Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 University Catalog 
    
2016-2017 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Mass Communication, BA


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About the Program

Mass communication includes courses in professional and journalistic writing and news as strategic communication; public affairs reporting, advanced reporting, and copy editing; the symbols created by mass communication and the role of mass media in society; and the translation of theory into media production in telecommunication areas such as video production, editing, and programming.

Please visit Mass Communication for more information.

Degree Requirements and Supplemental Information - Four Year Major

The four year Program Requirements for 2016-17 Mass Communication  include all Supplemental Information and selective lists of those categories which a student must fulfill in order to earn their degree. These are intended to be printer-friendly, but include less descriptive course detail.

Please see below for program requirements and the necessary degree fulfillments.

Three Year Major

The Brian Lamb School of Communication now offers all five majors in schedules that can be completed in just three years. These new schedules have the same number of total hours (120), and the same number of major hours (42 or 30), but compress them into three years.  The three-year plan requires two summers, with the following distribution of semester hours (fall/spring/summer):
Year One:  15/18/9
Year Two:  18/18/9
Year Three:  18/15/graduation in May

These new three-year plans are in addition to the existing four-year programs, which will all still be available.  And of course, if students enter the program with any Advanced Placement or transfer credit, meeting the three-year calendar becomes even simpler.

See the Program Requirements and Supplemental Information for 2016-17 Mass Communication-3 Year Plan  and visit the Brian Lamb School of Communication website for more information.

COMM-BA
COMC
120 Credits

“C - “or better required in all COM major courses, including pre-com

Liberal Arts Core Curriculum


Each liberal arts major is designed as a four-year plan of study and includes three types of courses: Major, Core, and Elective. Most students take five courses per semester, with some of each type.

Professional academic advisors meet individually with each of our students on a regular basis to help with course selection, academic planning, and career development, as well as to help students find additional resources on campus.

For the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum click here .

Departmental/Program Major Courses (42 credits)


Prerequisite


Students must complete COM 11400  and achieve a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale in the three Pre-Communication courses before declaring this or any major in communication. NO additional communication courses from the plan of study can be taken prior to admission. Only one Pre-Communication course may be repeated one time for admission purposes.

B. The following General Communication course (3 credits)


Note


*Refer to MyPurdue for pre-requisite requirements

E. Choose TWO additional 30000-level or above courses in COM that are NOT listed in areas A through D (6 credits)


Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (57 credits)


  • or
  •  

  • Other Languages (Proficiency through Level IV in one language) - Credits Hours: 12.00
  • Mathematics - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Statistics - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Western Heritage - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • United States Tradition - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Other Cultures - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Aesthetic Awareness - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Racial and Ethnic Diversity - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Gender Issues - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Social Ethics - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Individual and Society - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Global Perspective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Natural Sciences - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Natural Sciences Lab - Credit Hours: 3.00

Electives (24 credits)


University Core Requirements


  • Human Cultures Humanities
  • Human Cultures Behavioral/Social Science
  • Information Literacy
  • Science #1
  • Science #2
  • Science, Technology, and Society
  • Written Communication
  • Oral Communication
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • For a complete listing of course selectives, visit the Provost’s Website or click here .

Program Requirements


Fall 1st Year


15 Credits


Spring 1st Year


15 Credits


Fall 2nd Year


15 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


15 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


15 Credits


15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • COM Course - Area D - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • COM Course - Area D - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • COM Course - Area E - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Other Cultures - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • COM Course - Area D - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • COM Course - Area D - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • COM Course - Area E - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Global Perspective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Note


Students must earn a “C-” or better in each Communication major course.

120 semester credits required for Bachelor of Arts degree.

2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree.

32 credit hours at 30000 level or higher required for Bachelor of Arts degree.

Degree Requirements


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Foreign Language Courses


Foreign Language proficiency requirements vary by program.  For acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor:

American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, (ancient) Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical. A Critical Course is one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.

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