A Reapproach to the Communcation & Media Major

Matthew Willar

News Editor

Assumption University offers a wide variety of majors for students interested in communication, marketing, journalism, or english literature.

These fields of study offer students the opportunity to learn a vast amount of skills that they can take with them upon graduation. There is one major in particular, however, that stands out amongst many of them: Communication and Media, housed in the Department of English.

The Communication and Media major is by far the most unique major for students interested in pursuing a career in the said industry.

As a senior who is near completion of the major, I can attest that many of the courses I have taken have widened my knowledge on writing and journalism.

However, if the major were to be redesigned, I would put a lot more emphasis on the core communication points rather than the English literature aspects intertwined within.

To begin taking courses in the major, students are required to take ENG130: Writing in the University and ENG140: Literature and Its Interpretations.

Upon completion, students can then enroll in the gateway courses for the major, ENG201: Argument and Persuasion and ENG202: Introduction to Journalism.

An additional gateway course, ENG219 Approaches to Media Analysis, hasn’t been offered since the fall semester of 2023; students have to fulfill this requirement by taking ENG214: Introduction to Communication and Media in its place. Both do not require the ENG 130 and ENG 140 prerequisites.

After these gateway courses, the major becomes lackluster in communication courses. Students are required to take three upper-level literature courses.

Coming from someone who declared this major for its correlation to journalism and writing, taking these literature courses did not fully benefit me in regards to my professional goals.

Here is how I see a change for future students like me when getting to this stage in the major: two separate tracks. Students should be able to choose from the literature track where they take three upper-level literature courses, or a communication track, where they take three courses from the Department of Marketing and Organizational Communication.

Courses like OCM200: Communication Theory, MKT316: Public Relations, and MKT346: Sports Media and Communications, all teach effective communication skills that the literature courses don’t necessarily have, with different experiences embedded within.

After this part of the major, students choose from a selection of courses in various specialities: Journalism and Professional Writing, Creative Writing, and Media Studies and Production.

One redesign I would make is with the media studies aspect. The courses, TVP295: Video Production I and TVP390: Video Production II, teach students about the production field.

I feel all Communication and Media majors should be required to take these courses. I enrolled in TVP295 Video Production I this semester, but hadn’t heard of the course until last year. I would’ve enjoyed taking this course earlier in my college career.

The major ends with two required capstone courses: ENG420: Communication and Media Practicum and ENG415: Communication and Media Seminar. In the first course, students participate in an internship that they acquire themselves and discuss their experiences in it in the once-a-week class.

In the latter course, students work on a semester-long podcast project. These courses, I feel, are very valuable to the major; I have learned many new skills from my internship, and having that requirement has prepared me for applying to jobs and graduate school.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Communication and Media major, but feel that with these suggested changes, I would’ve benefited earlier in my college career. I feel I would’ve known my calling to the field earlier instead of completing many of these courses in my senior year. I do encourage all students to major in Communication and Media, or even take them as electives, if they have any interest in writing, literature, or media studies.