Course descriptions

Use critical thinking to analyze media and news literacy such as media production, messages and delivery with relations to the audience, media industry, digital, social media, and media professions.

This course will cover theories and techniques of organization, evidence, argumentation, persuasion, and delivery in public speaking.

This course is an introduction to oral, print, and electronic media of communication. Emphasis is placed on history, theory, and criticism of the mass media as cultural institutions.

This is an introduction to production and consumption of information by individuals, the work place and society. Emphasis is placed on the changing nature of communication processes as a result of the expansion of communication technologies.

In this course, students heavily deal with different computer software to create designs and layout for various mass communication messages such as Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, and Visual Communication. Students are taught how to create informative and persuasive messages.

This course focuses on the creative side of social media content production. Students will learn how to how to translate a strategic vision into social media content, from conceptualizing to creating, editing, and executing content on social media platforms. A hands-on-approach in lesson delivery will equip students with a practical understanding of media, design, and platform-specific best practices.

This course presents students to the process of creating films and people involved in the process and the description of their tasks. Students are also introduced to the different types and genres of films.

Introduces students to theories and principles applicable to the production of audio and video content for media platforms.

This course introduces publicity methods and public relations representation of profit and nonprofit institutions to the public; use of communication research and media, as applied to the public relations profession. The course also covers the history, rhetoric, and aesthetics of advertising. A basic understanding of industry issues and key areas such as account management, research, strategy, creative, media, and production.

This course introduces students to the use of Internet by different organizations to achieve goals for advertising and public relations purposes. Students are presented to different concepts such as online advertising/PR strategies, online advertising/PR reach, the association between online research and online advertising/PR, online targeting audience for advertising/PR and online message design.

This is an introduction to theory and practice in the planning, execution, and evaluation of persuasive campaigns involving radio and television. Emphasis is placed on concept developments and production elements. The course includes discussion of broadcast ethics.

This course provides training in radio and television studio procedures. Production and criticism of lab programs, including news, continuity, interviews, and oral improvisation. Classroom meetings at the radio lab and the television lab, as well as lab hours, to be arranged.

Students are presented to various mass communication systems of the world. Through a comparative approach, students are taught that newspapers and media outlets are treated differently and have varied statues in different parts of the world.

Elementary principles and practice of writing for mass media in varied program formats, with emphasis on preparation of written materials for news, public relations, and public affairs.

Introduces the students to advertising. It covers the diverse range of advertising theories and practices and surveys the different advertising objectives including information and persuasion. Areas of focus include advertising basics, appeals, advertising history, advertising and society, advertising agencies, media planning, creativity, and advertising layout and design.

Introduction to Multimedia

Prepares students to take photographs in many different contexts exploring the art of visual communication. Students will learn basic visual and technical aspects of art and commercial photography such as camera operation, exposure, frame composition and basic lighting.

Prepares students to critically explore, define, and use social media in personal and professional contexts by examining their contemporary trends and tools. A hands-on-approach in lesson delivery equips students with a practical appreciation of how important forms of emerging media work.

Draws on rhetorical theory to teach the critical skills and practical reasons for evaluating audiences, structuring an argument, and applying stylistic techniques to improve the persuasive appeal of your messages. Students will learn strategies to acheive specific communication goals in writing standard strategic messages and documents for internal and external audiences. They will get practice in writing web and e-mail messages, memos, business letters, letters to the editor, fundraising letters, press releases, brochures, and feature stories.

This comprehensive course introduces students to the basics of visual communication with an emphasis on how to develop graphic and visual skills. It teaches how to organize visual images by learning how to use line, shape, tone, texture and volume in a creative way. Through classroom instruction and reinforced with hands-on exercises, the student learns how to extend artistic practice to explore and apply the principles of design to an artwork or a design solution. The course may be applied to 2D or 3D work. A strong creative and skill-based component underpins most learning objectives which include skill sets in design and drawing, as well as research and analysis.

Studies the basic theories and practices of radio/television studio production. Lab arranged. This course has a physical requirement requiring motor skills that allow for proper operation of radio and television equipment and the ability to exert up to 20 pounds of force on repetitive basis.

Applied Graphic Design

This course is an introduction to the process of planning, producing, and evaluating written public relations messages. Writing assignments include media releases, letters, memos, position papers, background papers, brochures, and reports and proposals.

This course introduces the study of typography in visual communications. Emphasis upon form of letters, words, and pages; and upon the body of knowledge required for professional typographic applications. On completion, students will have developed a body of professional industry-standard works that demonstrate their awareness of contemporary design practice and their ability to work within it.

Helps students to understand the theories of visual communications including human perception, psychology of color, and principles of design. Students learn the vocabulary of a visual language. Building upon the vocabulary, they learn how visual elements can be persuasive within a professional communication context. Covers the application of theories to graphic, design, animation, video, audio editing and web design. This course is offered every semester.

This course will develop a working knowledge of graphic design. It includes Vector graphics creation (Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw). The course also introduces the design of 3D computer graphics and animation. A brief history and philosophy behind this new technology via videos, graphic examples. Students will also explore the use of 3D for television and motion picture animations.

Introduces the social and historical backgrounds that inform the ever-increasing visual culture we live in. Explores the roles and influences visual representations and visual productions have on cultural experience and historical events. It draws on theories, as well as numerous historical and contemporary examples from art, design, film, video, advertising, television, new media and other forms of visual communication.

This course provides the basic building blocks of various visual narrative techniques. The course covers photography, illustration, stroyboarding, advertising, film, comics, cartoons, audio, and documentaries. Students will learn how to evolve a simple idea into a structured story through both dynamic (moving images) and static mediums (still images).

Writing for Multimedia

Includes the theories of mass media management, with application to media operations. Investigates economic, legal and ethical problems and issues concerning media management.

A hands-on study of how to determine an advertising budget, select media and develop a strategic plan.

The application of modern communication theory to interview situations. This theory and practicum course is designed to aid the student in mastering specific skills appropriate to specialized settings.

Students are introduced to the principals of public relations, political, and advertising campaigns. Concepts include research, planning, message design, targeting audience and evaluation.

Explores the application of advanced graphic design and promotional techniques used in creating advertisements and other marketing collateral. The course allows the exploration of creative mediums and techniques with a focus on 3-D items and environments, such as packaging, point of sale, trade shows, exhibition spaces and concept stores.

This course deals with the intersection of media and politics. The influence and sources of influence of each on the other is discussed.

Prepares students to explore, understand and critique the state of Arab media in both historical and contemporary contexts. Theoretical ideas such as hegemony, post-colonialism and Orientalism are introduced to situate the development of Arab media systems within the framework of the social and political conditions from which they emerged. Various media systems, forms and products are examined to highlight commonalities and distinctions across the multitude of media we classify as Arab.

News Writing

Study and practice in copy reading, headline writing, proofreading, with attention given to printing terminology, page makeup, type structure, computer use in editing, and analysis of newspapers.

Elements and practices of online journalism are introduced in this course. Students would be informed about the reasons inviting newspapers to go online and the benefits and drawbacks of this type of publication. Students would be familiarized about the main differences between the traditional newspaper publication and online newspaper publication. Elements of designing interactive media messages are highlighted.

Multimedia Ethics

Rigorous, in-depth instruction and critiques of students' news and investigative reporting assignments done with different reporting methodologies: interviewing, official records, direct and participant observation, and survey research.

Instruction and practice in writing feature articles for newspapers and magazines.

Studies the advanced theories and practices of radio and television production. Explores higher level television skills and principles from those in MCM 231. Lab arranged. This course has a physical requirement requiring motor skills that allow for proper operation of radio and television equipment and the ability to exert upto 20 pounds of force on a repetitive basis.

Studies the basic skills necessary to provide news packages for broadcast. Students gain knowledge on story development and production skills needed to write, interview, report, shoot and edit audio and video news stories.

Web Interface Design

Students are presented to real cases of successful and unsuccessful advertising and public relations projects and tasks that allow students to critically think of the process of conducting these projects and what they need to avoid.

This course is a study of the application of digital audio and video tools. It focuses on the issues and production techniques involved in creating and editing digital audio and video. Codec’s, architectures, editing techniques and project-planning concerns are the key topics covered. Techniques of streaming audio and video may also be covered.

This course will explore issues in the making of digital video and Digital sound. It is designed around Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere. The course presents solutions for problems involved in digitizing from video tape, Audi CD and other sources.

Introduces students to the principles and elements of motion design. It identifies methods and process for conceptualizing in time-based media, as well as developing a vocabulary and visual language for motion. In addition to stressing systems, structure and synthesis of text and image for time-based media, the course also provides knowledge and skills in the digital creativity, such as 2D and 3D animation.

This course is the highest level of advanced digital audio and video editing. Students explore video language while producing a more ambitious work through improved technical skills, including digital modes of post-production. It integrates hands-on demonstrations, lecture, exercises, projects and critiques. Students use digital video cameras along with high end software to produce a final project.

Through the process of learning to assemble the components necessary to allow for efficient workflow in getting animated storytelling on the screen, students in this course focus on 3D modeling, texturing, animating, lighting and rendering, and assembling shots in sequence to create effective storytelling.

Multimedia Authoring

Provides students with hands-on training in the sequence of digital media production. Includes training on pre-production and planning, audio and video capture, and post-production and editing.

Internship in Multimedia

Examination of the social, economic, and political factors contributing to the development of American mass media. Emphasis on significant personalities who helped shape its course; analysis of select critical works.

The study of media content and its effect on society. Reading and viewing of selected works. Independent reading and critical analysis required.

An important element in any communication process is considering the people who receive the communication messages. People reaction is studied in this course as well as concepts such as targeting audience, active and passive reactions.

Special Topics in Visual Communication

Principles of Educational Multimedia

Discussion of laws and ethics affecting the mass media. Exploration of problems and issues in legal regulation of media content, ownership and ethical standards such as privacy, censorship, honesty, fairness, and objectivity.

Survey of elements and processes critical to human communication behavior. Comparison of influential communication theories.

Introduction to the fundamental tools of quantitative research in communication. Focus of the course is on reading and comprehending communication research reports rather than conducting quantitative research.

Multimedia Marketing

Practical work with an off-campus newspaper, magazine, or other news organization, supervised by a journalism professional in consultation with a faculty member. Repeatable, but no more than six hours total credit may be earned in internship courses toward the 36-hour minimum required for the degree.

Practical work at an off-campus radio/TV station, supervised by a professional in consultation with a faculty member. Repeatable, but no more than six hours total credit may be earned in internship courses toward the 36-hour minimum required for the degree.

Enables students to develop creative works such as audio and/or video projects as part of their professional training. The course should be conducted under the mentorship of industry professionals in coordination with the course instructor.

Senior Project

Digital Portfolio Production

This course presents students to a combining approach gathering elements and ideas from marketing and communication as a method to achieve organizational goals. Students learn that organizations mix public relations, advertising, marketing, personal communication and others, can increase their advantages. Students are presented to IMC components, planning, and message design.

Advanced practical work in business communication, political campaign communication, advertising, public relations, or other forms of organizational or public communication. Work must be done off campus, under supervision of a working professional in the field, in consultation with a faculty member. Repeatable, but no more than six hours total credit may be earned in internship courses toward the 36-hour minimum required for the degree.

In this course, students are required to create their own projects in PR/Advertising. The aim of this course is to enable students to create creative works as part of personal portfolios presented to others upon seeking a job.

Internship in Visual Communications

Senior Visual Communication Project

Focusing on character rigging and animation, expressive timing, staging and fluid movement in character animation, students create original, high quality animated segments in preparation for senior projects and portfolio quality work. Additional advanced techniques are taught such as facial expression and lip-synch.

This subject provides students with an opportunity to undertake professional attachment to an onsite multimedia/graphic project. Students will also produce a seminar paper documenting and evaluating their professional attachment.

Working in small production teams, students in this course learn how to manage the production pipeline for a visual communication project. With the focus on working in a team environment to meet deadlines, students are expected to produce a professional quality projects in the areas of to graphic design, animation, video and audio editing, or web design. Students are encouraged to develop an individual approach that defines them as independent, creative and intelligent thinkers ready to challenge and contribute to a contemporary visual communication environment.

Professional attachment to an onsite professional media organization. Requires students to officially document work and hours performed.

Advanced Multimedia

Topics in Multimedia

Based on faculty’s selection of topics, students are presented to a certain topic focusing on mass communication.

This course is an introduction to the study and practice of acting. It will consider acting from a number of perspectives: the nature of acting, the process of acting, and the relationship between dramatic texts and their performers. Analyzing and building a character, diverse acting styles, realistic and nonrealistic acting and acting for stage, television and cinema will be discussed and practiced.

This course is an introduction to the study of theatre and drama arts. The course will cover theatre and drama from a number of perspectives: the nature of theatre as a performing art, connection between ritual and theatre, relationship of theatre to life, language and literature, stage, acting directing and playwriting. The course covers the history of drama and theatre, the beginnings (ritual drama and Greek drama), the medieval theatre, the renaissance and the 17th-20th centuries.