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Return
to Official Publications Blue Text Reflects Updates to the Printed Catalog Catalog Contents Introduction |
College of Mass CommunicationQuick Links
About the College (Back to Top)
The College of Mass Communications is one of the largest mass communications undergraduate programs in the United States and one of 107 programs in the nation accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The college is recognized as a leader among the nation’s elite mass communications programs with a curriculum that emphasizes a broad-based communications education for undergraduate majors who must adapt to rapid changes in information/communications industries. The college emphasizes its internship opportunities and job placement services through its Career Center. The college seeks to prepare students to become leaders in their respective professions. Our courses provide students with the opportunity to think critically and to communicate effectively. The college supervises the following degree programs:
The undergraduate and graduate programs prepare students for careers in professional areas of mass communications and/or to pursue additional graduate degrees. * The College of Mass Communications is not accepting new majors to the photocommunications degree. Undergraduate Program (Back to Top)
The College of Mass Communications is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). The college operates under the general policy of the ACEJMC, which requires students to take a minimum of 80 semester hours in courses outside the major area of journalism and mass communications, with no fewer than 65 semester hours in the basic liberal arts. To keep the curriculum abreast of trends and changes in mass communications and to broaden the education of majors by requiring core subjects such as introduction to mass communications, mass media theories and society, mass communications law, and news writing, the minimum number of semester hours required by the college for the B.A. degree has been set at 122 hours. The minimum number of hours that can be taken within the college is 39. First-semester freshmen enrolling in the college must meet the university-wide admission requirements and present ACT or SAT scores when entering the college. Students enrolling in the college for the first time will be designated as general mass communications students. Students enrolled in other colleges at Texas Tech may transfer into the college after earning at least 12 semester credit hours (excluding CLEP courses) with a GPA of 2.75 or greater. The change from the general mass communications status, which is not a major, to a specific major will be accomplished after completion of the mass communications core curriculum and the following requirements have been met:
University Core Curriculum Requirements. The Core Curriculum requirements ensure breadth in each academic program. These requirements have been incorporated into the college’s undergraduate degree programs as per the state of Texas requirements listed in the Undergraduate Academics section of this catalog. Students should consult with an advisor in the Advising Center in Mass Communications (MC 113) prior to each registration period to ensure all requirements are being met in a manner consistent with timely graduation. Course Load. A normal full-time course load is 15–19 hours per semester. In calculating the course load, the associate dean of undergraduate students will consider all active correspondence courses as a part of the course load. Course loads in excess of 19 hours require approval by the associate dean of the college. The maximum course load for a student on probation is 16 hours. The normal course load for a single summer term is 6–8 hours. To meet graduation requirements, a graduating senior may petition to take 9 hours one term or a total of 15 hours in both terms. Correspondence Courses. Approval for courses to be taken by correspondence must be obtained in the Advising Center (MC 113). All course prerequisites must be met to be granted enrollment. In all programs no more than 6 hours of correspondence coursework may be completed during the final 30 hours of the degree. Students must have junior status to enroll in a 3000- or 4000-level correspondence course. Courses counting toward a major or minor in the College of Mass Communications may not be taken by correspondence. Catalog Selection. Students will use the catalog issued for the year in which they are first officially admitted to the college, or a more recent catalog if approved. However, if they later transfer to another institution or another college at Texas Tech and then desire readmission to the college, they will use the catalog in effect when they are readmitted. For graduation purposes, a catalog expires after seven years at which time the current catalog becomes the catalog in effect. Credit by Examination. A matriculated student may attempt credit by examination (described elsewhere in this catalog). Approval from the associate dean of undergraduate students is required to take an examination a second time before six months have elapsed or if more advanced material in the same subject has already been completed. Grading Practices. The college conforms to university grading practices as set forth in the Undergraduate Academics section of this catalog. In addition, the following regulations apply within the college. Except for those courses designated “may be repeated for credit” in this catalog, no course may be used more than once on a degree plan unless approved by the associate dean of undergraduate students. Second Bachelor’s Degree. Permission to enroll in courses to pursue a second bachelor’s degree must be obtained at the Advising Center (MC 113). No second bachelor’s degree is conferred until the candidate has completed at least 24 semester credit hours in residence, in addition to the courses counted toward the first bachelor’s degree. Credit by examination courses will not satisfy the 24-hour residence requirement. A second bachelor’s degree sought by a student who did not graduate from a public Texas university must include the required Core Curriculum. Freshman Year. Entering freshmen develop their programs in conference with an academic advisor. The students report to their advisors for such individual conferences or group meetings as are needed for the purpose of orienting themselves to academic regulations and procedures, curricula, and degree requirements in their respective areas of interest. Students are urged to take required freshman courses during the freshman year. During the sophomore year the student should complete the second year of English and all other freshman requirements. Normally, Core Curriculum requirements should be completed by the end of the sophomore year. Freshmen should not enroll in junior-senior level courses. Admission of Transfer Students. Students requesting permission to transfer from another academic institution must meet the university-wide admission requirements. Transfer students must present ACT or SAT scores when entering the college. No more than 12 hours of journalism or mass communications courses will be accepted in transfer. Students requesting permission to transfer from another college at Texas Tech must have a GPA of 2.75 or better. In addition, they must provide the Advising Center (MC 113) with a transcript of all academic work. Approval will be granted at the Advising Center. The college will determine the applicability of any transferred credit to academic programs within the college. All transfer students will enter under the catalog in force at the time of transfer. The last 30 hours prior to graduation must be completed while enrolled in the college. Final 30 Credit Hours. The final 30 semester credit hours of a degree program must be completed with Texas Tech enrollment. A maximum of 6 of these credit hours may be taken by Texas Tech correspondence. Credit for courses taken without prior approval from the associate dean of undergraduate students may not be applied to degree program requirements. Degree Plan and Intention to Graduate. Students will declare their major and minor upon completion of the Mass Communications core curriculum. Students must file a degree plan declaring the major and minor no later than 60 hours of coursework. In addition, the Intention to Graduate form must be submitted upon completion of 80 hours of coursework. Students who have completed 80 or more hours will have a hold placed on their records until they file the Intention to Graduate form. Other general rules for all students, regardless of major, enrolling in mass communications courses are as follows:
Teacher Education. Students who want to teach journalism in secondary schools must complete a degree in journalism and take the necessary courses in the College of Education to be certified to teach. Students should contact the Teacher Certification Office in the College of Education. The following courses constitute the required courses from the journalism secondary teaching field: JOUR 2300, 2310, 3310, 3312, 3380, 3390, 4350, 4370, 3 hours journalism elective; PHOT 2310; MCOM 1300, 3300, and 3320. Passing the grammar, spelling, and punctuation exam prior to enrolling in JOUR 2310 is required. Minors. Students selecting a minor in mass communications are required to pass the college’s grammar, spelling, and punctuation exam, pass ENGL 1301 and 1302 with grades of C or higher and have a 2.75 GPA prior to enrolling in the first writing course in the college (JOUR 2310) if required for specific minor selected. A general Mass Communications minor consists of a minimum of 21 hours and must include 6 hours of junior and senior level courses. At least 12 of the 21 hours must be taken in residence. Specific required courses include MCOM 1300, 3300, 3320, and 12 hours from ADV 3310, EMC 3300, 3308, 3310, JOUR 2300, 2310, PHOT 2310, and PR 3310. Additional minors are available in advertising, electronic media and communications, journalism, and public relations and are listed in each supervising department. General Degree Requirements (Back to Top)Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts apply to all baccalaureate degrees offered through the college unless specifically shown to the contrary. Bachelor of Arts. The curriculum established for this degree is designed to provide the foundation of a liberal education through a well-rounded study of the humanities, arts, mathematics, individual or group behavior, and natural sciences. It also provides the factual basis and insights requisite for specialized study and professional work in these fields. General Requirements. See “Undergraduate Credit by Examination” in the Admissions section of this catalog for information on credit provided by test scores to meet these requirements. Students must take the specified number of hours in the areas listed below. With a few exdivceptions, courses from the minor may be used to satisfy these requirements. Except for the humanities and multicultural requirement, a course may not be counted in two different areas of the general requirements nor may a course be counted in requirements for both the major and minor.
Major, Minor, and Electives (Back to Top)In addition to the above requirements, the student must take major, minor, and elective courses sufficient to total 122 semester credit hours. The minor must be selected from outside the College of Mass Communications. The minor may be any departmental minor, an established interdisciplinary minor, or a student-initiated interdisciplinary minor (with approval of the associate dean of undergraduate students of the college). Many departments and programs have residency requirements for minors. See departmental or program listings for specific information. Courses used to fulfill the writing intensive requirement are to be taken in residence. Students should have selected their major and minor fields by the time they reach their junior year. For the major subject they will be required to complete a minimum of 39 hours, including 6 hours of intensive writing courses. At least 18 hours of the major subject must be in courses at the junior-senior level. For the minor, a minimum of 18 hours must be completed (except in certain foreign languages as explained in the curriculum for languages), at least 6 of which must be of junior or senior level. All courses in the major and minor must be approved by the appropriate academic unit. Students are expected to develop a degree plan no later than the first semester of the junior year. Forms and information are available in the Advising Center (MC 113). A minimum of 40 hours of junior and senior work must be presented. Not more than 8 hours may be counted in applied music and/or music ensemble. No more than 8 hours of personal fitness and wellness as well as exercise and sport sciences activity courses may be counted except for students offering exercise and sport Graduate Program / Mass Communications (Back to Top)The College of Mass Communications offers both the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Master of ArtsThe Master of Arts in Mass Communications is designed to prepare students to enter the communications industry or to continue studies toward a Doctor of Philosophy. Depending upon courses selected, graduate students are prepared for careers or advanced study in the fields of media (journalism, publishing, and electronic communications), advertising, public relations, and related fields. Master of Arts students are offered two curriculum options: A 31-hour program of coursework that includes 6 hours of credit for a traditional research-based thesis or a professional program of 37 hours of coursework. Both options require a comprehensive examination. Doctor of PhilosophyThe Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communications is designed to prepare students for careers in communications research and academia. Doctoral study includes coursework on the convergence of media and the integration of communications theories and disciplines. Completion of the Doctor of Philosophy requires 87 hours of graduate study beyond the baccalaureate degree or 60 hours beyond the Master of Arts, including 12 hours dedicated to a traditional research-based dissertation. Students seeking admission to the graduate program should consult the college’s associate dean of graduate studies before enrolling in any courses. Upon entering the college’s program, graduate majors may be required to take undergraduate or graduate leveling work. This requirement will depend on the student’s prior academic or professional experience in mass communications. Leveling courses must be taken in addition to the graduate-hour requirements noted in the program options above. Students should consult the college’s associate dean of graduate studies regarding these requirements. Course Descriptions (Back to Top)Click on the links below to view course offerings in mass communications |
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