The University of Colorado Board of Regents today approved 12 new CU-Boulder College of Media, Communication and Information degrees, in addition to a name change for one other degree.
The vote, held today at the University Memorial Center on the CU-Boulder campus, was the final Board of Regents approval required for the new College of Media, Communication and Information before the degrees are forwarded to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for approval. The college is now accepting applications and will offer classes for new degrees starting in fall semester 2015.
The Board of Regents approved formation of the college, which is projected to open with about 1,750 students and will be funded from existing resources, at its June meeting. Departments within the college include advertising, public relations and media design; communication; critical media practices; journalism; information science; media studies; and the graduate program in intermedia art, writing and performance.
鈥淥ver the last two decades, the rapid expansion of communication technologies and information gathering has transformed how we communicate, get our news and engage in local, regional and global commerce and society,鈥� said Provost Russell L. Moore. 鈥淎t the same time, the job market has rapidly transformed. Students graduating from the College of Media, Communication and Information will leave CU-Boulder with the cutting-edge skills and insights required to thrive in the workplace and the changing communications landscape.鈥�
New degrees approved by the Board of Regents today include:
路听听听听听 Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design --听BS in strategic communication with tracks in advertising, public relations and media design, and a MA in strategic communication design
路听听听听听 Department of Critical Media Practices --听BA in media production, MFA in interdisciplinary documentary and PhD in emergent technologies and media art practices
路听听听听听 Department of Information Science --听BS, MS and PhD degrees in information science
路听听听听听 Department of Media Studies --听BA in media studies and MA in media and public engagement and PhD in Media Research and Practice, including doctoral tracks in strategic communication, journalism and media studies
路听听听听听 Graduate program in Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance --听PhD
In addition, the BS degree in journalism was approved to become a BA degree. The journalism program will continue to offer its MA in journalism and the Department of Communication will continue to offer BA, MA and PhD degrees in communication.
All undergraduates enrolled in the college will take a common curriculum that builds on their shared interests in communication and digital media while providing a well-rounded education in humanities, the arts and the social and natural sciences. Students will be required to take basic courses in computing and in digital storytelling.
National government and private sector studies show that job markets for many of the industries students graduating from CMCI will enter are strong, and in many cases growing. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 14 percent increase in jobs in the motion picture and video industries over the 10-year period ending in 2018. A recent study by Bankrate puts advertising at the top of the list in terms of a degree that offers the best return on investment, while a recent Forbes survey of the 10 most surprising six-figure jobs includes multimedia artists, art directors, broadcast news analysts, writers and authors.
Christopher Braider, who oversaw the effort to create the new college, is serving as the transitional dean for the 2014-15 academic year. An international search for the dean of the college will be launched this fall.
More information about the new college is available at .
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College of Media, Communication and Information
Departments and Programs
Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design
Students will study creative and strategic advertising, public relations and design. They will craft messages that engage and inform the public on a wide range of media platforms. The department will offer a BS degree in strategic communication with tracks in advertising, public relations and media design; a MA in strategic communication design, and a track in strategic communication, offered through the doctoral program in Media Research and Practice.
Department of Communication
Students will learn how communication enables people to create, share and transform meaning and ways of living through interpersonal, group, organizational and public contexts. They will learn about the ethical issues and responsibilities of communication practice, the diversity of communication styles associated with gender and cultural differences and the uses and implications of communication technology. The Department of Communication will continue to offer its existing BA, MA and PhD degrees in communication.
Department of Critical Media Practices
Students will specialize in visual and audio production across a wide range of platforms. They will study nonfiction multimedia projects, production for small screens, interactive media and other innovative approaches to storytelling. The department will offer a BA degree in media production, a MFA in interdisciplinary documentary and a PhD in emergent technologies and media art practices.
Department of Information Science
Students will study the relationships between people, technology and information, and then design ways to make those connections more useful to society. Examples might include designing mobile apps or social media platforms for businesses or creating interactive maps that emergency responders can use to assess damage after a natural disaster.
The department will offer BS, MS and PhD degrees in information science.
Program in Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance
The doctoral program in Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance will be an incubator for experimentation with new forms of expression and storytelling. The program applies a teaching model that includes studio laboratories where professors and students from a variety of disciplines will collaborate to create new forms of multimedia art and technology.
Department of Journalism
Students will learn the reporting and writing skills they need to produce news and information on multiple media platforms.听They will master the technology and journalistic skills to produce videos, audio, photography, graphics and social media on mobile platforms, the Web, television, radio and print. The department will offer BA and MA degrees in journalism, and a track in journalism studies, offered through the doctoral program in Media Research and Practice.
Department of Media Studies
Students will explore the ways media shape, and are shaped by, society and technology. They will learn how media institutions are organized, who controls their content, how they perform economically, how audiences engage with media and how media impact government, culture and social policy across the globe.听The department will offer a BA degree in media studies, a MA degree in media and public engagement, and a track in media studies offered through the doctoral program in Media Research and Practice.
Contact:
Malinda Miller-Huey, CU-Boulder media relations, 303-492-3115
Christopher Braider, CMCI, 303-492-4364
