College of Communication

1. Demonstrate by means of written papers and other coursework a theoretical, philosophical, historical, and practical understanding of how emerging media technologies come to affect cultures, industries, and the lives of individuals and communities.
2. Make methodological and empirical skill and strategic, integrated thinking evident through coursework that addresses issues related to emerging media technologies. Coursework may encompass novel empirical research (including original data collection and analysis), systematic reviews of existing literature, and the development of prototype media applications.
3. Display research skills related to cutting-edge and specialized hardware and software to analyze data collected via advanced quantitative analysis, text mining, machine learning, or physiology/psychology experiments.
4. Via oral presentations – within class, at campus research symposia, and at national and international conferences – exhibit competence in communicating scientific information to audiences of peers, industry leaders and scholars.
5. Co-create a project report, based on original research, that demonstrates value to a client, and incorporate this project into the student’s portfolio. Depending on the student’s interests, this report could address the commercial, service, nonprofit, governmental or academic sectors.

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1. Demonstrate knowledge of the field: Identify, situate, and synthesize relevant scholarly literature to explain, analyze, and generalize that information, thereby evidencing a knowledge of major theorists and their perspectives, and principles and approaches to emerging media studies.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of specialization: Synthesize and articulate knowledge from a student’s area of specialization and apply this knowledge to problems in the field.
3. Conduct high-quality research: Conceptualize and carry out a full-scale research project that constitutes an original contribution to the field, demonstrating an understanding of research design and advanced quantitative data analyses; students should also be able to exhibit a grasp of qualitative and critical approaches. Throughout the program, students should employ strategic integration and multi-level analysis of programmatic activities.
4. Apply knowledge in a professional environment: Effectively convey complex information and use methods, concepts, and theories in practice and in classroom settings. Students should display reflexivity in research and self-awareness in their professional pursuits and individual vission, enabling them to flexibly deploy research skills to address problems in a dynamic environment, and apply project management and leadership skills across professional domains.
5. Master oral and written skills: Give oral presentations as well as produce written research with a high level of conceptual understanding, critical competence, and originality, producing writing that is deemed publishable by peer-reviewed journals.

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1. Students who complete the major will have relatively sophisticated levels of audio-visual and verbal literacy
2. They will know a substantial body of important work in film and related moving-image media, including a basis for engagement with emerging media
3. They will know how to interpret film and digital productions, from the silent era forward through a variety of frameworks: historical, aesthetic, theoretical, and cultural
4. They will be able to identify the major movements and turning points in cinema and media history, situating them within a broader socio-economic and cultural context, including national, regional, and global contexts

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1. Students will have attained relatively sophisticated levels of audio-visual and verbal literary
2. Students will know a substantial body of important work in film and related moving-image media, including a basis for engagement with emerging media
3. Students will know to interpret film and digital productions, from the silent era forward through a variety of frameworks: historical, aesthetic, theoretical, and cultural
4. Students will have obtained knowledge of major movements and turning points in cinema and media history, situating them within a broader socio-economic and cultural context, including national, regional, and global contexts

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1. Students will demonstrate the ability to develop an original concept, story and script.
2. Students must demonstrate proficiency at translating their concepts into screen language and a structured, coherent narrative.
3. Students must demonstrate familiarity and fluency with the sophisticated technology used for media production at a professional level.
4. Students will demonstrate the capacity to work as a team, divide tasks, instill cooperation, and collaborate towards a common goal.

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1. Students will have a foundational comprehension of the industrial and creative histories of film and television—a comprehension that will allow them to analyze how these media continue to develop together and separately
2. Students will be able to identify and explain the contributions of key artists and producers in film and television
3. Students will be able to use proper terminology and critical methods to analyze, research, and write about film and television artifacts
4. Students will be able to engage with these film and television artifacts as discrete units and to locate them within their larger artistic, social, political, cultural, ideological, and economic contexts

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1. Students will be able to make an original scholarly contribution to the field of Film and Television Studies
2. Students will be able to conduct a thorough analysis of media artifacts/institutions using a clear theoretical framework
3. Students will be able to craft long-form, independent research projects using primary and secondary sources
4. Students will be able to synthesize key media studies scholarship and apply it to specific case studies

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1. Students will be able to pitch TV story ideas for talk shows, reality shows, and documentaries.
2. Students will be able to write professional TV projects and proposals.
3. Students will be exposed to professional work environments, cultural events, and media trends.

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1. Connect the formal attributes of the project to a particular film/tv movement or period and to discuss the contributions of the key creative figures of that movement or period.
2. Demonstrate practical competency in the key elements of film and television production—including directing, camerawork, lighting, audio recording, editing and producing.
3. Understand the “language” of Film/TV Write and develop original Film/TV projects and scripts

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1. Students will examine the detailed processes required to take a business from concept to successful execution.
2. Focus is on the creation of compelling content that drives new media businesses.
3. Students will develop a new media business, product or service from concept to marketplace.
4. Students will present their Pitch Deck and/or prototype, as their thesis project, to industry leaders.
5. Students will develop a clear understanding of the strategic challenges—competition, funding needs, internal resources, external resources, and environmental pressures—facing all start-ups with an emphasis on the media industry.

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Students in the M.S. in Media Science will:

1. Obtain advanced media-related knowledge, skills, and proficiencies for strategically creating, managing, and evaluation media performance.
2. Utilize theory and cutting-edge research findings in developing and executing strategic media strategies and evaluation approaches for media content and practices.
3. Demonstrate research and professional knowledge, skills, and proficiencies that lead M.S. students to excel in the following areas pertinent to professional careers: strategic media planning, content creation and media design, media message development and dissemination, and analysis and evaluation of media messages and media campaigns.
4. Demonstrate comprehensive media-related knowledge, skills, and proficiencies that prepare M.S. students for advanced academic study – particularly at the doctoral level – in the field of communication, with specialized foci on media effects and processes, health communication, political communication, marketing communication research, and media and message design and evaluation.

Students in the optional Marketing Communication Research concentration will:

1. Understand all the phases involved in the execution of a scientific research project and describe the tasks associated with each phase.
2. Demonstrate the capacity to develop, validate and use measuring instruments that are suitable for capturing audience and media user characteristics.
3. Utilize advanced mainstream statistical computations and analyze relationships among factors that influence media consumer values, beliefs, attitudes, intentions and behaviors.
4. Demonstrate the capacity to transform numerical findings into recommendations to which a client can relate and act upon.
5. Be prepared and qualified for a position as a research analyst or research manager in a marketing research company/consumer insights company or the research or consumer insight department of firms specializing in media, advertising, public relations, marketing communication research, political campaigning, health communication, and international communication.

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1. Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of cinematic storytelling for the screen.
2. Deliver narrative story structure through a combination of characterization, conflict, and theme.
3. An understanding of how to properly format a screenplay and/or teleplay, utilizing industry standards.
4. Develop the necessary skills to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of produced work, as well as the work of their peers.

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1. Deliver narrative story structure through a combination of characterization, conflict and theme.
2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of cinematic storytelling for the screen.
3. Develop advanced analytical skills in order to provide professional.

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1. Students will be able to professionally pitch TV ideas and TV program concepts.
2. Students will be able to relate national news, popular trends, and industry information to TV programming and network concepts.
3. Students will be able to write professional (or semi-professional) TV projects and proposals.
4. Students will have practical knowledge of the basics of physical production, including script breakdown, scheduling and budgeting.

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1. The student will understand the realities of modern journalism.
2. The student will understand the need for clear and concise writing and accuracy, regardless of the delivery platform.
3. The student will gain the ability to create stories under time constraints and challenging circumstances.
4. The student will evaluate sources and resources from which news is generated and prepared for dissemination.
5. The student will practice identifying and dealing with those sources, assessing their accuracy.
6. The student will gain an understanding of the historical, legal and ethical issues affecting journalism.

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1. The student demonstrates an understanding of the realities of modern journalism.
2. The student learns to apply basic principles such as accuracy, fairness and public service, and communicate clearly in analog and digital platforms.
3. The student conducts research using a variety of sources and evaluate the accuracy of such information, with the goal of furthering a society built on the foundation of free speech.
4. The student demonstrates understanding of historical, legal and ethical underpinnings of American media.
5. The student designs and executes an effective job search in journalism.

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1. The student will apply basic principles such as accuracy, fairness and public service, and communicate clearly in analog and digital journalism platform
2. The student will research and understand the critical science-related issues of our time, including those related to environment, technology, public health, medicine, physical and biological sciences, and nutrition.
3. The student will interpret science-related policy issues and controversies for a lay audience, and explain them lucidly in a variety of analog and digital platforms.
4. The student will apply their skills in a real-world environment through professional media internships.
5. The student will go beyond mere “”balance”” of expert opinion to their own analysis.
6. The student will produce content on all media platforms that is crisp, comprehensive, well thought through, and with professional productive values.
7. The student will demonstrate commitment to advancing the values of excellence and integrity in the field. The student will also demonstrate commitment to personal professional development through publication and engagement in professional organizations, and adhere to the strict ethical standards in the discipline.

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1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding and application of effective advertising by using strategy, writing, presentation, design, and digital techniques to achieve objectives developed for client-based projects.
2. Demonstrate the practice of developing innovative solutions to client problems and opportunities by creating an advertising plan that includes strategy, account management, consumer insight, media, and brand building.
3. Demonstrate knowledge and competencies for achieving professional-quality strategic solutions and idea generation using skills in areas such as art direction, copywriting, and video development.
4. Demonstrate knowledge and competencies in advertising planning and consumer insight by designing and conducting research to develop creative briefs and advertising planning de-briefs.
5. Demonstrate professional skills by working on account teams in AdLab.
6. Recognize the ethical and social responsibility issues related to advertising.

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1. Understand the functions and responsibilities of account management, including client relationships, agency teamwork, and successful brand strategy for a wide variety of product and service categories.
2. Develop creative skills beginning with fundamental idea generation and concluding with advanced development of an advertising portfolio of strategic and creative work.
3. Learn consumer insight and behaviors for application in the development of full branding strategy and creative work.

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1. Obtain knowledge, skills, and proficiency based in empirical science for strategically creating, distributing, and evaluating media messages.
2. Understand the role of theory in developing effective media strategies and evaluation approaches for media content and media practices.
3. Demonstrate research and professional knowledge, skills, and proficiency that are conducive for careers in the following areas of strategic media content and media practices: media design and content creation, message development and dissemination, and analysis and evaluation.
4. Demonstrate research knowledge, skills, and proficiency that are conducive for advanced academic study in the field of communication, with a particular focus on media effects and processes, health communication, political communication, marketing communication research, and media and message design and evaluation.

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1. Develop skills and competencies based upon both the science and the art of public relations.
2. Develop an understanding of the business of public relations and the commercial knowledge necessary to function effectively as a public relations practitioner.
3. Comprehend that the public relations process involves a number of stages including research, strategic planning, action, and evaluation.
4. Develop an effective sense of communication effectiveness in terms of both written and oral communication.
5. Develop an appreciation for and an understanding of communication theory and research.
6. Develop an understanding of media relations for both traditional print/broadcast media, as well as for emerging social/digital media.
7. Develop an appreciation for and an understanding of how public relations study at Boston University can be implemented into practical application via internship and PRLab experiences.

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1. Obtain advanced media-related knowledge, skills, and proficiency for strategically creating, managing, and evaluating media performance.
2. Utilize theory and cutting-edge research findings in developing and executing strategic media strategies and evaluation approaches for media content and practices.
3. Demonstrate research and professional knowledge, skills, and proficiency that Media Science M.S. students to excel in the following areas pertinent to professional careers: strategic media planning, content creation and media design, media message development and dissemination, and analysis and evaluation of media messages and media campaigns.
4. Demonstrate comprehensive media-related knowledge, skills, and proficiency that prepare M.S. students for advanced academic study—particularly at the doctoral level—in the field of communication, with specialized focus on media effects and processes, health communication, political communication, marketing communication research, and media and message design and evaluation.

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1. Be able to identify all the phases involved in the execution of a scientific research project and describe the tasks associated with each phase.
2. Be able to develop, validate and use measuring instruments that are suitable for capturing audience and media user characteristics.
3. Be able to perform advanced mainstream statistical computations, and analyze relationships among factors that influence media consumer values, beliefs, attitudes, intentions and behaviors.
4. Be able to transform numerical findings into recommendations to which a client can relate and act upon.
5. Be prepared and qualified for a position as a research analyst or research manager in a marketing research company/consumer insights company or the research or consumer insight department of firms specializing in media, advertising, public relations, marketing communication research, political campaigning, health communication and international communication.

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1. Develop advanced skills and competencies based upon the science beneath the art of public relations.
2. Develop a detailed understanding about various business and financial strategies necessary for success in the public relations industry.
3. Demonstrate an advanced understanding about the role played by theory, research, strategic planning, action, and evaluation in the public relations process, including practical application via internship and PRLab experiences.
4. Demonstrate refined understanding of media relations for both traditional print/broadcast media, as well as for emerging social/digital media.
5. Develop a scholarly and advanced professional sense of communication effectiveness in terms of both written and oral communication.

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