WilmU’s College of Arts & Sciences Unveils a Redesigned Communication Degree

By

wilmu communication
Image via Wilmington University.

Wilmington University students majoring in Communication now have a choice of one of three concentrations: Digital Journalism, Public Relations & Strategic Communication, and Visual Communication. All are offered face-to-face and online.

“We are really excited to offer this redesign,” said Dr. Janice Colvin, chair of Communication. “We researched the possible directions of the future economy and saw a continuing strong need for communicators with a wide set of skills across the board, not just technical but those soft skills of writing, creativity, and critical thinking that employers prize so much in their workforces. We specifically redesigned the program to help meet those needs. In many ways, I consider it a STEAM degree.”

She said that each of the new concentrations, while containing the same courses as the previous degree program, now offer wider options for students.

“The program offers a lot of flexibility,” said Dr. Colvin. “Embedded in each concentration is a certificate — Technical Communication, Social Media Management, and Graphic Design — which students earn automatically as they move through their coursework.”

Also, with this change comes the addition of 15 free electives in each concentration.

Dr. Colvin said: “This addition allows students to take another certificate of their choice, take a minor, or take advantage of an accelerated degree option, while taking two graduate courses in the College of Business, Master of Science in Management, Business Communication concentration.”

Dr. Colvin also says that four new courses are part of the redesign: Social Media Management, Current Trends in Social Media, Advanced Reporting, and the Communication Capstone.

“Businesses and organizations now use social media universally for public outreach,” said Dr. Colvin.

The social media management certificate meets this need.

“Our students must understand how social media works for a business and how they can use that knowledge to help their employers post targeted messages to a particular audience,” said Dr. Colvin.

Students move beyond the limited understanding of social media as just a user — they learn the deeper workings of each platform and research the pros and cons of using each type, including analyzing user data.

Advanced Reporting takes students to a higher level of journalistic writing, building on skills learned in the introductory news writing course. The Capstone course pulls the learning of the past years into one package.

“We’ve worked hard to make this a degree for the future, for both students and employers,” said Dr. Colvin. “And we’ll be adding more certificates and courses as we move forward to make this degree what I like to call ‘a living degree,’ flexible and ready to change.”

Learn more about Wilmington University’s Communication program.

Stay Connected, Stay Informed

Subscribe for great stories in your community!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
MT Yes
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement