The School of Communications:

• Provides superior education in journalism and the diverse fields of mass communication
• Develops for students an understanding of the practices and processes in journalism and mass communication and the theories which underlie those practices and processes
• Allows students to study journalism and mass communication in a learning environment that draws on the liberal arts, the humanities, and professional fields such as business, law and the arts.
• Inspires and fosters creative vision
• Prepares enlightened students to lead, manage and staff mass media organizations
• Educates enlightened consumers to evaluate mass media practices
• Researches and analyzes the artistic, social, political, economic and ethical effects of mass media
• Evaluates the impact, practice and policies of mass media and disseminate those analyses to relevant publics and institutions in a timely manner
• Identifies and recognizes excellence in mass media
• Serves as a watchdog for the effects of mass media on society.

The goal is to develop in students a rich and full sense of the relationship between the recent “information explosion” and Western culture. To this end, students receive practical training in various production aspects of the media to complement a thorough grounding in communication history and theories.

Advanced students may arrange internships in regional media organizations. The wide variety of these internships enables the School of Communications to assess the preparation of its students on a continuing basis.

On campus, students work in one of the finest university educational facilities in the Northeast—the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center. Among the center’s features are:

• A spacious, professional television studio
• Two radio studios
• A journalism technology center
• A multimedia production facility
• Editing suites and labs
• 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.

Recent graduates have obtained positions with:

• Audiovisual services
• Cable television companies
• Broadcasting stations
• Cable and broadcasting networks
• Film companies
• Newspapers
• Advertising and public relations agencies
• A variety of non-media firms