College of Media & Communication

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D., Dean

103 Media and Communication | Box 43082
Lubbock, TX 79409-3082 | www.depts.ttu.edu/comc
T 806.834.8582 | F 806.742.1085

About the College

Communication is essential to every successful industry, government agency, nonprofit and start up. The College of Media & Communication is one of the largest media and communication undergraduate programs in the United States. In each of the seven undergraduate degree programs, students have the opportunity to learn how to communicate effectively, think critically, solve problems, create media and communication content, and work in teams. The college offers three master’s degree programs and a doctoral degree in media and communication. Because of the graduate program options, students also have the opportunity to earn a B.A. and an M.A. degree within five years.

The college provides numerous advising and student success opportunities such as professional advising, career counseling, and internships. Students at all levels can get involved in one of the following innovative experiential learning experiences: Double T Insider, The Hub@TTU, The Outpost Social Media Lab, The Think Tank, KTXT-FM, MCTV, Raidervision, The TTU Debate Team, and many others. In addition, students from every degree program can get involved with a student organization related to each of the majors.

Degree Programs

The college supervises the following degree programs:

Undergraduate Program

Each undergraduate degree program in the college requires a minimum of 120 semester hours for a Bachelor of Arts degree. The college seeks to offer a curriculum that stays abreast of trends and changes in the field while providing a broad education in media and communication.

First-semester freshmen enrolling in the college must meet the university-wide admission requirements. Students enrolled in other colleges at Texas Tech may transfer into the college after earning at least 12 semester credit hours (excluding CLEP courses) with a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

University Core Curriculum Requirements. The core curriculum requirements ensure breadth in each academic program. These requirements have been incorporated into the college’s undergraduate degree programs as per the state of Texas requirements listed in the Academic Requirements section of this catalog. Students should consult with an advisor in the Advising Center in Media & Communication prior to each registration period to ensure all requirements are being met in a manner consistent with timely graduation.

Course Load. A normal full-time course load is 15-19 hours per semester. In calculating the course load, the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs will consider all distance education courses as part of the course load. Course loads in excess of 19 hours require approval by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs. Students on academic warning, academic probation, academic suspension, or academic dismissal will be limited to no more than 16 semester hours and may have the course load lowered according to the Academic Recovery program agreement or contract.

The normal course load for a single summer term is 6-8 hours. To meet graduation requirements, a graduating senior may petition to take 9 hours one term or a total of 15 hours in both terms.

Catalog Selection. Students will use the catalog issued for the year in which they are first officially admitted to the college, or a more recent catalog if approved. For the former Texas Tech University student seeking readmission to the university, the student must come back under the same catalog year in which the student was first enrolled at the university, provided the catalog is active (in no case can a student complete a degree under a catalog that is more than seven years old). Former Texas Tech University students may choose a more recent catalog year if approved.

Credit by Examination. A matriculated student may attempt credit by examination (described elsewhere in this catalog). Approval from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs is required if the student is classified as a senior, if the student is taking the exam for a second time before six months have elapsed, or if more advanced material in the same subject has already been completed.

Grades of D. Semester credit hours for a course in which a grade of D is earned may not be applied toward fulfillment of the major, minor, or teaching field requirements for any degree program.

Grading Practices. The college conforms to university grading practices as set forth in the Academic Requirements section of this catalog. In addition, the following regulations apply within the college. Except for those courses designated “may be repeated for credit” in this catalog, no course may be used more than once on a degree plan unless approved by the assistant dean for undergraduate students.

Second Bachelor’s Degree. Permission to enroll in courses to pursue a second bachelor’s degree must be obtained from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs. No second bachelor’s degree is conferred until the candidate has completed at least 24 semester credit hours in residence, in addition to the courses counted toward the first bachelor’s degree. Credit by examination courses will not satisfy the 24-hour residence requirement. A second bachelor’s degree sought by a student who did not graduate from a public Texas university must include the required core curriculum.

Freshman Year. Entering freshmen develop their programs in consultation with an academic advisor. Students report to their advisors for individual conferences or group meetings as needed for the purpose of orienting themselves to academic regulations and procedures, curricula, and degree requirements in their respective areas of interest.

Students are urged to take required freshman courses, including MCOM 1300 and MCOM 1301 , during the freshman year. During the sophomore year students should complete MCOM 2350 . Normally, university core curriculum requirements should be completed by the end of the sophomore year. Freshmen should not enroll in junior-senior level courses.

Admission of Transfer Students. Students requesting permission to transfer from another academic institution must meet the university-wide admission requirements. No more than 21 hours of media and communication courses will be accepted in transfer. Students enrolled in other colleges at Texas Tech may transfer into the college after earning at least 12 semester credit hours (excluding CLEP courses) with a GPA of 2.0 or higher. In addition, they must provide the Advising Center with a transcript of all academic work. Approval will be granted at the Advising Center. The college will determine the applicability of any transferred credit to academic programs within the college. All transfer students will enter under the catalog in force at the time of transfer. The last 30 hours prior to graduation must be completed at Texas Tech.

Final 30 Credit Hours. The final 30 semester credit hours of a degree program must be completed with Texas Tech enrollment. Credit for courses taken without prior approval from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs may not be applied to degree program requirements.

Degree Plan and Intention to Graduate. Students declare their major upon entering the College of Media & Communication. Students must file a degree plan declaring the major before completing 45 hours of coursework. Students may file an online application to graduate with their college by the semester prior to their intended graduating semester. The online application can be found at the MyTech tab at raiderlink.ttu.edu.

Other general rules for all students, regardless of major, enrolling in media and communication courses are as follows:

The student must have passed the prerequisite course with a grade of C or better when enrolling in an upper-level course (3000 or above).
Students who make less than a grade of C in a media and communication core course or a course required in a media and communication major-minor sequence must repeat and pass the course with a grade of C or better prior to graduation or prior to taking any course for which this course is a prerequisite.
All students must check course prerequisites at the end of the semester before enrolling in required writing classes or enrolling in an internship or practicum in their major.
Any student wishing to enroll in JOUR 2310 must pass the college’s Basics of Writing exam with a grade of 70 or higher, complete ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 with at least a grade of C, and have a 2.5 TTU GPA prior to enrolling in JOUR 2310 .
No course may be repeated for credit unless so designated.
No course required by the college may be taken pass/fail unless required by a media and communication major-minor sequence.
Prerequisites are governed by the catalog in effect at the time the course is taken.
Students in majors in the college must take the following core courses: MCOM 1300 , MCOM 1301 , and MCOM 2350 . Students are also required to take two department-level global communication elective courses (students may also substitute any college level foreign language in which a grade of C or higher was earned) and complete six hours of Communication Literacy courses from their major in the College of Media & Communication.
Sophomore standing (at least 30 hours) is required for entry into 3000-level courses in the college if prerequisites are not stated.
Students with majors in the College of Media & Communication are not required to declare a minor. Although not required, students in the College of Media & Communication can choose to declare a minor either within the college or from outside the college.
Students who register for a course in which they have not passed the prerequisite with a grade of C or better will be dropped from the course.
Courses listed for majors in the college may be counted toward fulfilling the college’s general degree requirements (including university core requirements).

Teacher Education. Students who want to teach journalism in secondary schools must complete a degree in journalism and take the necessary courses in the College of Education to be certified to teach. Students should contact the Teacher Certification Office in the College of Education. The following courses constitute the required courses from the journalism secondary teaching field: JOUR 2300 , JOUR 2310 , JOUR 3312 , JOUR 3350 , JOUR 3380 , JOUR 3390 , JOUR 4350 , JOUR 4370 , 3-hour journalism elective; PHOT 2310 ; MCOM 1300 , MCOM 3300 , and MCOM 3320 . Passing the Basics of Writing exam with a grade of 70 or higher, ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 with at least a grade of C, and having a 2.5 TTU GPA is required prior to enrolling in JOUR 2310 .

Minors. The college offers minors in advertising, communication studies, creative media industries, journalism, media strategies, and public relations. The requirements for each minor are discussed in the catalog section of the supervising department.

General Degree Requirements

Requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts apply to all baccalaureate degrees offered through the college unless specifically shown to the contrary.

Bachelor of Arts. The curriculum established for this degree is designed to provide the foundation for media and communication courses through a well-rounded study of digital and social media, global communication, and oral and written communication, as well as courses in creative arts, history, mathematics, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences. It also provides the factual basis and insights requisite for specialized study and professional work in these fields.

General Requirements. See “Undergraduate Credit by Examination” in the Undergraduate Admissions section of this catalog for information on credit provided by test scores to meet these requirements. Students must take the specified number of hours in the areas listed below. Except for the multicultural requirement, a course may not be counted in two different areas of the general requirements but may be counted in both general requirements and major requirements.

Semester Hours
English		6
	The 6 hours of English must consist of ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 .
Oral Communication		3
	Select COMS 2300 , COMS 2358 , MCOM 2310 , or from other courses on the core curriculum requirements approved list.
Foreign Language/Global Communication		9-13
	Texas Tech University policy is that any entering student who has not completed two years (four semesters) of a single foreign language in high school, or has not transferred at least two semesters of a single foreign language from another college, must complete at least two semesters or its equivalent of a single foreign language at the first-year college level as a graduation requirement. Students who did not complete two years of foreign language in high school will complete the following requirement: Complete first-year foreign language requirement (10 hours) with a C or better, and earn a C or better in MCOM 2350 . International students whose native language is not English and who graduated from a secondary school in their native country may satisfy the language option by bringing their certificate of graduation to the college advising center. Credit by examination through the language laboratory is available for the following languages: French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Students who petition to complete the foreign language requirement via study abroad through a non-Texas Tech affiliated program will agree to have foreign language credit applied to their degrees based on scores of a language placement test administered by the language laboratory upon their return from the study abroad. Approval must be received in advance from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs. Students who have met the minimum university foreign language requirement can choose to complete 9 hours of Global Communication credits (3 hours are fulfilled by MCOM 2350 ). Global communication courses include MCOM 2350 , ADV 4313 , COMS 3332 , CMI 3355 , CMI 3358 , JOUR 3370 , PRSC 4351 , any approved international-focused special topics course, any course taken as a Study Abroad and any foreign language course taken at the college level (earning a minimum of a C or higher). Study Abroad and special topics courses must have department chair and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs approval at least one semester prior to enrolling in the course.
Mathematics		6
	All mathematics courses 1300 and above (excluding junior and senior level) may be used. Only one of MATH 1300 , MATH 1320 , and MATH 1420 may apply. Only one of MATH 1330 and MATH 1430 may apply. PHIL 2310 or PHIL 4310 may be used to satisfy 3 hours of this requirement. The following courses from the core curriculum may not be used: IE 2341 , MUTH 3303 , and SOC 3391 . MATH 2300 or MATH 2345 is required for all advertising, creative media industries, journalism, media strategies or public relations and strategic communication management majors. Communication studies majors may take any two math credits that fulfill state of Texas core requirements.
Life and Physical Sciences		8
	Two courses including matching labs must be selected from the Life and Physical Sciences list in the core curriculum options.
Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
	All majors in the College of Media & Communication can complete this requirement with COMS 1301 , COMS 1310 , MCOM 1300 , MCOM 1301 , or other university-approved Social and Behavioral Science course. Please refer to department graduation requirements for other courses.
United States History		6
	Students may choose from HIST 2300 , HIST 2301 , or HIST 2310 .
United States and Texas Government		6
	Students will enroll in POLS 1301 and POLS 2306 . For more information, see the Department of Political Science section of this catalog. One course must be taken from a Texas college or university.
Language, Philosophy, and Culture		3
	Fulfilled by MCOM 2330 , COMS 2310 , or other university-approved Language, Philosophy, and Culture course. Please refer to department graduation requirements for elective courses.
Creative Arts		3
	Fulfilled by MCOM 2301 or other university-approved Creative Arts course. Please refer to department graduation requirements for elective courses
Multicultural Requirement		3
	Fulfilled by MCOM 2350 or other university-approved Multicultural course.

Major and Electives. In addition to the above requirements, students must take major and elective courses to total a minimum of 120 semester credit hours (40 of which must be upper-level junior/senior to meet the university graduation requirement). Students will be required to complete a minimum of 39 hours (33 hours for Communication Studies majors) for their major subject, including 6 hours of courses in communication literacy. At least 18 hours of the major subject must be in courses at the junior/senior level. Students are expected to develop a degree plan no later than the second semester of the sophomore year. Forms and information are available in the Advising Center. No more than 8 hours may be counted in applied music and/or music ensemble.

Graduate Program

For information on graduate programs offered by the College of Media & Communication, visit the Graduate Programs section of the catalog.

Undergraduate Program Offerings & Course Descriptions

Courses

MCOM - Mass Communications (Undergraduate Courses)