The School of Communications' mission is to educate undergraduates, graduate students and professionals to excel in an evolving communications environment. The values that guide our mission are professional ethics and social responsibility, creativity and innovation, passion and inquiry, respect for diversity, freedom of expression and unfettered access to information.
As a school, we encourage and support research and creative endeavors that contribute to public discourse on national and global issues.
As a community that values a free and open exchange of ideas, critical thinking and informed decision-making, we nurture and challenge our students to achieve their full potential.
The School of Communications offers bachelor's and master's degrees in the disciplines that are becoming increasingly valuable in our society. Students receive practical training in various production techniques which complement a thorough grounding in communication history, theory and ethics. Communications students also receive a strong foundation in the arts and sciences, which provides a solid broad based education. Advanced students arrange internships in professional media organizations. We have relationships with over 1,000 private and nonprofit organizations and a director of internships to help with student placement.
Our educational philosophy embraces experiential learning; and students gain the critical practical experience and training to develop a portfolio of work before they graduate. Recent examples include: students appearing live on the cable network MSNBC to talk about news stories they created; developing programming for Connecticut Public Television; working alongside professional technical crews from ESPN, New England Sports Network and Tribune Broadcasting to produce live sporting and political events. Public relations students have created their own PR agency and have managed a number of not-for-profit campaigns.
On campus, students work in one of the finest university educational facilities in the Northeast--the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center. The center features a spacious, professional all-digital high definition television studio, two radio studios, a journalism technology center, a multimedia production facility, editing suites and labs, and a mini-theater. The center is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and is staffed with highly skilled media professionals to instruct and assist students. As a result, graduates are prepared to enter both the commercial and non-commercial fields of communication, as well as those businesses and corporations where media specialists are in demand.