CoMMUNICATION PROGRAM

For over 125 years, the School of Communication at Northwestern has been a leading force in the arts and sciences of communication. Our program in Qatar in Communication prepares students for a wide range of careers including work in entertainment television; the film industry; talent agencies; radio stations; and website and interactive media design. Graduates pursue communication and media work in advertising, corporations, non-profit organizations, cultural associations, and government agencies and ministries, among other places.

One hallmark of the program is the combination of theory and practice. Along with hands-on technical and creative training, we teach students about media histories, media organizations, and media economics; they learn about the social influence of the media, and the role that media and technology play in everyday life. We prepare students to use critical skills and innovative thinking so they can make effective decisions in the work place, whether they are writing a script for a film comedy, running a television station, or managing a web design team.

Our courses cover all communication media and technologies, from radio, film, and television to contemporary digital media including the internet, web design, and video games. Across these media, our approach includes academic research and creative processes, with experiences that make students comfortable moving from the classroom into the professional world.

THE CURRICULUM

Students have course requirements in three areas: basic skills and concepts; advanced theories and concepts in communications media; and communication production and practices. In addition students take electives within the major and through liberal arts offerings.

During the freshman year students take two of the basic skills sequences. One addresses verbal communication skills through classes in Writing and Speaking for Research and for Public/Professional Contexts. The second concerns visual communication, with courses in Analyzing Media Texts and Media Construction. Two classes in theories and concepts in communication and media (such as Exploring Global Media; Communication, Technology, and Society; or Theories of Persuasion) are also required. In addition, students choose elective classes in liberal arts or special topics seminars in communications.

In the sophomore year, students take a final basic skills sequence, in quantitative reasoning, with classes in Research Methods and Statistics. Additional courses continue the study of advanced theories and concepts in classes such as Understanding Media Contexts; Audience Analysis; Media Industries; and Theories of Organizational Communication. Students begin exploring communication production and practices (for example, Foundations of Screenwriting; Film History; Designing for the Internet; and Online Communities). Along with these courses, students take electives that develop areas of special interest.

During the junior and senior years, students encounter more advanced courses, and focus on particular media through academic study and creative work. Students have the opportunity to pursue an internship and receive academic credit for working in a professional media/communications job with faculty oversight. Students continue advanced work in particular media along with electives within and outside the major; seniors produce an individual research project carried out under faculty supervision.

Click here for more information about coursework in the Communication program.