College of Media & Communication

About the College
Departments, Program Offerings & Undergraduate Course Descriptions

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D., Dean

103 Media and Communication | Box 43082
Lubbock, TX 79409-3082 | www.depts.ttu.edu/comc
T 806.834.1644 | 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 six 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 two master’s degree programs and a doctoral degree in mass communications. Because of the graduate program options, students also have the opportunity to earn a B.A. and 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, 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 six majors.

Degree Programs

The college supervises the following degree programs:

Bachelor of Arts in Advertising
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Media and Communications
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism
Bachelor of Arts in Media Strategies
Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations
Master of Arts in Communication Studies
Master of Arts in Mass Communications
Master of Arts in Strategic Communication and Innovation (online only)
Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communications

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 and present ACT or SAT scores when entering the college. 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 Undergraduate Academics section of this catalog. Students should consult with an advisor in the Advising Center in Media and 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 a part of the course load. Course loads in excess of 19 hours require approval by the associate dean for undergraduate affairs. The maximum course load for a student on probation is 16 hours.

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. However, if they later transfer to another institution or another college at Texas Tech and then desire readmission to the college, they will use the catalog in effect when they are readmitted. For graduation purposes, a catalog expires after seven years, at which time the current catalog becomes the catalog in effect.

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, adjunct, minor, or teaching field requirements for any degree program.

Grading Practices. The college conforms to university grading practices as set forth in the Undergraduate Academics 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. Transfer students must present ACT or SAT scores when entering the college. 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 while enrolled in the college.

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. In addition, the Intention to Graduate form must be submitted upon completion of 80 hours of coursework. Students who have completed 80 or more hours will have a hold placed on their records until they file the Intention to Graduate form.

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).
All adjunct courses required for any major-minor sequence must be passed with a grade of C or better and may not be taken pass/fail.
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.
Journalism majors must pass the college’s grammar, spelling, and punctuation exam prior to enrolling in JOUR 2310 or JOUR 3310 .
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 and complete six hours of Writing Intensive courses from their major
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.
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.

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 3310 , 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 grammar, spelling, and punctuation exam prior to enrolling in JOUR 2310 is required.

Minors. The college offers minors in advertising, communication studies, electronic media and communications, 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 of a media and communication courses through a well-rounded study of digital and social media, global communication, 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 humanities and multicultural requirement, a course may not be counted in two different areas of the general requirements nor may a course be counted in requirements for both a major and a minor (if selected).

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		0-10
	Texas Tech University policy is that any entering student who has not completed two years (four semesters) of 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 have completed two years of a single foreign language in high school or who have transferred in at least two semesters of a single foreign language from another college (and has been approved by the Office of Community College and Transfer Relations at Texas Tech University) have the option of completing the sophomore foreign language requirements or completing 9 hours of media and communication courses in global, international, or intercultural affairs and/or study abroad programs. Students who did not complete two years of foreign language in high school may choose from the following two options: Complete first-year foreign language requirement (6-10 hours), earn a C or higher in MCOM 2350 and earn 6 hours of global communication/experience courses and other international and intercultural courses as offered by the college, and/or 6 hours of study abroad courses offered by the college (courses will vary by year). Complete first-year foreign language requirement (6-10 hours), earn a C or higher in MCOM 2350 and earn 6 hours of sophomore or above foreign language coursework. All coursework should be in a single foreign language. 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. Global communication courses are MCOM 2350 , ADV 4301 (Olympics and Global Promotion), ADV 4313 , COMS 3332 , EMC 3358 , JOUR 3370 , PR 4351 . 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 (except 3430) 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 3341 , MUTH 3303 , and SOC 3391 . MATH 2300 or MATH 2345 is required for all media and communication majors and will satisfy 3 hours of this requirement.
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 , MCOM 1300 or other university-approved Social and Behavioral Science course. Please refer to department graduation requirements for other courses.
United States History		6
	Students will normally enroll in HIST 2300 and HIST 2301 , although any U.S. history course from the core curriculum requirements approved list will satisfy this requirement.
United States and Texas Government		6
	Students will enroll in POLS 1301 and normally in POLS 2302 . 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 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 sufficient to total 120 semester credit hours. Students should have selected their major by the time they are enrolled in MCOM 2320 or JOUR 2310 or have reached 45 hours. They will be required to complete a minimum of 39 hours for their major subject, including 6 hours of intensive writing courses. At least 18 hours of the major subject must be in courses at the juniorsenior 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. Not 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 School section of the catalog.

Texas Tech University Academic Catalog