Undergraduate Catalog 2013-2014

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Mass Communication B.A.

Eligibility for Entry into and Continuation in the Mass Communication Major

All students (current, entering, first-year, and transfer) who wish to major in mass communication will be classified as pre-mass communication majors. Students will be classified as mass communication majors after applying for acceptance into the major and receiving official acceptance by the faculty.

To be considered for admission to the mass communication major, students must meet all of the following requirements:

Students wishing to be considered for admission to the mass communication major must complete the application and submit it to the Department of Mass Communication after requirements outlined above have been met.

Degree Requirements

Areas A - E (See Core section of the Catalog) (42 semester hours)

Area F (18 semester hours)

MSCM 2201Media Literacy

3
MSCM 2205Professional Media Writing

3
MATH 2600Probability and Statistics

3

MATH 2600 must be taken in Area F if not taken in Area D.

Choose from Liberal Arts Electives (3-9 hours)

Any 1000-2000 level ARTS, ECON, ENGL, GEOG, HIST, IDST, MUSC, POLS, PSYC, RHET, SOCI, or THEA (3-9 hours)

3-9

Foreign Language Options (0-6 hours)

Mass Communication majors who take three or four courses at the university level may count two of them in Area F.

FREN 1001Intro French Lang & Culture I

3
FREN 1002Intro Fren Lang & Culture II

3
FREN 2001Interm French Lang & Culture

3
FREN 2002Interm Fren Lang & Culture II

3
ITAL 1001Intro Ital Lang & Culture I

3
ITAL 1002Intro Ital Lang & Culture II

3
ITAL 2001Interm Ital Lang & Culture I

3
ITAL 2002Interm Ital Lang & Culture II

3
GRMN 1001Intro German Lang & Culture I

3
GRMN 1002Intro German Lang & Culture II

3
GRMN 2001Inter German Lang & Culture I

3
GRMN 2002Inter German Lang & Culture II

3
SPAN 1001Intro Span Lang & Culture I

3
SPAN 1002Intro Span Lang & Culture II

3
SPAN 2001Interm Span Lang & Culture I

3
SPAN 2002Interm Span Lang & Culture II

3
Any transfer student who has not completed the courses in Area F, or their equivalents, must take these courses at Georgia College.

Major Requirements (39 semester hours)

Required Courses (15 hours)

MSCM 3306MSCM Theory & Research

3
MSCM 3300Mass Media Law and Ethics

3
MSCM 2930Practicum

1
MSCM 4402Senior Career Development

1
MSCM 4960Internship

1 - 15

Note:

MSCM 2930: 2 hours required (1 hour per course)

MSCM 4960: 3 hours required

Senior Project Requirement
Choose one of the following:
MSCM 4501Strategic Campaigns

3
MSCM 4502Producing for Digital Media

3
MSCM 4503Enterprise Journalism

3

Skills Courses (12 hours)

Student must select 12 hours from the following cross platform skills courses:
MSCM 3320Media Management

3
MSCM 3323Publication Editing

3
MSCM 3326Feature Writing

3
MSCM 3341Media Interviewing & Listening

3
MSCM 3343Media Design

3
MSCM 3345Multimedia Storytelling

3
MSCM 3346Electronic Editing

3
MSCM 3350Radio Operations

3
MSCM 3351Message Creation

3
MSCM 3352Advanced Strategic Writing

3
MSCM 3353Strategic Planning

3
MSCM 3363Issues in the Strat Comm Indus

3
MSCM 3364Strategic Media Planning

3
MSCM 3365Community Journalism

3
MSCM 3366Investigative Journalism

3
MSCM 3367Narrative Journalism

3
MSCM 3368Shooting for News

3
MSCM 3377Producing for the Ear

3
MSCM 3378Pitching for Multiple Screens

3

Convergent Electives

Student must take six (6) hours from any other 3000-4000 level MSCM course not listed above.

Cognate

Students must take six (6) hours from the following:
CBIS 3217Desktop Publishing

3
CBIS 3218Web Design Tools

3
3000-4999
Any Upper Level ARTS ENGL RHET MGMT or MKTG course

3

Senior Capstone Experience (4* semester hours)

This requirement is usually satisfied during the senior year and is met by completion of MSCM 4402, Senior Career Development, which requires the compilation of a reflective portfolio of a student's work and three (3) hours from one of the following:  MSCM 4501 Strategic Campaigns, MSCM 4502 Producing for Digital Media, OR MSCM 4503 Enterprise Journalism.

*The Capstone Experience is not added to cumulative hours because it is fulfilled by the regular major curriculum in MSCM.

Foreign Language Requirement (0-12 hours)

Students must show competence in a foreign language at the level of the fourth university course (2002). (0-12 hours.)

NOTE: Mass Communication majors who take three or four courses at the university level may count two of them in Area F.

 

Electives (9-21 hours)

Mass Communication majors who use language courses in Area F will have the higher number of elective hours.

Total Credit Hours: 120

Other Requirements:

  • Completion of the First-Year Academic Seminar with a passing grade.  Students who transfer to Georgia College after the first term are exempt from the requirement.
  • Mass Communication majors are required to complete off-campus internships in the communications field.  Students must have completed all four of their MSCM skills courses before completing an internship.  If students do not have a 2.5 GPA or better, they must successfully complete a noncredit internship and take three additional semester hours of MSCM electives.  The maximum number of internship hours that may be applied toward a Mass Communication major is three.  Internships must be completed at Georgia College and may nto be completed while taking any other courses.
  • Mass Communication majors must earn a C or better in all MSCM courses that count toward their major.
  • Any student who receives more than one grade of D or F in any MSCM course(s) will be ineligible to continue in the major, subject to appeal to the department faculty and the department chair.
  • Students who are found guilty of misconduct at the university level, including but not limited to cheating or plagiarism, will not be allowed to remain in the major.
  • Nor more than three journalism and/or mass communication courses totaling nine hours completed prior to admission to the major may be applied toward requirements for the B.A. in Mass Communication.  This includes courses taken at Georgia College as well as any taken at other institutions.  All courses over three will be placed in excess credit and may only be counted as B.A. electives.
  • A minimum of 39 semester hours must be at the 3000-4000 level.
  • Fulfillment of University-wide Senior Capstone Experience requirement, as explained above.