Page 30 - WilmU Spring Summer 2013

col lege of arts & sciences
T he College of Arts & Sciences
will launch a new Bachelor
of Science degree in
Communications with concen-
trations in Integrated Marketing
or Media Communications.
The program will begin in fall 2013.
This is an online Bachelor of Science
degree, which will draw upon courses from
numerous colleges, providing students the
expertise needed to develop highly desirable
skills in professional or technical writing and
editing, public and media relations, brand
management, social media and electronic
communications, marketing, advertising,
internal and external messaging, public
speaking and speechwriting.
This career-oriented program is pragmatic
rather than theoretical, and caters to the
21st-century communications professional.
It serves the new or veteran communication
practitioner and satisfies the Wilmington
University mission by offering real-life skills
that will engender competitiveness in the
emergent field of communications. Highly
qualified faculty who are practitioners in the
field will teach the Communications courses.
“By utilizing the rich experience of actual
communication practitioners, students will
be prepared to begin or continue their
careers, and faculty will help improve
students’ competitiveness in the job market,”
said Doreen Turnbo, Dean of the College of
Arts & Sciences.
According to a University Leadership
Study conducted by the Education Advisory
Board at the request of Wilmington
University in June 2012, the regional as well
as national communication industries are
growing in the advertising, marketing, and
public relations fields. According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1998
and 2008, public relations jobs increased 21
percent, technical writing jobs by 17 percent,
advertising and marketing management jobs
increased by 14 percent and graphic design
jobs increased by 13 percent. Regionally,
professional services (which include
communication) form the second-fastest
growing industry, and are actually a ributed
to the “increased presence of corporate
headquarters in the region” (University
Leadership Council, p. 8).
Additionally, anecdotal reports from the
WU recruiting group as well as the WU
sites on military installations have identified
multiple requests for a degree in communica-
tion from the military community.
“It is felt that this degree option will be an
a ractive option for new military students
both local and at a distance,” Turnbo said.
The program will likely draw students with
interests in public relations, marketing, public
speaking, journalism, advertising, profes-
sional or technical writing or media relations.
Here are the courses that will be offered
as requirements for the B.S. degree in
Communications:
New Courses
COM 250 Technical Writing
COM 314 Technical Communications and
Project Management
COM 332 Managing Crisis Communications
COM 400 Co-Op Experience
Existing Courses
Effective fall 2013, these courses will be under
the direction of the College of Arts & Sciences:
COM 245Writing for the Media
COM 344Writing and Reporting for the News
Media
COM 460 Topics in Communication
COM 487 Senior Project
COM 490-494 Internship
These courses will be used jointly by CAS and
the College of Technology but will be overseen
by COT:
COM 300 Communication Theory
COM 310 Legal Aspects of Communication
COM 431 Media and Society WU
College announces newB.S. degree inCommunications
BY JAIME BENDER
WILMINGTON UNIVERSIT Y MAGAZINE