Degrees Offered:
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Concentrations:
- Audio Recording
- Broadcast Video
- Journalism
- Public Relations
Mass Communications Degree
Overview
Barton’s Mass Communications program offers pre-professional training that prepares students for entry-level positions in specific industries and for graduate school. The program features four areas of concentration: Audio Recording Technology, Broadcast/Video Production, Journalism, and Public Relations. And because these four areas share many courses, completing two concentrations — and enhancing your marketability — is easy.
Minors
Non-majors can earn a minor in one of the four concentration areas: Audio Recording Technology, Broadcast/Video Production, Journalism, and Public Relations. The general requirement for a minor is completion of 21 semester hours of designated courses for each concentration area. Please contact the Department of Communication and Performing Arts for more information.
Special Features
Students will spend at least three semesters in practicum courses gaining hands-on work experience in their area of concentration. You may find yourself running sound for on-campus theatre productions, producing shows in our on-campus television studio, or working on the campus newspaper.
Concentrate in Audio Recording Technology, and you’ll be recording and mixing music in the professional Sara Lynn Riley Kennedy Recording Studio, which offers a large format analog console, and a full complement of microphones and processors. You will become proficient in operating Pro Tools on our digital audio workstations as you build skills for a career in the music, film, television, and video game industries.
Broadcast/Video Production students utilize the production facilities of WEDT, Barton College’s educational television station. The WEDT studio, Phyllis Parish Howard Control Room, and editing labs feature updated equipment, cameras, computers, and software. Student productions include news shows, public affairs shows, special programs, and dramatic shorts. These productions are broadcast on the Time Warner cable system in Wilson.
Students in the Journalism concentration will be directly on the front lines of news gathering and writing through participation in the campus newspaper, The Collegiate, using industry-standard computers and software to prepare for employment upon graduation. Students will also be trained in using the Internet and social media as part of multimedia news delivery. Internships at area newspapers and frequent classroom visits from journalism professionals enhance the student’s networking opportunities.
Students in the Public Relations concentration will develop practical skills that will help you pursue a career in the professional communications industry. Specifically, students will learn the values and ethics of public relations, how to write for public relations, and the strategic planning and execution of public relations campaigns.
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Course Information
As an Audio Recording Technology student, you’ll take courses such as Recording Technology, Digital Audio Production Techniques, and Audio for Film and Video.
Broadcast/Video Production classes include Video Production, Broadcast Scriptwriting, Audio for Film and Video, and Broadcast Journalism.
Journalism includes introductory and advanced courses in news gathering, writing, reporting, and editing.
Public Relations students will take courses in Public Relations Writing, Principles of Public Relations, Public Relations Strategies and Campaigns, and Public Relations Case Studies.
Upper-level courses include Law and Ethics in Mass Media and the Senior Seminar course, which requires completion of a capstone project. The Senior Seminar additionally assists you with interviewing skills and writing your résumé — just what you need if you’re preparing to enter graduate school or searching for a job.
Internships
An internship is the single most important step toward employment. That’s why you’re required to complete an internship as part of your degree.
Audio recording students have recently interned at:
- Black Lodge Recording, Eudora, Kansas
- IMI, Ivey Music International, Nashville, Tennessee
- Mill West Studios, Fayetteville
- Osceola Recording Studios, Raleigh
- Radio Express, Inc., Burbank, California
- Sea Note Recording, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Broadcast/video students have interned at many North Carolina commercial and public television stations. These include:
- WNCT in Greenville
- WLFL in Raleigh
- WNCN in Raleigh
- WRAZ in Raleigh
- WUNC in Raleigh
- WITN in Washington
Journalism students have recently interned at:
- The Wilson Daily Times
- The Arts Council of Wilson
- The Spring Hope Enterprise
- The Kenly News
- The Selma News
Clubs and Organizations
Barton sponsors a chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists, a national organization that recognizes scholastic achievement for majors in all four mass communications concentrations.