2009-2010 - Bowie State University

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS
MAJOR CONCENTRATION DEGREE
OFFERED
COMMUNICATIONS
Broadcast Journalism
Emerging Media
Print Journalism
Public Relations
BA, BS
Acting Chair:
Full Professors:
Associate Professor:
Otis Thomas
Chuka Onwumechili
Otis Thomas
Assistant Professors:
Lecturers:
Tracie Babb, Adrian Krishnasamy, Kehbuma Langmia,
Rex Martin, Pamela O’Brien, Wei Sun, Donatus Uzomah
Karima Haynes, Chandra Lipscomb
MISSION
The goal of the Department of Communications is to send into the many fields of communications men
and women who possess a rich liberal arts background and training in the utilization of the tools of their
chosen profession.
Successful careers in communications demand broad knowledge covering a wide range of subjects. The
greatest emphasis of communications instruction at Bowie State University is on teaching professional
skills to ensure that communication graduates are prepared to write, edit tapes, interview, film, manage
emerging media, address the public, create public relations/ad campaigns, and create graphics or design
programs from the day they begin their first job. Students are taught the philosophy of press freedom,
the scope and convergence of modern communications media, the interaction between media and
social institutions, and the technical skills of communicating information to the public.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPARTMENT
The department curricula lead to a BA/BS degree in communications with concentrations in Broadcast
Journalism, Emerging Media, Print Journalism, and Public Relations. Majors must earn a grade of “C” or
better in all required communications courses, as well as all courses in the student’s chosen minor.
Students who wish to earn a BA degree are required to complete 12 semester hours in a foreign
language in addition to other requirements. To earn a degree in communications, the student must
successfully complete 120 semester hours.
Undergraduate programs within the Department prepare students for entry into the communications
professions and for subsequent graduate or advanced study. After completing ENGL 101 and ENGL 102,
Expository Writing and Argument and Research, students must take and successfully pass the Bowie
State University English Proficiency Examination. Transfer students who completed their English
composition requirements at another university must take the English Proficiency Examination during
their first semester of enrollment at the University.
130 2009‐2010 Undergraduate Catalog