Mar 29, 2024  
Fall 2015 Course Catalog 
    
Fall 2015 Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Communications and Media Arts A.A.


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Division: Arts, Humanities, and Learning Resources
Academic Dept: Communications & Media Arts Curriculum
HEGIS: 5008
Chair: Prof. Eric Luther
Telephone: 914-606-6136
Email: eric.luther@sunywcc.edu

A Note about Program Requirements


The requirements listed below are for students entering into this program in Fall 2015/Spring 2016. Students who entered the program during a prior semester will find their specific requirements listed in the Catalog under which they entered. Archived Catalogs are accessible through the dropdown menu above.

Program Description


The complexities of human communication require that we understand the process and develop our capacities to make ourselves clear to others through effective written and oral expression and to understand the barrage of messages directed at us. As citizens within a democracy and educated people within an information society, we must also have the critical tools to understand, analyze, and use the mass media. In turn, students of communications and media may discover the challenges of preparing for a career within this vast, important and exciting field of human enterprise.

A large percentage of graduates of the Communications and Media Arts curriculum transfer to colleges and universities, both private and within the SUNY system. Others obtain entry-level positions in a wide variety of media/communications and related fields. Special facilities available at Westchester Community College for communications/media arts majors provide opportunities for hands-on experience with state-of-the-art digital equipment. Students can participate in the fully licensed college-owned radio station, WARY-FM, the award- winning student newspaper, The Viking News, and the Student Media Association, which provides digital multimedia projects including a digital yearbook and a student documentary. They can also gain experience in front of and behind the camera in our television studio, where students produce their own programming. Communications and Media Arts internship programs, which give students additional learning opportunities, can be taken for 1-9 credits; however, only three credits can be applied toward the major.

Program Learning Outcomes


  1. To provide students with knowledge of basic theories, concepts, and skills in face-to-face human communication.

  2. To provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively engage in face-to-face communication with both individuals and larger audiences utilizing appropriate principles of interpersonal and public communications.

  3. To provide students with the knowledge, and skills necessary to comprehend media functions in an increasingly complex society.

General Education Requirements - 31 Credits


Students are required to fulfill a certain number of credits within the specific categories shown below. Where specific courses are not listed within these categories, courses must be selected from the list of SUNY General Education Courses .

Basic Communication (3 credits)


Humanities (6 credits)


Mathematics (3 credits)


Natural Sciences (4 credits)


Social Sciences (3 credits)


The Arts (3 credits)


Other World Civilizations (3 credits)


American History (3 credits)


Western Civilization (3 credits)


Degree Requirements - 30 Credits


Free Electives


Satisfy 3 credits of Free Electives. Choose these electives according to career or transfer goals and recommendations of Curriculum Chair.

Recommended Electives Include: Photography; Electronic Pre-Press; Keyboarding; Desktop Publishing; Business Communications; Motion Graphics; Audio; Advertising; Business Organization; Sales; Marketing; Word Processing; Computer Science; Creative and Technical Writing; Computer Graphic Design; Visual and Performing Arts; Modern Languages; Electrical Technology; Digital Video and Recording Engineering. These courses all grant elective credits; they do not grant Communication credit.

Note: All radio and television courses grant Communication credit; Understanding Mass Media, Journalism, and Speech courses grant English and/or Communication credit.

Minimum Total Credits - 61


Educational Plan: The Educational Plan is an advisement tool that provides important information to students about how to complete this degree. Click here to Download the Educational Plan .

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