Courses & Requirements

Required Minor
All communication and media studies majors must complete a minor in another discipline. The specific minor will be determined in consultation with the student’s academic advisor, and will usually be chosen in the student’s junior year. Recommended minors include African and African American Studies, American Studies, Art History, Music, Computer Science, Information Science, Economics (includes Business Administration), English, History, Latin American and Latino Studies, Literary Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Urban Studies, Visual Arts, and Women’s Studies (but any minor is acceptable). Students are encouraged to complete a minor that contains a research methods course.

Students who are completing a double major are not required to complete an additional minor. (This requirement will be modified, as appropriate, for students who have been admitted to the University with transfer credits from another institution, so that the completion of a minor would not necessitate completing more than the 124 credits normally required for graduation.)

Program Requirements

Introductory Courses
Majors are required to take both introductory courses by the end of the first semester of the junior year; preferably, COMM 1010 should be taken prior to COMM 1011. Minors are required to take at least one of the introductory courses (a second may count as one of the minor's free electives).

COMM1010	Introduction to Communication and Media Studies
COMM1011	Introduction to Media Industries

Media, Culture and Society Requirement
All majors are required to take two courses from the media, culture and society concentration (see below) to fulfill this requirement. Those majors who wish to concentrate in media, culture and society must take three additional courses from the media, culture and society concentration, for a total of five media, culture and society courses to fulfill this requirement. Minors are required to take at least one course from the media, culture and society concentration.

Ethics, Law and Policy Requirement
Both majors and minors are required to take one of the following ethics, law and policy courses:

COMM3103	Versions of Censorship and Freedom of Expression
COMM3106	International Communication
COMM3109	Critical Issues in Electronic Communication
COMM3110	Peace, Justice and the Media
COMM3112	Media Law
COMM3205	The Journalist and the Law
COMM3476	Ethical Issues in the Media

Concentration Requirement
Majors are required to specialize in one of the program's five concentrations by taking that concentration's introductory course and two additional courses in the same concentration. Students may choose from the following five concentrations:

Media, Culture and Society	COMM2000	Theories of Media, Culture and Society required, plus two additional courses from the concentration.
Journalism	COMM2082	Introduction to Journalism required, plus two additional courses from the concentration.
Film	COMM2471	Introduction to Film required, plus two additional courses from the concentration.
Television/Radio	COMM2330	Introduction to Electronic Media required, plus two additional courses from the concentration.
New and Digital Media	COMM2500	Introduction to New Media required, plus two additional courses from the concentration.

Free Electives Requirement
Majors are required to take three free electives in the program, or in appropriate related programs, in consultation with an adviser from the department. Students should consider taking electives that will complement their concentration.

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Program Concentrations

Media, Culture and Society Concentration				Journalism Concentration
				COMM1500		The Power of News
				COMM2082, 2083		Introduction to Journalism with required lab
COMM2000		Theories of Media, Culture and Society		COMM2202		Writing Workshop
COMM2010		Communication and Technology		COMM2204		Analytical and Critical Writing
COMM2011		Mass Communication: Theory and Research		COMM2206		Basic Feature Writing
COMM2504		History and Culture of Advertising		COMM2211, 2212,2213, 2214 (*)		Journalism Workshop
COMM2525		Digital Media and Cyberculture		COMM2221		Graphics for Publication
COMM2602		Myths and Symbols of the American Character		COMM2527		Writing for Online Media
COMM2603		Media and the Arts		COMM3010		Writing Television and Radio News
COMM2610		Mass Communication and Society		COMM3080		First Person Journalism
COMM2701		Persuasion and Attitude Change		COMM3081		Interviews and Profiles
				COMM3083		BronxNet
COMM3102		Orality and Literacy		COMM3082		Arts Journalism
COMM3103		Versions of Censorship and Freedom of Expression		COMM3084		Writing for Magazines
COMM3104		Mass Opinion: Its Measures and Meanings		COMM3085		Science Journalism
COMM3106		International Communication		COMM3099		Advanced Internet Reporting
COMM3108		Movies and the American Experience		COMM3101		Newsmaking: Interpreting and Reconstructing Reality
COMM3111		Gender Images in Media		COMM3103		Versions of Censorship and Freedom of Expression
COMM3112		Media Law		COMM3204		Profile and Biographical Writing
COMM3309		Children and the Media		COMM3205		The Journalist and the Law
COMM3310		Television Comedy and American Values		COMM3206		First Person Writing
COMM3332		Understanding Television		COMM3302		Radio News Techniques
COMM3401		Hollywood Genres		COMM3303		Television News Techniques
COMM3407		The Science Fiction Genre		COMM3304		Broadcast News Operations
COMM3566		Media Effects		COMM3321		History of Television/Radio News
COMM3570		Aesthetics and the Media		COMM3322		Television News Innovators
COMM3571		Popular Music as Communication		COMM3323		The Murrow Years: 1938-65
COMM3601		Class, Taste, and Mass Culture		COMM3331		The Broadcast Newsroom
COMM3681		Mass Media and National Identity		COMM3333		Television News and Today's World
COMM4001		Films of Moral Struggle		COMM3334		Video Documentary
COMM4002		Values in the News		COMM3335		Television News
COMM4003		Dissent and Disinformation		COMM3350		Sports Communication
COMM4004		Social Ethics in Telecommunications		COMM3405		Screenwriting I
COMM4005		Digital Media and Public Responsibility		COMM3408		The Documentary Idea
COMM4601		Television and Society		COMM3409		Screenwriting II
COMM4603		Media and Popular Culture
COMM4604		Multiculturalism: Diversity and Media		COMM3545		Topics in Writing and Journalism
COMM 4606		History of Women's Magazines		COMM3650		Inside the New York Times
COMM4607		Communication for Social Change		COMM3941		Writing for the Media
COMM4711		Communication, Popular Culture and Philosophy		COMM3978		Online Journalism
				COMM4002		Values in the News
				COMM4201		Magazine Article Writing
				COMM4606		Women's Magazines
				COMM4999		Tutorial
				* Any two of these courses may count as one course
Film Concentration				Television/Radio Concentration
COMM2471		Introduction to Film		COMM1500		The Power of News
COMM2222		Digital Video Design		COMM2330		Introduction to Electronic Media
COMM3108		Movies and the American Experience		COMM2222		Digital Video Design
COMM3401		Hollywood Genres		COMM2301		The Broadcast Industry
COMM3403		American Film Comedy		COMM2302		Introduction to Radio
COMM3405		Screenwriting I		COMM2303		Audio Production
COMM3407		The Science Fiction Genre		COMM2522		Multimedia Production
COMM3408		The Documentary Idea		COMM2523		Digital Design for New Media
COMM3409		Screenwriting II		COMM2527		Writing for Online Media
COMM3410		International Cinema		COMM3010		Writing Television and Radio News
COMM3411		Spanish Film		COMM3083		BronxNet
COMM3412		Italian Film		COMM3222		Projects in Digital Video
COMM3413		German Film		COMM3301		Television Studio Production
COMM3414		Asian Film		COMM3302		Radio News Techniques
COMM3415		Australian Film		COMM3303		Television News Techniques
COMM3416		United Kingdom & Irish Film		COMM3304		Broadcast News Operations
COMM3417		French Film		COMM3305		Writing Television Drama
COMM3420		Contemporary Filmmakers		COMM3310		Television Comedy and American Values
COMM3422		History of Film 1890-1950		COMM3321		History of Television/Radio News
COMM3425		History of Film 1950-Present		COMM3322		Television News Innovators
COMM3431		Contemporary Hollywood Film		COMM3323		The Murrow Years: 1938-65
COMM3432		French Film		COMM3331		The Broadcast Newsroom
COMM3437		The Film Director		COMM3332		Understanding Television
COMM3438		New York in Film		COMM3333		Television News and Today's World
COMM3451		The Films of Alfred Hitchcock		COMM3334		Video Documentary
COMM3461		Fiction into Film		COMM3335		Television News
COMM3462		Shakespeare into Film		COMM3342		Advanced Television Production
COMM3470		Film Theory		COMM3344		Audio: Concepts and Methods
COMM3482		Women in Film		COMM3343		Television: Concepts and Methods
COMM3483		Women Filmmakers in Europe		COMM3350		Sports Communication
COMM3489		British Heritage Cinema		COMM3408		The Documentary Idea
COMM3492		Documentary Film		COMM3525		Topics in Video and Film Production
COMM3525		Topics in Film and Video Production		COMM3555		Topics in Television and Radio
COMM3535		Topics in Film Studies		COMM3941		Writing for the Media
COMM4001		Films of Moral Struggle		COMM4004		Social Ethics in Telecommunications
COMM4999		Independent Tutorial		COMM4601		Television and Society
				COMM4999		Independent Tutorial
New Media Concentration
COMM2500		Introduction to New Media
COMM2010		Communication and Technology
COMM2222		Digital Video Design
COMM2303		Digital Audio Design
COMM2523		Digital Design for New Media
COMM2525		Digital Media and Cyberculture
COMM2527		Writing for Online Media
COMM2528		Digital Media II
COMM3099		Advanced Internet Reporting
COMM3222		Projects in Digital Video
COMM3307		Social Media
COMM3978		Online Journalism
COMM4005		Digital Media and Public Responsibility
COMM4999		Independent Tutorial

Free Electives
Any of the above courses not serving as an Ethics, Law, and Policy requirement; a Media, Culture, and Society requirement; or a Concentration requirement can serve as a free elective. In addition, the following courses are free electives:

COMM2101	Speech Improvement
COMM2501	Effective Speaking
COMM3500	Marketing and the Media
COMM3501	Public Relations
COMM3502	Principles of Advertising
COMM4701	Internship Seminar

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