The Communication major provides students with the opportunity to develop personal and professional communication skills that can be applied to a wide variety of media, organizational, and business settings. Students also study communication media as a social, political, and cultural force in contemporary society.
A unique feature of the program is the emphasis on project-based, hands-on learning that facilitates students’ growth as both producers and consumers of communication media. Communication students gain “real world” experience in the Annenberg Communication Center’s television studio and radio station, as well as in the College computer publishing and newspaper labs.
The faculty serve as mentors for students in and out of the classroom. Faculty contribute a wealth of experience from a variety of professional backgrounds, including radio, television, public relations, journalism, advertising, publishing, theatre, film, and visual design. Five core courses, three area-specific electives, two upper-level electives, and two internships are required for a major in Communication.
The Communication department’s area elective requirements offer introductory and intermediate level skills crucial to a changing media environment. The Writing elective builds upon the Media Writing core requirement, exploring formats of professional writing particular to communication fields including writing for ad copy, screenplays, and news. The Industry & Culture elective offers in-depth critical analysis of specific topics, such as gender and multicultural issues, or of specific media industries, such as TV news. The Production elective explores specific techniques in developing audio and visual media content, such as filmmaking and digital design. Communication majors may specialize their studies through their elective choices and further expand upon these skills in the upper level electives.
Optionally, students may also elect to focus their studies in the Visual Communication concentration, shared with the Visual Arts department. This concentration offers an opportunity for students to gain more focused knowledge in both digital technology and also obtain more traditional skills such as writing, editing, layout, drawing, photography, and design. Students who choose this concentration will graduate with a good foundation in these skills, which are extremely valuable and necessary in today’s Communication job market.
All Communication majors apply their knowledge in the junior and senior years through internship placements in Boston-area radio and television stations, advertising agencies, publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, theatre groups, film production companies, and other organizations. Pine Manor’s internship program is one of the most respected in the area and many students are ultimately offered employment at their internship sites.
Students also produce a creative senior project and a senior portfolio, which presents their accomplishments during their years at Pine Manor College. Communication program graduates have gone on to find employment in network and local television, radio, advertising agencies, publishing houses, public relations firms, newspapers, film production companies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.