Bachelor of Arts in Communication
Overview
Lebanon has long been the hub of the Arab world when it comes to the professions of communication, especially advertising and public relations. The BA in Communication offers a critically-needed specialty designed to meet projected demand for new communication professionals in the region, particularly in the three areas of advertising and public relations, political and social communication, and interpersonal and organizational communication. It offers a multidisciplinary curriculum that incorporates the latest advances in communication technologies and methods. The BA in Communication builds on the department’s long history of graduating renowned communication professionals and scholars in various specialties.
Mission
The B.A. in Communication offers an interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum balancing theory, research, professional practice, and critical inquiry. It prepares students to become innovative, professional, and ethical communicators capable of thriving in a rapidly evolving communication field and industry. It also enables them to be life-long learners, scholars, and critical thinkers who possess innovative and resilient capacities to adapt, succeed, and lead in an ever-changing and diverse global environment.
Program Objectives
Graduates shall be able to:
1. demonstrate conceptual and practical knowledge for careers in communication across various specializations, such as advertising, public relations, social and political communication, and organizational communication,
2. exhibit an appreciation of the theoretical aspects of communication, and an understanding of the cultural, economic, and political contexts that affect communication professions and processes in the Arab region and globally,
3. exhibit technical competences with a wide range of convergent communication technologies and create professional, ethical, and civically engaged communication strategies and content, in order to communicate with diverse stakeholders in an increasingly multicultural and global environment, and
4. demonstrate the required research, critical, and analytical competencies that enable them to pursue scholarly work and graduate studies.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
1. demonstrate knowledge of the functions and roles of various communication professions,
2. understand the value and needs of effective relationship management in today’s participatory media environment,
3. critically apply major theories to various genres of communication studies,
4. comprehend the historical, political, economical, legal, ethical, and technological developments in the communication industry and profession, globally, and in the Arab region,
5. demonstrate technical abilities with a wide range of convergent communication technologies to research, plan, manage, and produce communication content, as well as design communication campaigns and strategies, and
6. conduct research using quantitative and qualitative methods of scientific inquiry.
Curriculum
For the B.A. in Communication, a student must complete a minimum of 92 credits, distributed as follows:
- Major Core Courses (25 credits)
- Departmental Liberal Arts Electives (15 credits)
- Departmental Professional Electives (15 credits)
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Courses (34 credits)
- Free Electives (3 cr.)
Major Core Courses (25 credits)
- JSC224 Social Media (3 cr.)
- JSC312 Media & Society (3 cr.)
- JSC419 Media Law & Ethics (3 cr.)
- JSC451 Media Research Methods (3 cr.)
- COM202 Interpersonal Communication (3 cr.)
- COM213 Public Relations (3 cr.)
- COM226 Principles of Advertising (3 cr.)
- COM498 Internship (1 cr.)
- COM499 Capstone Project (3 cr.)
Departmental Liberal Arts Electives (15 credits)
- COM223 Persuasive Communication (3 cr.)
- COM260 Advanced Public Speaking (3 cr.)
- COM301 Human Communication Theory (3 cr.)
- COM312 Communication & Gender (3 cr.)
- COM313 Nonverbal Communication (3 cr.)
- COM488 Topics in Communication (3 cr.)
- JSC330 Arab & International Media (3 cr.)
- JSC480 Global Media Literacy (3 cr.)
- JSC481 Global Change, Cooperation, & News (3 cr.)
Departmental Professional Electives (15 credits)
- COM305 Crisis Communication & Conflict Management (3 cr.)
- COM316 Political Communication (3 cr.)
- COM350 Media Entrepreneurship & Information Architecture (3 cr.)
- COM353 Organizational Communication (3 cr.)
- COM354 Health Communication (3 cr.)
- COM358 Small Group Communication (3 cr.)
- COM430 Writing for Advertising & PR (3 cr.)
- GRA455 Advertising Design (3 cr.)
- JSC220 News Writing and Reporting (3 cr.)
- JSC222 Digital Media Design (3 cr.)
- JSC226 Multimedia Journalism Basics (3 cr.)
- JSC314 Data and Society (3 cr.)
- MKT201 Introduction to Marketing (3 cr.)
- MKT302 Integrated Marketing Communication (3 cr.)
- TVF222 Introduction to Audiovisual Media (3 cr.)