Media Communication (BA)

Federal CIP: 09.0101 Communication Studies/Speech Communication

Southern Wesleyan University’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Media Communication degree offers students the opportunity to explore and understand today’s mediated world and the role a person of faith can play in it. Students also discover their personal communication style and how to faithfully grow in community by adapting to the communication styles of others. The program of study is comprised of a common core and one of two individual concentrations. Those enrolled in the Media Production concentration will have the opportunity to create digital multi-media projects. Those enrolled in the Mass Media Studies concentration engage in critical examinations of media messages such as those found in film and popular music. Students graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Communication will be equipped to pursue diverse career areas such as journalism, public relations, advertising, web-page design, broadcasting or teaching.

The Media Communication program is based around eleven key principles:

Core Principles

• Human communication is most effective when faithfully grounded in Christian principles of stewardship, service, and community.
• Every communicator must understand the complex dynamics of the communication process and apply theoretical principles to improve one’s own communication abilities.
• Mediated communication carries particularly potent power to influence and shape individual conceptions of reality as well as collective social norms.
• An educated comprehension of communication involves rigorous academic study.

Media Production Principles

• Media communication involves clearly and competently communicating across multiple contexts and platforms.
• The core of journalism involves reporting-telling of other people’s stories.
• Media communicators must understand the professional standards in their fields of interest.

Mass Media Studies Principles

• Popular culture has an important function in society, shaping collective conversations and behavioral norms on social issues.
• Media criticism seeks deeper understandings of communication exchanges that take place within popular culture, understandings which help shape a Christian response to popular culture.
• Rhetorical theory is the foundation of criticism.
• There are multiple approaches to communication criticism.

Learning Outcomes

Together, these key principles enable the students completing the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Media Communications to:

• articulate multiple perspectives on how the Christian faith informs their practice of communication and how communication informs their understanding and practice of the Christian faith;
• excel at public communication, delivering professional presentations, while incorporating appropriate use of technology;
• articulate the tenets of multiple communication theories and explain their utility for communication;
• articulate the influence of media forms on the communication process;
• identify ethical approaches and apply reasoning skills to help foster mature decision making;
• identify and apply basic techniques of persuasion;
• produce a thorough bibliography of quality resources related to a topic of their interest;
• create competent multi-media projects using advanced non-linear audio and video editing software;
• author competent journalistic-style stories, in both written and multi-media contexts; and
• prepare for the professional field by demonstrating excellence in content creation and integrity in demeanor in an internship position.