Communication and Media Studies

The Department of Communication and Media Studies offers a major and a minor in communication. The department is an integral part of Goucher's liberal arts tradition. Students are encouraged to develop a sense of communication history and are provided with the means of mastering the language of our mass media. They are challenged to develop a critical view, with an emphasis on ethical judgments about the most current media issues. Academic and theoretical classes are supplemented with skills-oriented coursework, applied internships, and research activities, as well as TV studio, field video, audio, and new media production classes. Extracurricular work with campus television and radio stations, the student newspaper, and blogs also enhance the academic training. Students are encouraged to pursue specific interests in television and film studies, radio and television production, print and radio and television journalism, photography, advertising and public relations, popular culture studies, and new media. Students complete internships in a variety of arenas, including television, radio, public relations, advertising, nonprofit agencies, film, news writing and production, sports broadcasting, marketing, and new media production and training. Motivated students are always encouraged to pursue independent research in their particular areas of academic interest. Students are also encouraged to pursue their production interests through independent credit granted in applied video coursework.

Professional communication associations in which students and faculty participate include the American Studies Association, Cultural Studies Association, Eastern Communication Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, Popular Culture Association, Public Relations Society of America, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, and Women in Film and Television.