Communication and Media Studies

The Communication and Media Studies (CMS) program prepares students for success in a diversity of careers across industries, including public relations, advertising, journalism, and digital media.  

The program also offers courses across the communication curriculum, equipping students with analytical skills, communicative excellence and broad exposure to the liberal arts, including history, literature, theatre, philosophy and language. 

The abilities to write and speak well, think critically about differing media and modes of communication, and recognize written, visual, and multimedia texts are the types of broad-based, flexible skills enrich graduates’ lives. Additionally, these same skills offer graduates the tools they need to thrive in professions revolutionized by rapidly evolving and digital media technologies. 

Program Overview and Learning Outcomes 

The Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies equips graduates with a solid theoretical and historical understanding of human communication, combined with practical skills in professional writing and speaking. 

Graduates of the B.A. program in Communication and Media Studies will demonstrate the following abilities: 

1. Communicate effectively using multiple channels of communication; 
2. Conduct primary and secondary research on media products and communicative practices;
3. Critically analyze the aesthetic dimensions and layered meanings of past and present communication and media products;
4. Understand theoretical perspectives on communication, media and global culture;
5. Apply media aesthetics to the production of communication vehicles using appropriate technologies; and,
6. Demonstrate an understanding of ethical theories, professional standards and legal constraints in communication and media environments. 

Industry Outlook 

Where are Clayton State University’s CMS graduates today? You can find them covering stories for the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, working for Cox Media Group, starting their own video production company, rising through the ranks at a local public relations agency, serving their local communities in the nonprofit or public sectors, or attending graduate school. 

As a Communication and Media professional, you might end up working in television or radio broadcasting, music production, advertising, or public relations; writing for a newspaper or magazine; designing social media marketing campaigns; leading training workshops; or managing sales or human resources departments. 

Contact Us

Dr. Jason Lee Guthrie, Program Coordinator