Public Communications Studies Minor

Coordinator:

Karen McGee, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
316 Newhouse 3, 315-443-4722, kmcgee@syr.edu

College:

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications oversees this minor.

Goal

The goal of this minor is to permit students to examine how the process of public communications affects society. Students will learn how the various media, including newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, film, advertising, public relations, photography, graphics, online journalism, social media, and new media influence specific audiences and shape society in the United States and globally.

Audience

This minor is intended for Syracuse University students who are not enrolled in the School of Public Communications. Students choosing this minor should have an interest in learning more about the social, political, economic, ethical, and legal effects of public communications on their lives as citizens, professionals, and leaders in our society.

Entrance Requirements

Applicants are admitted on a space-available basis depending upon cumulative GPA. To be eligible, a student must have completed 30 credits at Syracuse University in courses graded A-F and must submit an application to the Newhouse Undergraduate Advising and Records Office (316 N3) by December 15 for spring admission or May 1 for fall admission. Students must declare the public communications minor no later than the first semester of their junior year.

Curriculum Requirements

Students must complete 18 credits of which 12 credits must be 300-level or above.

Two required courses

Additional Courses

Four additional courses from the following list. No more than one course may have a number lower than 300. Admission to these courses is based on space availability.

ADV 201 - Best Advertisements in the Universe
ADV 206 - Advertising Practice in a Diverse Society
ADV 345 - International Advertising
COM 300 - Selected Topics Effects of Sex in the Media
COM 337 - Real News, Fake News: Literacy for the Information Age
COM 346 - Race, Gender, and the Media
COM 400 - Selected Topics
International Communications in the European Media (SU Abroad, Strasbourg)
COM 400 - Selected Topics
International Digital and Social Media (SU Abroad, Summer, France)
COM 427 - Social Media for Communicators
COM 434 - Trendspotting in Digital Media
GRA 345 - Visual Issues in the Media
ICC 300 - Selected Topics New Media Business
ICC 400 - Selected Topics New Media Entrepreneurship
JNL 345 - Business and Ethics of Journalism in a Changing World
MAG 205 - An Introduction: Editorial, Ethics, and the Business of Magazines
NEW 400 - Selected Topics Creating the Next News Start-Up
PRL 206 - Public Relations Principles and Concepts
PRL 345 - The Ethics of Advocacy
PRL 400 - Selected Topics Introduction to Public Relations Abroad (SU Abroad, London)
TRF 235 - Principles and Practices: Television-Radio, Film Industries
TRF 340 - Topics in Critical and Historical Perspectives (variable title, repeatable)
TRF 530 - Popular Culture Studies (variable title, repeatable)
TRF 560 - Topics in International Perspectives (variable title, repeatable)

Total: 18 Newhouse credits required

Additional Information

To declare a minor, students must file a declaration form indicating specific courses selected. The form must be approved by Assistant Dean Karen McGee (315 Newhouse 3) and by the student’s home college.

Los Angeles Semester Option

Students who have been accepted into the Public Communications Studies minor may choose to complete half the minor by participating in the SU in Los Angeles program. To complete the minor and include the LA option, students must be a junior or a senior and do the following:

COM 107 - Communications and Society before studying in LA
TRF 235 - Principles and Practices: Television-Radio, Film Industries before studying in LA
Apply and be accepted to the LA program
TRF 475 - Los Angeles Entertainment Industry Practicum
Complete six other credits of TRF course work at the 300-level or above in LA
Be a full-time student, registered for no fewer than 12 credits while in LA. Students, therefore, must chose an additional course to study in LA with the advice of their home college. This course may be offered online or in person by any SU college.
COM 505 - Communications Law for Journalists or
COM 506 - Communications Law for Television, Radio, Film sometime during senior year.

Additional Information

Application deadlines for the Los Angeles program are in October (for spring) and in February (for fall). The Television, Radio and Film Department holds an information session for interested students each semester. For more information, contact Shelly Griffin, Associate Director of Off-Campus Programs, in 370 Newhouse 2 at 443-4004, migriffi@syr.edu.