tracks

During your first two years, you will be asked to specialize your studies by concentrating on one of four "tracks."

You can concentrate on more than one track, depending on the type of courses you take. All communication majors must also take up to three electives (two for those who choose the PR track), and at least two of those electives must be from tracks other than your own. The following is an outline of suggested courses.

The four tracks are:

Communication Management [back to top]
The Communication Management specialization provides students with the theoretical understanding and practical skills needed for success in interpersonal, group, and organizational communication. Coursework emphasizes how communication competence is achieved through analysis, problem-solving, teamwork, and conflict management. Possible careers include training and development, corporate communication, communication consulting and coaching, meeting and event planning, human resources, social services, law, and education.

COM 215 Group and Team Communication
This course weds theory of small group interaction with practice through participation in groups. Emphasis is placed on factors affecting and affected by symbolic exchanges in task and social groups. Specific topics include: the nature of groups, the link between communication and group composition, the aims of groups, the influence processes in groups, group decision-making, and properties of group interaction.

COM 312 Persuasion
Examines theories and techniques associated with persuasion, ranging from those centered on interpersonal settings to those featured in mass mediated campaigns. Assignments will focus on both oral and written persuasion with the goal of enhancing the student's abilities as both consumer and practitioner.

COM 315 Advanced Interpersonal Communication
The purpose of this course is to integrate advanced principles and practices of effective interpersonal communication. A goals-based approach is used in order to increase communication competence in a variety of interpersonal communication settings.

COM 316 Strategic Analysis
This course introduces students to the strategic process of collecting and analyzing information in professional organizational settings. Emphasis is on needs assessment, designing and implementing surveys, focus groups, and interviews.

COM 317 Organizational Communication
This course examines how communication acts as the foundation of all organizations. It will examine major schools of thought about organizations and communication networks, functions, and practices. It will also explore significant issues in organizational settings.

COM 415 Communication Management and Development
This capstone course is designed to provide students with the theoretical approaches and practical skills associated with communication management and development. Students will serve as consultants and will assess the interpersonal, group, or organizational communication needs of a client, and implement a program to address those needs.

Journalism [back to top]
The Journalism specialization provides students with the conceptual and practical skills required of journalists in an age of multi-media news delivery. Our curriculum takes a liberal arts approach, giving the students the broad training required to understand the world they cover as journalists. The mission is to develop skilled, resourceful, ethical storytellers. Students who complete this specialization will be prepared for jobs in print, broadcast and on-line journalism.

COM 206 Fundamentals of Journalism
An introductory class in news values, news gathering, and writing for print outlets. Students will be required to conduct interviews, cover meetings, and report on events both on and off campus.

COM 208 Media Production
This course introduces students to the fundamental theories and practices of audio and video production. Students will learn how the preproduction, production, and postproduction stages apply to media. Emphasis is on storytelling, the importance of audience research and planning, scheduling, and selecting and employing proper resources. Students will experience the process using fundamental production techniques of audio and video through hands-on projects.

COM 302 Electronic News Reporting
Introduction to and application of news reporting for the electronic media, with a focus on both hard news and documentary formats.

COM 306 Advanced Reporting
An advanced course on information gathering and reporting, with an emphasis on computer assisted reporting, understanding numerical information, and interviewing experts. Students will produce stories that utilize each of these resources, and explore various ways the story could be told through print, broadcast, and online platforms.

COM 308 Communication Law
The course is designed to review the history, development and interpretation of the First Amendment in the U.S. by our court system and its impact upon journalists, mass communicators, and citizens.

COM 406 Community Journalism
Community Journalism, also known as public journalism or civic journalism, comprises a wide range of practices designed to give news organizations greater insight into the communities they cover. In this course, students will use skills developed throughout the track to create stories about Philadelphia community issues with the goal of producing content for Web-based multimedia (text, audio, video) delivery. Students would assume various responsibilities for the production process, such as editors, reporters, designers, etc.

Mass Communication [back to top]
The Mass Communication specialization provides students with an understanding of the media industries along with the skills needed to produce media in various formats. Our curriculum focuses on process and production. Our students have the opportunity to become well-rounded professionals who can adapt to the constantly changing mass media field. Students who complete this specialization will be prepared for both technical and non-technical jobs in a variety of media industries. Examples of these jobs include radio producer, television news writer, reporter, film editor, media manager, and program researcher.

COM 204 Film as Art
A survey course that serves to introduce film both as an industry and an art form. Subject matter includes film techniques, styles, traditions, and genres; the rudiments of cinematography, editing, sound, script structure, acting, and directing; and the business and economics of film production, distribution, and exhibition. The course will also focus on critical evaluations of the work of a diverse but representative group of outstanding films and filmmakers.

COM 208 Media Production
This course introduces students to the fundamental theories and practices of audio and video production. Students will learn how the preproduction, production, and postproduction stages apply to media. Emphasis is on storytelling, the importance of audience research and planning, scheduling, and selecting and employing proper resources. Students will experience the process using fundamental production techniques of audio and video through hands-on projects.

COM 302 Electronic News Reporting
Introduction to and application of news reporting for the electronic media, with a focus on both hard news and documentary formats.

COM 303 Scriptwriting
Introduction to and application of scriptwriting techniques in formats appropriate for radio, television, and film.

COM 306 Advanced Reporting
An advanced course on information gathering and reporting, with an emphasis on computer assisted reporting, understanding numerical information, and interviewing experts. Students will produce stories that utilize each of these resources, and explore various ways the story could be told through print, broadcast, and online platforms.

COM 308 Communication Law
The course is designed to review the history, development and interpretation of the First Amendment in the U.S. by our court system and its impact upon journalists, mass communicators, and citizens.

COM 408 Mass Communication Practicum
The capstone builds upon previous skills: concept, needs analysis, budget, writing, shooting, editing, law, promotion, while integrating research and criticism to determine media effects. Students will produce a specific project (audio, video or film) that reflects their interests and pulls together all aspects of the production process.

Public Relations [back to top]
Public relations is the management of communication between an organization and the publics upon which it depends and influences. This specialization prepares students for careers in corporate, nonprofit, and agency public relations. Students in this specialization will not only develop the skills required of public relations tacticians, but also the knowledge and experience required of those who manage any strategic communication effort.

COM 207 Principles of Public Relations
This course provides a survey of the diverse and growing field of public relations. The course proceeds from a historic overview of the PR field to introduce students to the process of public relations management and some of the skills required of practitioners. In addition, the course investigates public relations practices in a variety of contexts and examines the role of public relations in society.

COM 312 Persuasion
Examines theories and techniques associated with persuasion, ranging from those centered on interpersonal settings to those featured in mass mediated campaigns. Assignments will focus on both oral and written persuasion with the goal of enhancing the student's abilities as both consumer and practitioner.

COM 316 Strategic Analysis
This course introduces students to the strategic process of collecting and analyzing information in professional organizational settings. Emphasis is on needs assessment, designing and implementing surveys, focus groups, and interviews.

COM 317 Organizational Communication
This course examines how communication acts as the foundation of all organizations. It will examine major schools of thought about organizations and communication networks, functions, and practices. It will also explore significant issues in organizational settings.

COM 357 Public Relations Writing
Writing is one of the top-rated skills for public relations professionals, and this course introduces students to the principles of planning and pre-writing as the basis for successful writing efforts. Students will learn how to produce press releases, backgrounders, brochures, newsletter articles, public service announcements, and a variety of other pieces.

COM 407 Public Relations Management
This course uses a combination of case studies and service-learning to provide students with an in-depth study of public relations theory and practice. In addition to exploring a particular practice area in greater depth, students work with community organizations on public relations projects to apply what they have learned.

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