School of Communication

School of Communication Programs

Office: 318 Dempster Hall
Telephone: (516) 463-5215
Cliff Jernigan, Interim Dean (until July 14, 2010)
Evan W. Cornog, Dean (as of July 15, 2010)
Susan Murphy, Assistant Dean
Marc Oppenheim, Assistant Dean
School of Communication Web Site

Hofstra University’s School of Communication, committed to the University’s liberal arts tradition, provides the opportunity to explore the world of humanistic inquiry through the interdisciplinary study of all forms of communication processes and institutions. With courses that explore the theoretical and practical nature of communication, the School provides majors with the opportunity to pursue scholarly inquiry and to acquire technical experience. The School’s integrated approach is based on the belief that life in an advanced society demands knowledge of the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business, and technology. Therefore, students are required to take a range of courses outside the major. Reciprocally, the School invites students in other university programs to learn about the impact and relevance of communication and communication systems. The curriculum aims to foster critical thinking; to explore aesthetics; to investigate ethics, humanistic values, and cultural diversity; to encourage originality and creativity; to expose students to current and converging technologies; and to provide the training for leadership in a technological age. With the conviction that the media exist to protect the freedoms of our society, the faculty is committed to a scholarly environment in which theoretical, historical, critical, and technological methodologies help students to question, challenge, and improve all forms of communication. The School strives to produce graduates who are active cultural contributors. To achieve this goal, the School emphasizes creative problem solving, responsible decision making and cooperative learning. Together the faculty and students of the School participate in an ongoing exploration of the roles, purposes, and technologies of communication.

Students should consult the Semester Planning Guide for specific offerings before registering for their programs.

The School of Communication is composed of three departments, as listed below:

Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations

The Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations offers programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in the areas of Journalism , Mass Media Studies and Public Relations with concentrations in Information Graphics, Print Journalism and Broadcast Journalism.

The department is dedicated to a quality liberal arts education and all programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The journalism programs teach critical thinking, research and effective oral and written expression, emphasizing the ethics, laws and history of the profession. The Department seeks to educate individuals for careers as accurate and ethical media professionals, such as reporters, producers, editors, and broadcasters. The Mass Media studies program provides students with historical, analytical and critical skills necessary to pursue a media-related career or to conduct scholarly research in the field and is designed primarily for those considering graduate-level education. The Bachelor of Arts program in Public Relations is designed to equip students with the knowledge, attitudes and skills expected of professionals in the field. The degree curriculum is founded in the liberal arts and incorporates a broad working knowledge of issues that include economics, political science and business.

Radio, Television, Film

The Department of Radio, Television, Film offers programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree can major in Radio Production and Studies , Video/Television , Film Studies and Production and Bachelor of Science students can major in Video/Television , Video/Television and Film , and Video/Television and Business . All programs ground the students in the liberal arts, thereby enabling them to pursue a wide variety of careers and further study. The department’s interdisciplinary approach provides the foundations necessary for opportunities in all aspects of the communication and entertainment industries and for pursuing scholarly research. Students take courses in the history, theory, and aesthetics of the media while also learning the practical and technical components necessary to create and produce material for the media. Each area of the department provides opportunities for personal self-expression, scholarly inquiry and technical mastery. With a commitment to prepare students for the rapidly converging communications of the twenty-first century, the Department of Radio, Television, Film is a site for intellectual inquiry, creative activity, and practical achievements on which liberally educated students can build the future.

Speech Communication, Rhetoric, and Performance Studies

Students in the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric, and Performance Studies explore the symbolic nature of communication and the construction of meaning through verbal and visual languages and embodied performance. Our program combines history, theory, critical practice, and analysis to enhance students’ understanding of the cultural, social, and political dimensions of the communication process. In the tradition of the liberal arts, we prepare students to be critical thinkers and active participants in local, regional, national, and transnational communities.

The program trains students for a variety of professions in business, education, government, and nonprofit organizations. Examples of specific career applications include communication training and development, conflict management, law, image consulting, human resource development, fundraising, political consulting, and campaign management.

Degrees Offered

The School of Communication offers undergraduate programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. (See each department for a listing of individual majors.) The School also offers a Master of Arts degree in Speech Communication and Rhetorical Studies..

Bachelor of Arts

Candidates for graduation from the School of Communication with the degree of Bachelor of Arts must fulfill the following requirements:

Degree Requirements

Candidates for graduation with the degree of Bachelor of Arts must fulfill the following requirements, including:

Semester Hour Requirement
The successful completion of at least 124 semester hours and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in work completed at Hofstra. Candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Journalism , Mass Media Studies , Public Relations , or Speech Communication and Rhetorical Studies must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
Liberal Arts Requirement
At least 94 semester hours (93 hours for the B.A. specialization in Elementary Education and a liberal arts major) of the total must be in liberal arts. Beyond this minimum, the student may elect either nonliberal arts courses or additional liberal arts courses.
There are two requirements that must ordinarily be completed in residence at Hofstra: 15 semester hours in the major field of concentration, and the last 30 semester hours. Students majoring in the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies must complete a minimum of 15 semester hours in the major in residence. Students majoring in the Department of Radio, Television, Film must complete a minmum of 24 semester hours in the major in residence. Students majoring in the Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations must complete a minimum of 33 semester hours in the major in residence. The semester hours in residence for the major need not be included within the last 30 hours.
The fulfillment of the following seven general requirements for the B.A.: NOTE: requirements listed below include options whereby a student may apply courses in one discipline toward several different requirements. No student may use any one course to fulfill more than one general requirement. A single course, however, may be used to satisfy both a general degree requirement and a requirement that is specific to a chosen major or minor.

A. Nine semester hours of distribution courses in the humanities (see Distribution Courses under HCLAS). The nine semester hours must include at least three from the Literature category and at least three from the Arts category. No more than three semester hours of Creative Participation courses may be used to satisfy this requirement.

B. Nine semester hours of distribution courses in the natural sciences and mathematics/computer science (see Distribution Courses under HCLAS). At least three semester hours must be chosen from each category.

C.    Nine semester hours of distribution courses in the social sciences (see Distribution Courses under HCLAS). The nine semester hours must include at least three from the Behavioral Sciences category and at least three from the History, Philosophy, Religion category.

D.   Three semester hours of distribution course credit in the Cross-Cultural category (see Distribution Courses under HCLAS).

E.    Three semester hours of distribution course credit in the Interdisciplinary Studies/Other category (see Distribution Courses under HCLAS). A student may satisfy this requirement with three semester hours of Interdisciplinary Studies course credit or with three semester hours in any other category. However this requirement is satisfied, it is an additional three semester hours to the thirty semester hours required by A-D above.

F.    Satisfactory completion of WSC 1 and WSC 2 . Students entering Hofstra with full credit for WSC 1 and WSC 2 must, during their first semester at Hofstra, take the Hofstra Writing Proficiency Test. Students who do not pass the test are required to complete WSC 40 and retake and pass the Hofstra Writing Proficiency Test.

G.    Completion of level 4 of a foreign language, placement above level 4, or completion of the special language option.

1)    A student who continues the study of a foreign language begun in high school must take the language placement test (administered by the Language Laboratory) to determine placement in the proper level. No student shall receive credit toward graduation for any course below his or her level of placement in that language.

For students continuing the same language studied in high school, successful completion of level 4 of that language will satisfy the foreign language requirement. Students who transfer college credit in a foreign language should continue in the next level which follows that in which they have received credit. If continuing the same language as studied in high school, the foreign language requirement can only be satisfied by completing level 4; if these credits are in a language different from that studied in high school, they may continue to level 4, or the Special Language Option (see below) may apply. International students may satisfy this requirement either by completing ELP 36 or by placing out of the requirement by taking the placement examination in their native language.

2)    Special Language Option:

A student who does not wish to continue the study of a foreign language studied in high school may–by filing a Special Language Option Form–take levels 1 and 2 of a foreign language not previously studied and six semester hours chosen from the following:
       levels 3 and/or 4 of that language;
       levels 1 and/or 2 of any other foreign language not previously studied;
       literature in translation;
       comparative literature;
       linguistics.
Students who wish to use the Special Language Option must file the Special Language Option Form with the Advisement Office. If the student’s high school transcript is not on file, the student must supply one in order to complete the process.

5. The completion of 9 semester hours of School of Communication foundation courses, as follows:

MASS 1 - Mass Media: History and Development
RTVF 1 - Sound and Image Aesthetics
SPCM 1 - (CP) Oral Communication
(See course descriptions, MASS, RTVF and SPCM courses.)

6. The fulfillment of major requirements as listed in this Bulletin under each department. Students must receive a grade of C- or better in all courses applicable to the major. Journalism , Mass Media Studies , Public Relations and Speech Communication and Rhetorical Studies majors must maintain a GPA of 2.5 in all courses applicable to majors.

Bachelor of Science

All students must meet program admission requirements (see majors listed under Radio, Television, Film ). Candidates for graduation must fulfill the following requirements:

The successful completion of at least 124 semester hours and a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in work completed at Hofstra.
At least 72 semester hours must be completed in liberal arts.
There are two requirements that must ordinarily be completed in residence at Hofstra: 24 semester hours in the major field and the last 30 hours. The 24 semester hours need not be included within the last 30 hours.
Fulfillment of the following four general requirements for the B.S.:

A.    Satisfactory completion of WSC 1 and WSC 2 (See University Degree Requirements ) Six semester hours of distribution courses in each of the following three divisional areas (including at least 3 semester hours in each sub-divisional category of each divisional area):

B.   Humanities (6 s.h.)

C.   Natural Science/Mathematics/Computer Science (6 s.h.)

D.    Social Science Distribution (6 s.h.)
The completion of 9 semester hours of School of Communication foundation courses, as follows:
MASS 1 - Mass Media: History and Development
RTVF 1 - Sound and Image Aesthetics
SPCM 1 - (CP) Oral Communication
(See course descriptions, MASS, RTVF and SPCM courses.)
Completion of level 2 of a foreign language or placement above level 2. (Note: a student who continues the study of a foreign language begun in high school must take the language placement test (administered by the Language Laboratory) to determine placement in the proper level. No student will receive credit toward graduation for any course below his or her level of placement in the language. For students continuing the same language studied in high school, successful completion of level 2 of that language will satisfy the foreign language requirement. International students may satisfy this requirement either by completing ELP 36 or by placing out of the requirement by taking the placement examination in their native language.)
The fulfillment of major requirements as listed in the Bulletin under each department. Students must receive a grade of C- or better in all courses applicable to the major.

Minor

A minor in any program in the School of Communication consists of the successful completion of 18 semester hours of courses, chosen under advisement. At least 6 hours must be taken in residence. Additional hours in residence in the minor field are required by the departments of Radio, Television, Film and Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations. Please refer to individual department listings.

Advisement

Freshmen, new transfers, and undecided communication students in the School of Communication are required to meet with the assistant dean for academic advisement in the Dean’s Office, room 318 Dempster Hall. All other declared majors and minors are assigned an academic adviser through their major or minor departments respectively. Students who wish to major or minor within the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric, and Performance Studies should go directly to the department office in Room 400 of the New Academic Building (NAB) to have an adviser assigned. Students are required to meet with their adviser for scheduling of classes for each semester. Academic advisers are available throughout each semester to answer questions, advise with problems, and provide information needed.

WRHU-FM Radio

Hofstra University broadcasts to Long Island and parts of New York City at 88.7 FM, and webcasts to the world at www.wrhu.org. The station is on the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and reaches a target audience of almost four million people. With an operating staff of more than 100 people, WRHU is primarily student-operated. As a cornerstone of the School, WRHU exists to provide quality broadcast training to qualified Hofstra University students. Participation at WRHU is recommended as one of the most effective methods of learning the business of radio broadcasting and audio production while engaging in a practicum that  complements academic classroom learning. Interested students must apply, interview, and be placed into a 10-week, noncredit training class held twice per year. For more information, visit www.wrhu.org.

Hofstra Speech and Debate Team

The Speech and Debate (Forensics) Team offers both School of Communication students and students in other units of the University an opportunity to hone their communication, critical thinking, organizational, research, and interpersonal skills by becoming members of this nationally ranked team. Members of the Speech and Debate Team engage in intercollegiate competition in a variety of individual events. These include public address events such as informative and persuasive speaking, after dinner (humorous) speaking, and impromptu speaking, and performance of literature events, such as performance of prose, poetry, and dramatic literature. The team travels to many universities to compete, including rotating sites around the country for the national championships. Several members of the team have received high accolades, including best speaker in New York State and national champion in persuasive speaking.

Hofstra Media Productions

Hofstra Media Productions (HMP) is Hofstra’s award-winning corporate and broadcast video production department that resides in the School of Communication’s state-of-the-art facility in Dempster Hall. High- visibility projects include the production of television and radio ads. In addition to the broadcast work, content is also produced for distribution by DVD and Web; special event programs are produced here as well. HMP provides real-world experience in pre-production, field, and post- production work by working with a professional staff who are often joined by outside industry professionals. Students are given full hands-on opportunities to hone their skills in producing, production coordination, camera work, lighting, audio, digital editing, and various multimedia software. Equipment includes Digital Betacam, BetacamSP, DVCPro, Mini-DV, DVCam, field prompter system, and lighting equipment. Avid and Discreet Logic round out a full complement of broadcast-quality editing systems. Inquiries may be directed too hvplct@hofstra.edu.

Student Activities

Involvement in student and professional organizations and activities serves to enhance the educational experiences of students in the School of Communication. These include:

Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
Association for Women in Communications (AWC)
Hofstra Television Interactive (HTVI)
Hofstra Entertainment Access Television (HEAT)
The Chronicle (weekly campus newspaper)
Pulse (student magazine)
Lambda Pi Eta (national communication honor society)
Hofstra Association of Black Journalists (HABJ)
Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)
Hofstra Filmmakers Club (HFC)
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)
Professional Organization in Speech Education (P.O.I.S.E.)
Asian-American Journalists Association & Ed 2010

For distinguished professorships, see the Academic Chairs and Distinguished Professorships section of this Bulletin.

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School of Communication