The communications department at Simmons is an interactive, student-centered learning environment that employs a creative approach to communication education led by a faculty of professionals and scholars. Students become lifelong learners committed to excellence. They find a balance between an in-depth understanding of concepts and theory, and the practical skills needed to produce media content in a variety of professional settings including business, education, social justice, journalism, broadcasting—TV, radio, video, and Internet—newspapers, magazines, public relations, advertising, and graphic design. This balance prepares our students for jobs today— and for the jobs of tomorrow—because they have also learned to adapt to the demands of the rapid changes in technology. Our approach is highly interdisciplinary—collaborating with and within the disciplines of political science and international relations, computer science, art, sociology, and cinema and media studies—and highly experiential. This program of study culminates in advanced coursework and capstone experiences like the Senior Seminar in Storytelling, and in internships, independent study, and Studio Five—the department’s student-run, professional communications workplace. Each student majoring in communications is required to take 40 semester hours of study in the Department of Communications.
The department’s academic program includes three areas of concentration within the Communications major and three joint majors. They are:
Program Requirements:
The Communications Core Requirements
The major requires three core courses that explore the areas of media and society, writing and editing, visual communication and the technology currently driving emerging media. A blend of theory and hands-on, practical projects prepare students for further developmental work in one of the department’s areas of concentration.
Students should complete the three core courses by the end of the second year of study in a four-year program. A student should declare their major at the end of the sophomore year. In this recommended sequence, the student would complete the core and then declare an area of concentration.
Concentration Requirements
Each concentration has three or four required courses, normally taken in sequence. These courses can be taken during the first two years of a student’s program, concurrently with core requirements, provided the student takes the necessary prerequisite core courses first.
Students may choose between two and three electives from a list of courses relevant to each area of concentration. This allows students optimum flexibility and an opportunity to build competencies across areas of the discipline.
Senior Seminar/Storytelling (Capstone Experience)
This required capstone course extends the theoretical underpinnings offered while providing students with an opportunity to develop a senior project that reflects and synthesizes all they have learned in the department. The course explores the many roles stories play in the shaping of human experience, the elements that comprise successful narratives, and the ways that digital technologies may disrupt our conventional understanding of how stories are shared.
Independent Learning Options (Capstone Experiences)
Students majoring in communications have four opportunities to complete the departmental requirement of 8 credits of independent learning. Students may take a maximum of 20 credits of independent learning.
Concentrations in the Communications Major
Graphic Design Concentration
Students may pursue a graphic design concentration focusing on print, web, and/or multimedia design.
Graphic Design Requirements:
The following three studio art courses:
Plus one of the following courses to satisfy the art history requirement:
| ART 141 | Introduction to Art History: Egypt toýThe Renaissance | 4 |
| ART 142 | Introduction to Art History: Baroque to the 20th Century | 4 |
| Design History courses offered elsewhere with consent of design advisor. | |
(Requirements outside the Communications Department may be taken concurrently with the core requirements)
Communications Core plus four required courses:
| COMM 210 | Introduction to Graphic Design: Principles and Practice | 4 |
| COMM 240 | Intermediate Graphic Design I: Typography | 4 |
| COMM 248 | Intermediate Graphic Design II | 4 |
| COMM 340 | Advanced Design | 4 |
Two electives, at least one must be at the 300-level
Journalism Concentration
Students may pursue a concentration in journalism focusing on print, web, and multimedia platforms.
Journalism Requirements:
Communications Core plus four required concentration courses
Three electives, at least one must be at the 300-level
| COMM 163 | Radio Operations and Performance | 4 |
| COMM 181 | Public Speaking & Group Discussion | 4 |
| COMM 244 | Web I: Design for the World Wide Web | 4 |
| COMM 262 | Media Convergence | 4 |
| COMM 269 | Globalization and Intercultural Communication | 4 |
| COMM 310 | In-Depth Storytelling for the Digital Age | 4 |
| COMM 315 | Blogging & Opinion and Editorial Writing | 4 |
| COMM 312 | Health Communications | 4 |
| COMM 323 | Digital Cultures: Communication and Social Media | 4 |
| COMM 327 | Culture of the News | 4 |
| COMM 328 | Special Topics in Communications | 4 |
Media Arts Concentration
Students may pursue a media arts concentration that combines the crafting of oral, written, and visual messages and narratives across multiple platforms.
Media Arts Requirements
Communications core plus four required courses
| COMM 120 | Communications Media | 4 |
| COMM 210 | Introduction to Graphic Design: Principles and Practice | 4 |
| COMM 240 | Intermediate Graphic Design I: Typography | 4 |
| COMM 262 | Media Convergence | 4 |
Three elective courses, at least one must be at the 300-level