Academics

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Communication Arts

The Program Mission

Within a liberal arts curriculum, the goals of the Communication Arts program are to cultivate the student's imagination and creativity through mastery of the technical skills needed to become effective professionals in the field of communications; to create an environment which fosters the exploration of diverse perspectives and encourages students to use their skills and resources to serve their community and society, so that they are prepared to participate confidently, ethically, and competently as concerned and enlightened citizens.

Career Opportunities

Communication professionals aim to educate, inform, entertain and persuade using mass media such as radio, TV, film, Internet, newspapers, magazines, Public Relations, Advertising and other forms of New Media. Communication graduates can seek career opportunities in a wide variety of industries to include business, education, nonprofit agencies, and the government. Graduates may also seek opportunities in different branches of communication - Journalism, Visual Arts and Design, and Performance Arts. Former students have become writers, producers, directors, editors, public relation specialists, videographers, filmmakers, broadcast journalists, advertising specialists, event planners, social media specialists, teachers, web specialists, bilingual journalists and convergent media specialists.

Major Requirements for a Bachelor of Arts

  • Introduction to Mass Communication
  • Computer Literacy for Communication Arts
  • Public Speaking
  • Theories of Communication
  • Writing for the Media
  • Media Ethics
  • Law and the Media
  • Internship
  • Senior Portfolio

Communication Arts Tracks

In addition to the required courses students may choose from one of the following tracks: Production, Journalism, Media Studies or Speech (See Bilingual Communication Arts and Convergent Media sheets for more tracks).

Production Journalism Media Studies Speech
Audio Production I Journalism I Comm., Tech and Society Voice and Diction Persuasion
Video Production I Journalism II Communication Research Business and Professional Communication
Photography The Impact of Media on Society Aesthetics of Vision and Sound Nonverbal Communication
Aesthetics of Vision and Sound Publications Practicum (Logos) The Impact of Media on Society Interpersonal Communication
Writing the Script New and Feature Editing Selected Film Topics Practicum in Speech Communications
Video Production II Digital Photography Journalism History Aesthetics of Vision and Sound
Announcing/Performance Electronic Publishing and Web Design Selected Topics The Impact of Media on Society
Comm., Tech and Society Journalism History Diversity in the Media Oral Interpretation of the Literature
Seminar in Selected Film Topics Photojournalism Global Media Studies  
Producing and Directing Seminar Broadcast Journalism Computer Graphics  
Computer Graphics Magazine Article Writing Multimedia Design  
Radio Practicum (KUIW) Design, Layout & Print Production Public Relations  
Television Practicum (UIW-TV)   Organizational Comm. And Leadhership  
Advanced Production and Digital Editing      

Accelerated Bachelor's to Master's Degree

In addition, students who qualify may participate in an accelerated Bachelor's to Master's (ABM) program. This program enables students to complete an under graduate and graduate degree in less time (minimum 5 years). The ABM program in Media Studies , Bilingual Communications and Convergent Media allows UIW students to finish their two degrees in 151 hours rather than 164 required of a traditional under graduate and a graduate program combined. An accelerated program results in a lower cost as well as a time savings for our students because they are allowed to take up to 9 hours of graduate courses in their fourth year as part of the banded tuition. Students must apply for the ABM program in the beginning of their junior year and have the necessary GPA and GRE scores to enter the program.

On-Campus Practicums
Logos – Campus newspaper
KUIW – Campus Radio station (kuiw.org)
UIW-TV Campus Television station (uiwtv.org)

Communication Arts Faculty
Dora Fitzgerald, Instructor
Dr. Valerie Greenberg, Director of Graduate Studies
Dr. Hsin-I Liu, Assistant Professor
Dr. Enrique Esquivel-Lopez, Assistant Professor
Dr. Joseph Lopez, Assistant Professor
Hank McDonnell, Director
Michael Mercer, Instructor
Dr. John Perry, Professor

Scholarships
JASON CURNUTT MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
This is a Communications Arts Undergraduate Scholarship.
COMMUNICATION ARTS BROADCASTING SCHOLARSHIP

Contact
Hank McDonnell, Director
Office: AD 281
4301 Broadway #404
San Antonio, Texas 78209
Phone: 210-283-5042
E-mail: mcdonnell@uiwtx.edu


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