Mass Communications

Looking for a major? SIUE's mass communications department can offer you both a comprehensive background in mass communications and specific professional preparation in print and electronic journalism, radio and television, corporate and institutional media, and media advertising.

All of mass communication's professional options incorporate courses in the newest digital media subjects, such as desktop publishing, interactive multimedia CD production and Web site authoring.

Early, hands-on, "real world" experiences, small class sizes and individual faculty attention for students have made our graduates highly sought after in the professional job market. Our faithful and supportive alumni association, featuring writers, reporters, media managers, videographers, editors, producers, ad executives, World Wide Web and interactive media entrepreneurs, public relations executives and corporate media executives to name a few, are among the countless varieties of professional communicators who proudly call SIUE's department of mass communications their alma mater.

A few thoughts on the major strengths of the program:

Curriculum: Strong emphasis on writing, speaking, reasoning,critical thinking and producing skills, combined with mass media history, ethics, theory, law and modern professional practices give mass communications students a well-balanced preparation for careers as professional communicators.

Facilities: Opportunities to learn professional skills on the SIUE campus include TV studios, audio production studios, many formats of analog and digital audio and video production and editing equipment, the campus newspaper you're reading, and SIUE's public radio station, WSIE-FM. Students also produce TV programs for educational, corporate, marketing, cable and broadcast TV applications. In addition to a photo darkroom, other facilities include both a brand new Windows-based computer writing/Internet lab and a state-of-the-art Macintosh Multimedia lab.

An Experienced Faculty: Mass communications professors hold advanced degrees in their subjects and have also spent many years as media professionals. One was a newspaper reporter and public relations practitioner; another worked as an institutional development specialist and film foundation administrator; another faculty member was a multimedia producer and a partner in a marketing communications firm; one has experience as a magazine publisher and in advertising and public relations; another was a radio station announcer and public affairs manager; one faculty member is a television writer/producer/director/manager and president of a corporate video production company; one faculty member was a news photographer and layout/design specialist; another was a daily newspaper reporter and executive editor who currently hosts a radio talk show; one has worked in newspapers, public relations, as a radio and TV news producer and director of television sports, commercials and filmed documentaries; another faculty member was a newspaper reporter and a writer-producer on a nightly network news show; and one was a television program and documentary producer.

Professional Societies: SIUE mass communications majors are very active. They join the mass communications department's chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), American Advertising Federation (AAF) and the International Television Association (ITVA). Many students become associate members of the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) and the Promotion and Marketing Executives in the Electronic Media (PROMAX). The many activities in these professional groups provide students with opportunities for enhancing leadership skills, attending national conferences and developing valuable professional networking contacts.

Scholarships and Awards: Established by the Hardy family, the Bob Hardy scholarship is a memorial to this veteran KMOX broadcast journalist and St. Louis civic leader. The scholarship is available to SIUE sophomores or juniors pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism. The Elmer C. Broz Award for Achievement in Journalism is an annual award presented at the Honors Day Ceremony to a mass communications department student. An annual award is presented at the Honors Day Ceremony to the mass communications student with the highest grade point average. The Kamil Winter Achievement Award has been established in honor of SIUE Emeritus Professor Winter. This award is given at the Honors Day Ceremony to the Mass Communications Department student who most exemplifies the qualities that Kamil Winter professed during his teaching career.

Degrees: The department offers the undergraduate degrees of bachelor of arts and bachelor of science, and the graduate degree of master of science.

F.Y.I.: More information about these programs can be found at the department of mass communications Web site, http://www.siue.edu/MASSCOMM/, or by visiting the mass communications department office in 1031 Dunham Hall. The main phone number for the department of mass communications is 650-2230..