College Catalog: 2014-2015
School of Contemporary Arts (CA): Communication Arts (B.A.)
Website: School of Contemporary Arts
Concentrations: Digital Filmmaking, Global Communication and Media,
Journalism, Visual Communication Design, Writing.
The Communication Arts Major prepares students for a richly interdisciplinary field that exists at the intersection of media, film, and culture. Emerging in the mid-1900s to become one of the most influential disciplines of the 21st Century, the field of the communication arts is the study and practice of the many tools, languages, technologies, media and discourses of and about culture. Communication is also the study and practice of power: the power of economics and ownership, of persuasion and influence, ideology and values. The Communication Arts major that reflects the growing convergence of writing, journalism, film, media, and design and interactive media production across platforms, emphasizing the historical tradition of the Communication Arts discipline as rooted in the social and cultural uses of media.
To prepare students to produce outstanding creative work in an increasingly diverse society, the curriculum is both grounded in the liberal arts and committed to teaching the principles, aesthetics and tools of the discipline through the development of new pedagogies based on digital interactive multimedia technologies. The major includes nationally and internationally recognized filmmakers, print and interactive media designers, journalists, writers and scholars, whose work is featured in festivals, exhibitions, and museums, as well as in books and scholarly journals.
Students in the Communication Arts major begin their study with two required foundation courses that expose them to the ways in which new technologies and the globalization of media are blurring the lines between previously distinct areas of media production and reception. Students then choose one of five concentrations for further study: Digital Filmmaking, Global Communication and Media, Journalism, Visual Communication Design, and Writing. Courses in theory, history, structure, criticism, writing and production engage students analytically and creatively with the social, cultural, and aesthetic issues of media.
The curriculum culminates in a senior portfolio capstone project that demonstrates each student’s ability to conceptualize and execute meaningful work using the relevant technologies of his or her concentration. All majors also complete an internship or co-op with New York City area institutions, including: film, television, and interactive media companies; newspaper, magazine, and book publishers; or museums, public relations, promotions, and other commercial and non-profit organizations. Other experiential or extracurricular activities include regular Cinematheque film screenings, the Rho Phi chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Arts Honor Society; a student Creative Media Club; regular presentations by artists, professionals, and alumni, and Media Collision, the annual spring showcase of outstanding student work.
The Communication Arts Major maintains a wide range of facilities, including computer labs for digital imaging, print design, interactive multimedia production, audio postproduction, Final Cut Pro digital postproduction, and writing; a field production classroom, private editing suites, audio recording studio, student access clusters, and studio facilities for television/digital film/new media production. Students completing this program will receive a B.A. degree. A minor is not available.
- Transfer students who have 48 or more credits accepted at the time of transfer are waived from the courses marked with a (W) below.聽 Waivers only apply to General Education Requirements NOT School Core or Major Requirements.
- Double counting between General Education, School Core, and Major may be possible.聽 Check with your advisor to see if any apply.
- Writing Intensive Requirement (six courses): 聽three writing intensive courses in the general education curriculum are required: First Year Seminar, Critical Reading and Writing, and Readings in the Humanities; the other three courses are taken in the major.
- Not all courses are offered each semester. 聽Please check the current Schedule of Classes for semester course offerings.
COMMUNICATION ARTS MAJOR
- Subject & Course # – Title & Course Description
- GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
- SELECT ONE – (W) OR
- (W)
- (W)
- SELECT ONE – (W)
- SELECT ONE –
- SELECT ONE –
- SELECT ONE –
- SELECT ONE –
- SELECT ONE – (W)
- SCHOOL OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS REQUIREMENTS
- (W) (satisfies first year seminar requirement)
- CA INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSES: 聽SELECT ONE (must be discipline other than major)
- (was 405)
- (was CNTP 320)
- COMMUNICATION ARTS MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
- THERE ARE FIVE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE COMMUNICATION ARTS MAJOR:
1. DIGITAL FILMMAKING
2. GLOBAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA
3. JOURNALISM
4. VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN
5. WRITING - DIGITAL FILMMAKING CONCENTRATION
- CATEGORY 1: 聽FOUNDATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 2 : HISTORY/THEORY/CRITICISM COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- 200 LEVEL: 聽SELECT ONE
- 300 LEVEL: 聽SELECT TWO
- (was 223)
- CATEGORY 3: 聽WRITING/PRODUCTION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 4: CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENT
- CATEGORY 5: CO-OP/INTERNSHIP COURSE REQUIREMENT
- CATEGORY 6: ELECTIVES COURSE REQUIREMENT
- ELECTIVES: 聽SELECT ONE
- GLOBAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA CONCENTRATION
- CATEGORY 1: 聽FOUNDATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 2 : HISTORY/THEORY/CRITICISM COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- 200 LEVEL: 聽SELECT ONE
- 300 LEVEL: 聽SELECT ONE
- (was 223)
- (was 390)
- CATEGORY 3: GLOBAL COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- MEDIA PRODUCTION: 聽SELECT ONE
- MEDIA/FILM ORGANIZATION AND INDUSTRY: 聽SELECT ONE
- MEDIA CRITICISM AND ANALYSIS: 聽SELECT TWO
- MEDIA WRITING: 聽SELECT TWO
- CATEGORY 4: 聽CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO COURSE REQUIREMENT
- UPPER LEVEL PORTFOLIO COURSE: 聽SELECT ONE
- CATEGORY 聽5: CO-OP/INTERNSHIP COURSE REQUIREMENT
- CATEGORY 6: ELECTIVES COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- ELECTIVES: 聽SELECT ONE
- JOURNALISM CONCENTRATION
- CATEGORY 1: FOUNDATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 2 : HISTORY/THEORY/CRITICISM COURSE REQIUIREMENTS (3 courses)
- SELECT ONE:
- REQUIRED COURSE:
- SELECT ONE FROM THE FOLLOWING:
- (was 390)
- CATEGORY 3: WRITING/PRODUCTION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING::
- SELECT TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:
- CATEGORY 4: SOCIAL SCIENCE COURSE REQUIREMENT
- SOCIAL SCIENCE: 聽SELECT ONE
- CATEGORY 5: CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- PORTFOLIO COURSE: 聽SELECT ONE
- CATEGORY 6: CO-OP/INTERNSHIP COURSE REQUIREMENT
- CATEGORY 7: ELECTIVES COURSE REQUIREMENT
- ELECTIVES: 聽SELECT ONE
- VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN CONCENTRATION
- CATEGORY 1: FOUNDATION COURSE REQUIREMENT (2 courses)
- CATEGORY 2 : HISTORY/THEORY/CRITICISM COURSE REQUIREMENTS (3 courses)
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING::
- CATEGORY 3: WRITING/PRODUCTION COURSE REQUIREMENTS (9 courses)
- SELECT TWO OF THE FOLLOWING COURSES:
- CATEGORY 4: CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COURSES:
- CATEGORY 5: CO-OP/INTERNSHIP COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- WRITING CONCENTRATION
- CATEGORY 1: FOUNDATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 2: HISTORY/THEORY/CRITICISM COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- 200 LEVEL: 聽SELECT ONE
- 300 LEVEL: 聽SELECT TWO
- (was 390)
- (was 223)
- CATEGORY 3: WRITING COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- (was COMM 230)
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
- CATEGORY 4: LITERATURE COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- LITERATURE: 聽SELECT TWO
- CATEGORY 5: CAPSTONE PORTFOLIO COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- CATEGORY 6: CO-OP/INTERNSHIP COURSE REQUIREMENT
- CATEGORY 7: ELECTIVES COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COURSES:
Note: A 2.0 GPA in the major is required for graduation.
General Education Requirements
Four Year Plan
Graduation Requirements
School of Contemporary Arts Website
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