Courses

NOTE: This site is an archive of 2012–2013 programs and policies at Boston University Metropolitan College. If you are looking for current information about Metropolitan College and its programs, please go to our official website: www.bu.edu/met.

• MET CM 704: Contemporary Mass Communication
  Overview of and current trends in the contemporary mass media labor force. Topics include career opportunities in print, film, broadcast, and digital media; changing relationships between media; contemporary patterns of ownership and audience attention; how the media select their content, how they are financed, and how they are related to agencies of control; and ethical issues and controversies regarding media content and influences.
• MET CM 707: Writing for Media Professionals
  Introduction to basic formats, including news releases, editorials, features, profiles, scripts, and basic copy qualities such as readability, clarity, crispness, color, and organization. Emphasis on developing the ability to write copy for varied audiences. Regular writing assignments; considerable rewriting. Includes lead writing, editing, and interviewing.
• MET CM 708: Principles and Practices of Advertising
  Overview of the nature, function, practice, and social, economic, and behavioral aspects of advertising. Student teams develop advertising plans, create campaigns, and explore problems of account management, creativity, production, and ethics.
• MET CM 711: Consumer Insight and Account Planning
  Grad Prereq: MET CM 708 Explores how to arrive at consumer insights that lead to better advertising and promotion. The course focuses on the set of skills necessary to create breakthrough advertising, including qualitative research, observation, interviewing skills, mapping, and presentation tools. Students learn to write effective creative briefs.
• MET CM 716: Digital Communication
  This course is designed to introduce students to using new media tools for creating media communication. Students build an integrated campaign and web site using software, which includes Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, Dreamweaver and Flash. Students develop an understanding of the process of design consisting of: ideation, strategy and execution.
  
  Permission required for non-MET students. Contact Metropolitan College, 755 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 103 (617-353-3000) for more information.
• MET CM 717: Fundamentals of Creative Development
  Examines the creative process in advertising, including concept development, copywriting, layout, and campaign strategies. Emphasis is on print advertising, but radio and television commercials are also included. Assignments include consumer and trade advertisements for both new and mature products.
• MET CM 719: Interactive Marketing Communications
  An overview of the theories, practices, and techniques in the emerging field of interactive marketing communications (IAMC). Students gain an understanding of the strategy and tactics of IAMC and its place in the more comprehensive field of marketing communications. In addition, students review IAMC's relationship to and its effects on society, culture, and the economic system. The course will explore almost all the ways interactive marketing can be practiced via the Internet: historical introduction, dotcom era, basic principles, database marketing, etail, email, search (SEO & SEM/PPC), display advertising, social networking, gaming, mobile, et al.
• MET CM 721: Advertising Management
  Prereq: MET CM 708 Administration of a complete advertising program. Case study method used to explore the marketing mix, budgeting, media strategy, planning, coordinating advertising with promotion, working with client or agency, and the social responsibility of advertisers.
• MET CM 726: Strategic Brand Solutions
  Explores the impact of current advertising/marketing issues from business, economic, political, social, legal, and ethical perspectives. Modified case method, with lectures from experts on selected issues.
• MET CM 736: New & Traditional Media Strategies
  Examines media planning, buying and sales as performed by advertising agencies, clients, and the media. Research sources providing data on media audiences and product usage are evaluated. Examines contemporary trends in communications media and their effects on advertisers.
• MET CM 737: Social Networks in Strategic Communication Planning
  The purpose of MET CM737, Social Networks in Strategic Communication Planning, is to help students understand the rapid evolution in marketing and communications brought on by the shift in technology that has forever changed traditional media and launched powerful new communications platforms via social media. This course will focus on communications strategy -- where it's been, where it's going with a focus on executing strategies through social media platforms that align with overall business (brand) goals and objectives. To help gain this perspective, students will learn from various experts (guests to class) and hands-on exercises designed to give all students a solid baseline for the dominant and tertiary social media platforms. I fully believe that the best way to learn and understand social media is to jump in and engage with the different platforms. This class will encourage and insist that you engage with at least two social media platforms so you can bring this first-hand knowledge to class.
• MET CM 739: Principles of Search Engine Marketing
  In this course students will become familiar with the basics of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Advertising and how these new rapidly growing areas fit into the marketing communications planning process. The course will cover topics such as how search engines work, how users search, how to optimize a website for search engines, how to develop a Search Engine Advertising campaign and how to measure success. The course will also cover Social Media Marketing. At the end of the semester students will present a strategically executed Search Engine Marketing plan. Prerequisite for the course is MET CM 719, Interactive Marketing Communication or permission of the instructor.
• MET CM 744: Design and New Media
  Provides knowledge and practice for effective graphic design for all media. Develops a foundation in design principles and software skills including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Students create projects demonstrating how graphic design is used to engage an audience and enhance comprehension of all forms of mass communication from traditional print to new media.
• MET CS 101: Computers and Their Applications
  For students with no prior experience with computers. Organization and function of computer systems; application of computers in today's society; social impact of computers. Introduction to algorithms, various types of application packages, and the Internet. Not for computer science majors. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 200: Fundamentals of Information Technology
  This course is a technically-oriented introductory survey of information technology. The course is designed to prepare students without a technical background to succeed in the entry graduate courses in our Masters of Science in Computer Information Systems and Masters of Science in Telecommunications programs. The course starts with the basics such as the parts of a computer and the different kinds of software, including file systems, databases, computer networks, and the worldwide web. Students then learn about the different types of business systems and the basics of systems analysis, design and development. Students then study the basic mathematics needed for information technology, including the number line, operations on numbers, signed numbers, exponents and powers, algebra, sets, functions, graphs, logarithmic and exponential functions, limits, infinity, and elementary probability. Students then study the representation of data on computers and about databases, and how data is communicated between computers over networks. Finally students learn how computer software is developed, including programming languages, programming systems, data and control structures, arrays, loops, subroutines and classes. Students then develop simple Java programs.
• MET CS 201: Introduction to Programming
  Introduction to problem-solving methods and algorithm development. Includes procedural and data abstractions, program design, debugging, testing, and documentation. Covers data types, control structures, functions, parameter passing, library functions, and arrays. Laboratory exercises in C++. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 231: Programming with C++
  Covers the elements of object-oriented programming and the C++ language. Data types, control structures, functions, library functions, classes, inheritance, and multiple inheritance. Use of constructors, destructors, function and operator overloading, reference parameters and default values, friend functions, input and output streams, templates, and exceptions. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 232: Programming with Java
  This course covers the elements of object-oriented programming and the Java Programming Language. Primitive data types, control structures, methods, classes, arrays and strings, inheritance and polymorphism, interfaces, creating user interfaces, applets, exceptions and streams. Laboratory course.
• MET CS 248: Discrete Mathematics
  Fundamentals of logic (the laws of logic, rules of inferences, quantifiers, proofs of theorems), Fundamental principles of counting (permutations, combinations), set theory, relations and functions, graphs, trees and sorting, shortest path and minimal spanning trees algorithms. Monoids and Groups.
• MET CS 341: Data Structures with C++
  Covers data structures, using the C++ language. Topics include data abstraction, encapsulation, the use of recursion, creation and manipulation of various data structures; bags, lists, queues, tables, trees, heaps and graphs, and searching and sorting algorithms. Laboratory course.

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