College of Communication
Curricula and Departments
CURRICULA
Freshman-Sophomore Curriculum
Junior-Senior Curriculum
THE DEPARTMENT OF FILM & TELEVISION
Internship Program
Curriculum
CAS Concentration
The Television Program
The Film Program
Directed Studies and Internships
DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM
COM Course Maximum
Journalism Program
Broadcast and Cable Opportunities
Internship Program
Professional Skills Requirement
Curriculum
Core Courses
Sequence Requirement
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION, ADVERTISING,
& PUBLIC RELATIONS
Curriculum
Mass Communication, Advertising, & Public Relations
Concentrations
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
FACULTY
CURRICULA
Freshman-Sophomore Curriculum
During their first semester, communication students take three liberal arts courses and COM CO 101 The World of Communication, the core communication course. In subsequent semesters during the first two years, students explore introductory coursework in various majors to familiarize areas of interest.
The required courses for all COM freshman and sophomore students are as follows:
COM CO 101 The World of Communication
COM CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing
A variety of other communications courses, designated by the appropriate department, may be taken in the freshman and sophomore years.
Students generally take four English literature and composition courses; two history courses; one multicultural studies course; two math/science courses; two language courses; two courses in the social sciences; and one course in philosophy. The College of Communication is unique in requiring a philosophy course because its administration and faculty feel that communication students must have an awareness of ethics, logic, and reasoning in an information age. The precise curriculum requirements are available at COM Student Services, Room 123, or at Undergraduate Student Services.
Junior-Senior Curriculum
For their last two years of undergraduate study, students choose a major within one of the College’s departments. The program of study in each department includes professionally oriented courses, as well as upper-division liberal arts courses. These courses are specified in the program section for each department.
Department of Film & Television
The department is divided into two programs: Film & Television.
Film and television have developed as individual media with their own histories of production techniques, artistic disciplines, content, and business operations. However, there is much sharing as well as crossover influence between these media. New technologies and increased concentration of media ownership already blur many of the traditional distinctions between media, and many career opportunities span both film and television.
The Department of Film & Television responds to this situation by providing students with flexible programs of study. Although students are required to select an area of concentration in the second semester of their sophomore year, Film & Television Program students also have options for tailoring a major that fits their interests and career goals. Students may vary the number of courses in writing, production, critical studies, and management.
The College of Communication provides facilities and equipment for instruction in studio and field production in video and film. Students, however, are responsible for the purchase of their digital video media, discs, and film, as well as for film processing and digitizing.
Elective courses may be taken in other fields within the College, including broadcast journalism, photography, advertising, and corporate communication.
Students are encouraged to participate in the extracurricular activities. These include the student-operated radio station WTBU, the student television station butv10, the student-operated production group Growling Dog Productions, Neighborhood Network News, and the student chapters of various professional organizations. Finally, the Department operates a student-run production company called Television Production Hothouse. This organization produces a number of professional-quality video projects for outside clients each term. Students wishing to participate in Television Production Hothouse must satisfy the prerequisites and register for COM FT 505.
Internship Program
Qualified students with junior status are encouraged to participate in the internship program. Internships provide students with the opportunity to work at one of the many broadcast stations, independent film and video production facilities, or cable companies in the Boston area. This experience enables students to apply their academic training and gain practical professional experience. Students may intern either part time during the academic year or full time during the summer following their sophomore year. A summer internship allows students to explore career opportunities outside the Boston area.
Curriculum
Students enter the Department of Film & Television after they have completed COM CO 101 The World of Communication and COM CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing. Students interested in the Film sequence should take COM FT 360 Understanding Film during their sophomore year and students interested in the Television sequence should take COM FT 303 Introduction to TV Industry and Emerging Media during their freshman year. COM FT 353 Video Production I and COM FT 314 Writing for Television should be taken in the sophomore year.
CAS Concentration
Students must also complete a meaningful sequence of three courses at the 300 level or above in the College of Arts & Sciences. This sequence must have the approval of the student’s faculty advisor.
The Television Program
The Television Program recognizes that the creative and intellectual center of all television production is to be found in the person of the producer. This is true whether the project is a fiction or nonfiction production. The producer is not simply responsible for the budgeting and costing of a project. Often, it is the producer who conceives, writes, and sometimes even directs it. The television producer is a creative entity unique in the media, and it is around this role that the television course of study has been shaped.
The program builds upon a solid foundation of liberal arts and requires production of creative work, the study of business practices of the industry, a script writing sequence, and the study of both critical and social aspects of television.
Students in the Television Program are encouraged to include courses from the Film Program, as well as courses from other departments of the College and of the University at large.
Core Courses
COM FT 303 Introduction to the Television Industry and Emerging Media (may be taken in the freshman year)
COM FT 310 Storytelling for Film and Television (may be taken in the sophomore year)
COM FT 325 Producing I (to be taken in the junior year)
COM FT 353 Video Production I (to be taken in the sophomore year)
Principal Courses Offered in the Television Program
Students in the Television Program must take, in addition to the four core courses, a minimum of six courses from the following list of electives:
COM FT 402 Video Production II
COM FT 415 International Television
COM FT 428 Interactive/Broadband TV
COM FT 456 Acting for Writers and Directors
COM FT 465 Video Production III
COM FT 502 Sound Design for Film and Television
COM FT 504 Video Post Production I
COM FT 505 Television Production Hothouse
COM FT 507 Television Studio Production
COM FT 514 Advanced Writing for Television
COM FT 517 Television Management
COM FT 522 Writing Situation Comedies
COM FT 523 Understanding Marketing and Sales
COM FT 525 Producing II
COM FT 526 Directing the Theatrical and Television Film
COM FT 527 Lighting
COM FT 543 Television Comedy
COM FT 545 Television and Childhood
COM FT 552 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 553 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 554 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 560 The Documentary
COM FT 561 Television Drama
COM JO 534 Broadcast News for Non-Majors
CFA DR 123 Acting for Non-Theater Actors
Electives
In addition to the ten courses required in the Television Program and three CAS concentration courses, students take three elective courses. These electives may be chosen from any program at Boston University, including Film & Television courses. Directed studies, internships, and 2-credit courses fall into this category. (See “Directed Studies and Internships” following the description of the Film Program.) Transfer students entering as juniors may not be allowed these electives.
The Film Program
The Film Program provides a comprehensive examination of film while ensuring that students also receive a strong liberal arts education. The program focuses on three areas: film studies, screenwriting, and film production. Students study the works of master filmmakers, practice the art of storytelling through their screenwriting courses, and then apply what they have learned to their production courses. This threefold approach has resulted in students achieving national recognition in film festivals, screenwriting competitions, and film editing contests. The program emphasizes independent filmmaking, offering courses in acting, directing, cinematography, lighting, sound design, and postproduction. The aim of the curriculum is to enable each student to graduate with at least one festival-quality short film and one feature-length screenplay in hand.
Core Courses
COM FT 310 Storytelling for Film and Television (may be taken in the sophomore year)
COM FT 360 Understanding Film (to be taken in the freshman year)
Principal Courses Offered in the Film Program
Students in the Film Program must take, in addition to the two core courses, a minimum of eight courses from the following list of electives (three of these courses must be film studies courses):
COM FT 304 Film Industry
COM FT 325 Producing I
COM FT 351 Film Production I
COM FT 353 Video Production I
COM FT 402 Video Production II
COM FT 403 Film Production II
COM FT 411 Screenwriting II
COM FT 412 Screenwriting III
COM FT 428 Interactive/Broadband TV
COM FT 456 Acting for Directors and Writers
COM FT 457 American Masterworks
COM FT 458 International Masterworks
COM FT 465 Video Production III
COM FT 468 Film Production III
COM FT 502 Sound Design for Film and Television
COM FT 505 Television Production Hothouse
COM FT 507 Television Studio Production
COM FT 512 Writing Episodic Drama
COM FT 522 Writing Situation Comedies
COM FT 525 Producing II
COM FT 526 Directing the Theatrical and Television Film
COM FT 527 Lighting
COM FT 533 American Independent Film
COM FT 536 Film Theory and Criticism
COM FT 542 Advanced Screenwriting
COM FT 543 Television Comedy
COM FT 545 Television and Childhood
COM FT 551 Designing the Short Film
COM FT 552 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 553 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 554 Special Topics: Variable
COM FT 555 Narrative Documentary Practicum
COM FT 560 The Documentary
COM FT 561 Television Drama
COM FT 563 French New Wave
COM FT 565 Digital Editing
COM FT 593 Cinematography
CFA DR 123 Acting for Non-Theater Actors
Electives
In addition to the ten courses required in the Film Program and the three CAS concentration courses, students take three elective courses. These electives may be chosen from any program at Boston University, including film and television courses. Directed studies, internships, and 2-credit courses fall into this category. (See the “Directed Studies and Internships” section below.) Transfer students entering as juniors may not be allowed these electives.
Directed Studies and Internships
COM FT 491 Directed Studies I
COM FT 492 Directed Studies II
COM FT 493 Internship I
COM FT 494 Internship II
COM FT 573 BUTV I
COM FT 574 BUTV II
Department of Journalism
Journalism has become increasingly complex during recent decades, and journalists must describe a rapidly changing world. Preparation for such responsibility is a formidable task, because a good journalist is characterized not only by technical and professional skills, but also by intellectual breadth and curiosity about the world. Journalism students at Boston University combine a solid liberal arts background with preprofessional education to prepare for careers as writers, reporters, editors, and producers for newspapers, magazines, radio and television newsrooms, or new multimedia outlets. Journalism majors therefore take a majority of their freshman and sophomore year courses in disciplines outside COM (normally in the College of Arts & Sciences).
The department provides all undergraduates with the opportunity to study journalism in its broadest aspects: its history and literature; its laws, regulations, and ethics; its traditional role as a motivator and critic of government in a dynamic, democratic society; and its total effect as a social and economic institution. In addition, students acquire training in professional skills, including reporting, feature and editorial writing, editing, producing, news selection, photography, web page design, webcasting, and publication management. Boston, as the state capital and a recognized cultural, financial, and scientific center, provides special opportunities for the training of journalists.
The Department of Journalism offers programs with specializations in news reporting and editing, magazine writing, photojournalism, multimedia and interactive publishing, and online and broadcast journalism.
At the end of the sophomore year, in consultation with their advisors, journalism majors select a liberal arts specialization in one of three areas: social sciences, humanities, or sciences. Students take five courses in the selected area, three of which must be in the same department. For example, a student with an interest in reporting urban affairs might choose a specialization in social science, and during the junior and senior years might take courses in political science, history, and economics.
COM Course Maximum
The Department of Journalism requires that its students take no more than 11 courses within the College of Communication to encourage them to acquire a liberal arts education of significant breadth and depth. This requirement may be appealed, in special cases, to the department chair.
Journalism Program
The News-Editorial Sequence prepares students for careers in the news and wire service fields as well as for online or multimedia carriers.
The Photojournalism Sequence prepares students for entry into the world of professional photojournalism. Students learn skills and techniques as they are applied in print, Internet, and multimedia news outlets. Advanced-level courses are taught using state-of-the-art digital photography labs, software, and camera equipment, while basic photography classes employ a traditional film darkroom. Photojournalism majors explore the use of sound, video, and web design in multimedia projects throughout the sequence.
The Magazine Sequence trains students in the many-faceted periodical field, combining news and feature writing, layout and design skills, and techniques of editing and publishing.
The Broadcast Journalism Sequence emphasizes original reporting in television and radio. The program is designed for students who seek careers in the writing, reporting, and production of television and radio news and documentary programming.
Students are encouraged to participate in broadcast journalism internships at local radio or television stations during the school year and during the summer months. Students are encouraged, whenever possible, to submit work to National Public Radio programs, including to the University-licensed public radio station, WBUR, and to Boston’s public access television news program, Neighborhood Network News. Students also work as sportscasters, newscasters, and reporters for the campus radio station WTBU as well as the campus TV station.
Broadcast and Cable Opportunities
The College of Communication is committed to offering students academic and professional opportunities in the newest communication technologies. The College has joined with the Boston Cable Access and Programming Foundation in producing the Neighborhood Network News, a nightly evening newscast made available to more than 300,000 potential cable-viewing households in Boston. A fully computerized broadcast journalism newsroom and production studio are located in the COM building. Students work closely with professional staff to write, edit, report, and produce the newscast.
Internship Program
In conjunction with New England publishers, agencies, and broadcasters, the College has developed an internship program for print, photo, broadcast, and multimedia journalism majors.
Internships for superior undergraduates can be arranged with the publishers of weekly and daily newspapers and magazines, and with radio, television, cable news, and public affairs programs, and online news organizations. When possible, the student selects an outlet within his or her field of specialization. Students may intern either part-time during a regular semester, or full-time over the summer. For more details, see the course descriptions for COM JO 412 or COM JO 413.
Internships are also available year-round to broadcast journalism students at both public and commercial radio and television stations.
All candidates for internships with credit must have junior standing; all broadcast journalism students must be enrolled in or have completed COM JO 351 and have a 3.0 average in their COM courses.
Professional Skills Requirement
Students must be able to type at least 35 words per minute. Journalism students are required also to practice reporting skills and to demonstrate competence as reporters.
Curriculum
The following courses are required of all journalism majors and are taken concurrently with those in one of the sequences.
Core Courses
COM CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing (prereq for COM JO 307)
COM JO 307 Newswriting and Reporting I (prereq for COM JO 308)
COM JO 357 History and Principles of Journalism
COM JO 525 Media Law and Ethics
Sequence Requirement
In addition to the courses listed above, print journalism students complete the courses indicated for one of the following sequences.
Magazine
COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II (prereq for COM JO 309)
COM JO 309 Feature Writing
COM JO 403 Magazine Writing and Editing
COM JO 408 Magazine Workshop
News-Editorial
COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II (prereq for COM JO 309)
COM JO 309 Feature Writing
COM JO 503 Journalism Basic Research Methods 4 cr
Photojournalism
COM JO 305 Basic Photography
COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II
COM JO 312 Photojournalism I
COM JO 513 Advanced Photojournalism
COM JO 515 Photo Editing
Broadcast Journalism
COM JO 351 Writing and Reporting for Broadcast News (prereq for COM JO 451)
COM JO 431 Enterprise Reporting
COM JO 451 Television Newsroom (prereq for COM JO 401 and COM JO 431)
Note: Each journalism major must satisfy a five-course liberal arts concentration requirement. This requirement must be completed with 300-level courses or above within the concentration; or with a combination of three of these concentration courses and a maximum of two related 300-level or above courses approved by an advisor as acceptable material related to the concentration. (For example, a Political Science course might be appropriate for a History concentration.) Related courses that are approved must be noted in a petition signed by an advisor in student file.
Department of Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations
The Department of Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication. Within that degree program, students can select a concentration in advertising, public relations, or communication studies. The curricula in advertising and public relations prepare students for careers in those fields, and the communication studies option provides a foundation for roles as professional communicators in other fields or for further education at a more advanced level.
Graduates have gone on to careers in a variety of occupational fields, including advertising, public relations, marketing, health communication, employee relations, media research, and sales promotion. Typically, graduates work in such settings as corporations, nonprofit agencies, government, educational institutions, or other organizations within the labor force. Many have started their own businesses or agencies.
The department’s required and elective courses include a foundation in communication theory and research plus practical skills that are relevant not only for entry-level jobs but, more important, for continuing professional development. They prepare students to write clearly, speak effectively, and think critically—all of which are essential for continuing career success.
The combination of required and elective courses in the curriculum is designed to produce generalists who can design effective communication content and apply a variety of problem-solving techniques to achieve a broad range of real-world goals. By understanding basic communication concepts, principles, and theories, students learn to design, implement, and evaluate message content needed in various professional settings. They also learn to select and use all contemporary media channels effectively to convey information to designated target audiences for a variety of practical purposes.
Classroom work is supplemented by both internships and participation in AdLab and PRLab, which are student-run communication agencies. These activities provide on-the-job experience in either advertising or public relations for academic credit. Internships place students in for-profit or nonprofit agencies and other settings where they gain practical experience in handling professional communication problems, and where they can develop important personal contacts.
Curriculum
To receive the BS degree from Boston University, students must complete a total of 32 courses. Of these, 17 must be in the liberal arts.
To satisfy the requirements of any of the three 16-course concentrations offered by the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations, students take a combination of three courses required of all students, one selected from a list of options, three selected from liberal arts, and five from one of the three major areas of concentration (each of which has its own pattern of requirements). The remaining courses are electives. These configurations of courses can be explained as follows:
From section one below, three courses are required of all students. From section two, students can select one course. As explained in section three, three courses must be selected from the College of Arts & Sciences. Section four explains that a set of electives can be selected. Finally, each of the major concentrations has its own pattern of required and optional courses as explained under their headings.
- All students must take the following required foundation courses:
- All students must take one course from the following list of communication discipline courses:
-
All students must select three courses from the College of Arts & Sciences that are related to their major concentration. These must be at the 300 level or higher.
-
The remaining courses are free electives that can be taken in any school of Boston University in any pattern.
COM CM 321 Mass Communication Research
COM CM 331 Writing for Mass Communication
COM CM 380 Theory and Process of Communication
COM CM 303 Organizational Structure and Behavior
COM CM 311 Oral Presentations
(COM studies students cannot count this course here.)COM CM 323 Design in New Media
COM CM 409 Persuasion and Public Opinion
COM CM 481 Law of Communication
(COM studies students cannot count this course here.)
Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations Concentrations
After choosing one of the three major areas of concentration listed below, students must complete five courses (20 credits) in their chosen field. With minor exceptions, these will be taken during the junior and senior years. Some of the courses may have prerequisites (listed in parentheses). Some courses are offered every semester; others, only in the fall or spring. A few are also offered in Summer Term.
Bold courses are required.
Advertising
COM CM 317 Introduction to Advertising
COM CM 323 Design in New Media
COM CM 405 New and Traditional Media Strategies (COM CM 317)
COM CM 411 Art Direction (COM CM 317, 331, and 417)
COM CM 412 Consumer Insight & Account Planning (COM CM 317)
COM CM 416 Strategic Brand Solutions (COM CM 317)
COM CM 417 Fundamentals of Creative Development (COM CM 317, CM 331)
COM CM 419 Advertising Management (COM CM 317)
COM CM 420 AdLab (2 credits per semester, total 4 credits) (COM CM 317)
COM CM 423 Portfolio Development for Advertising (COM CM 317, CM 331, and CM 417)
COM CM 471 Communication Internship (junior or senior status and B average) (COM CM 317, 331)
COM CM 508 Video Production for Marketing Communication
COM CM 518 Creating Video Campaigns (COM CM 317, CM 331, and CM 417)
COM CM 527 Strategic Creative Development (COM CM 317, 331, and 417)
SMG SM 299 Management as a System (Intensive)
Public Relations
COM CM 301 Principles and Practices of Public Relations
COM CM 441 Media Relations (COM CM 301, CM 331)
One course (4 credits) required from the following:
COM CM 313 Corporate Communication (COM CM 301)
COM CM 345 Public Relations in Nonprofit Settings (COM CM 301)
COM CM 734 Governmental Public Relations (COM CM 301, and permission of instructor)
One course (4 credits) required from the following:
COM CM 471 Communication Internship (junior or senior status plus 3.0 GPA) (COM CM 301 and CM 331)
COM CM 473 PRLab (total 4 cr) (COM CM 301 and COM 331)
One course (4 credits) required from the following:
COM CM 443 New Media and PR (COM CM 301)
COM CM 522 Managing Corporate Crises and Issues (COM CM 301)
COM CM 525 PR Ethics (COM CM 301)
Communication Studies
COM CM 301 Principles and Practices of Public Relations
COM CM 303 Organizational Structure and Behavior
COM CM 311 Oral Presentation
COM CM 317 Introduction to Advertising
COM CM 323 Design and New Media
COM CM 409 Persuasion and Public Opinion
COM CM 510 Computers in Communication
COM CM 481 Law of Communication
COM CM 514 New Communication Technologies
COM CM 523 Design and Interactive Experiences (COM CM 323 or CM 510)
COM CM 534 Communication Strategies in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
COM CM 535 Political Campaigning
COM CM 555 Advanced Promotional Writing (COM CM 331)
From time to time, courses numbered COM CM 561 or 562 are offered on various specialized areas of communication practice. With the approval of the student’s advisor and the chair of the department, these may sometimes be substituted by petition for some of the options in the three sequences.
In some cases, students may petition to substitute (non-required) courses in a major concentration. This must be done with the approval of the student’s advisor and the chair of the department. In special cases, a student may petition to construct an individual major area of concentration. This must be done early and with clear objectives in mind because it can pose unanticipated difficulties that may delay graduation. It requires a formal petition and approval from both the student’s advisor and from the chair of the department.
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16 October 2009
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