Communication Studies
The Department of Communication/Journalism at Shippensburg University offers a program that provides professional growth opportunities in the dynamic field of mass communication. The department is also dedicated to educating its graduate students in the key areas of mass communication writing and desktop publishing, digital media, research and analysis, and theory and ethics.
Students select courses in public relations, electronic media, print media, and interdisciplinary areas to enhance professional and personal growth opportunities. The program allows students to strengthen an existing communications career, to prepare for advanced communications studies, or to begin a new journey into the evolving world of today's communications industries.
The Program
The Department of Communication/Journalism offers a Master of Science degree with specialization in Communication Studies. The successful completion of 30 credits (thesis option) or 33 credits (professional project option) is required for graduation. To accommodate the varied academic backgrounds and career objectives of students enrolling in this program, the department offers a flexible course of study.
The communication studies program is directed to:
- The media professional who seeks to update skills in research, writing, and desktop publishing.
- The baccalaureate degree holder in communication who wishes to refine and build upon previous academic preparation.
- The baccalaureate degree holder in another discipline who wishes to prepare for a career in the media or a closely related field.
Requirements
To be admitted to graduate study in communication, you must:
- Present a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
- Present an official transcript showing at least a 2.75 cumulative grade point average for undergraduate work as determined by a grading system in which A=4.0. In addition, you must include with your application and $30 fee:
(1) A professional resume;
(2) The contact information (name, title, address, phone number, email address) of three professional references;
(3) A 400- to 500-word essay explaining what you expect to gain by completing this degree. The essay must demonstrate writing skills acceptable by the department.
- If you have less than a 2.75 cumulative undergraduate grade point average, you may be accepted if you have all of the following:
1. an above average score on the GRE or Miller Analogy Test;
2. significant professional communications work experience.
- Your application may be approved by the department following a review of your potential as a graduate student. Applicants unable to satisfy this requirement may be admitted conditionally on the basis of a satisfactory score on the Miller Analogies Test or the GRE.
- An applicant whose bachelor's degree is not in a communication-related field may have a number of additional undergraduate courses to take in addition to the master's degree requirements.
- International students not fluent in English will be required to take additional undergraduate courses in English and speech before being accepted as a master's candidate.
Admission to Candidacy
Application for admission to candidacy in all degree programs may be made after 6 credits of graduate work in the field of specialization have been successfully completed at this university. Admission to graduate classes does not guarantee subsequent admission to candidacy for the master's degree.
Degree Requirements
To qualify as a candidate for a master of science degree in communication studies, you must satisfy one of the two following plans of study:
- Complete a minimum of 30 graduate semester hour credits with a "B" average (3.0) including a written thesis (COM 612 & COM 613) which is certified as acceptable by a committee of the communications studies faculty. Or,
- Complete a minimum of 33 graduate semester hour credits with a "B" average (3.0) including a professional project in mass communication (COM 603) which is certified as acceptable by the department chair of the Communication/Journalism department.
Courses
REQUIRED [12 s.h. - all Communication Studies students]
- COM 500 Communication Theory
- COM 544 Advanced Communication Problems
- COM 561 Press & Public Affairs
- COM 600 Introduction to Mass Communication Research
RESTRICTED ELECTIVES [12 s.h. (thesis option) or 18 s.h. (professional project option)]
Students choose Communication/Journalism courses to satisfy professional goals and personal interests.
- COM 400 Public Relations Writing
- COM 451 Electronic News Gathering
- COM 452 Electronic Field Production
- COM 460 Case Studies in Public Relations
- COM 470 Digital Photography
- COM 475 Book Production
- COM 476 Magazine Design
- COM 481 Interactive Media Design
- COM 482 Internet Communication
- COM 490 Selected Topics in Mass Communication
- COM 511 Modes of Film Communication
- COM 516 Photographic Communication
- COM 526 Emerging Mass Media Technologies
- COM 530 Law & the Media
- COM 536 Global Communications Systems
- COM 570 Fund Raising & Association Public Relations
- COM 594 Selected Topics in Mass Communication
- COM 609 Internship I
- COM 610 Internship II
Note: With the approval of the student's advisor, students may select interdisciplinary courses (up to 9 s.h.) which enrich and broaden the communication studies curriculum.
PROGRAM COMPLETION OPTION [6 s.h. (thesis option) or 3 s.h. (professional project option)]
- COM 603 Professional Project in Mass Communication; or,
- COM 612 Thesis I and COM 613 Thesis II [scheduled in the same or concurrent semester(s)]
Special Resources
Students have access to audio and video production studios, classrooms, and computer labs equipped with the latest industry hardware and software, including QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Creative Publishing Suite, Adobe Audition, Apple Logic, Apple Final Cut Studio, and Microsoft Office.
The photography labs are equipped for digital and black-and-white processing and printing. Students may use departmental digital and 35mm cameras, enlargers, and assorted film processing equipment.
The university’s TV studio in Grove Hall is a full-functioning TV production center equipped with three Hitachi digital studio cameras, a Sony digital video effects switcher, Apple Final Cut Studio non-linear editing systems, and two DV linear editing suites. The TV production center also has a mobile TV production van equipped with four Sony VX1000 MiniDV cameras and Panasonic instant replay tape decks to produce live and live-on-tape events and sports contests for broadcast on Comcast Cable channel 21.
For the most part, classes are small, and it is not unusual for instruction to be in the form of dialogue rather than in a lecture format. There are chapters of the National Broadcasting Society (NBS), the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) affiliate with the department. Faculty are members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). Students and faculty regularly attend regional and national conventions and meetings.
In the Communication Studies program, students may select one or two internships with permission of their advisor. A 3 s.h. internship requires 120 hours of work in print media, electronic media, public relations, or a media-related business. Interns have worked with organizations such as The Patriot News (Harrisburg), The Sentinel (Carlisle), FoxSportsNet (Pittsburgh), Lancaster United Way, the Governor’s Press Office (Harrisburg), the U.S. Army War College (Carlisle), CNBC (Washington), Antietam Cable (Hagerstown), WGAL-TV (Lancaster), WHTM-TV (Harrisburg), WPMT-TV (York).
Faculty
The majority of Shippensburg’s communication and journalism professors have terminal degrees. Also, most have been practitioners in the field in which they teach.
James H. Mike, Ph.D., Dean, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ted Carlin, Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, electronic media, new media technology, mass communication research.
Jeffrey Bitzer, J.D., The Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson School of Law, television reporting and law.
Joseph Borrell, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Communication/Journalism, University of Pennsylvania, electronic media production, economic and financial research and analysis.
Michael Drager, Ph.D., Michigan State University, journalism, mass media and public policy research and analysis.
John Ellerbach, Ed.D., Oklahoma State University, higher education: mass communication.
Margaret Evans, M.F.A. Imaging Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, traditional/digital photography.
Kimberly D. Garris, M.S., Boston University, broadcast journalism.
Carrie A. Sipes, M.S., Shippensburg University, public relations, media effects, media writing & research.
Stephanie Anderson Witmer, M.F.A., Pennsylvania State University, feature writing, graphic & web design.