Focusing on the Future

The Communications Department is launching a series of curriculum changes in both courses and content with the intention of helping better prepare all Communication majors for today's digital landscape, as it is rapidly growing and evolving into an essential component in all media industries.

Many professors in the Communications Department have been utilizing the current digital media landscape as a resource to help find new and interesting ways to educate their students. Assistant Professor Dr. Burkey, who teaches many of the Journalism courses, integrates into his classes a number of ways for students to create digital content across media platforms.

"Today's media professionals need to be multifaceted in their skills so that they are prepared to compete in fields where new programs, applications, and platforms are being used for storytelling in a variety of formats," Dr. Burkey said. "The more we can incorporate activities and assignments that prepare students for what they will face in the industry, the better!"

An obvious example of this is the complete restructuring of the COM 490 capstone class that senior students are required to take. Instead of the traditional 30-page thesis paper assigned to senior students, the new assignment focuses on creating more of a digital presence, where students produce original content and a digital portfolio.

Orel Uda, a Media Studies student graduating in Spring of 2019, was one of many students who feels she is more prepared as a result of taking the new COM 490 course for her professional experience following graduation.

"As a Media Studies major, I had to create a digital portfolio including digital work that I had to edit and produce," Uda said. "I feel like gaining experience in editing and creating original content has helped me get ready for a future in this industry."

Other specialty classes that COM students have taken in recent years have proven to be beneficial beyond just the classroom, giving students the confidence and tools they need in order to be successful in their prospective fields.

For students with a focus on Public Relations and Advertising studies, courses such as COM 366 Public Relations Writing, COM 342 Advertising Strategy and Writing, and COM 467 Integrated Communications Management include content that gives students valuable tools and assignments while providing them with a wealth of implementable knowledge of the public relations and advertising industry.

David Perez, who graduated Spring of 2018, currently works as an Account Executive for a marketing and advertising company called Uptown Treehouse, Inc. Perez found the specialty courses he took were not only practical but also provided him with an indispensable understanding of the marketing and advertising industry.

"As a recent graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills, all my upper division courses focusing on advertising and public relations were beneficial to my current work," Perez said. "The practicality of courses like COM 366 and COM 342 helped build my portfolio in the space, and COM 467 made me put my work into practice. The courses kept building on each other, which in my opinion, blended perfectly, leading up to COM 467, where understanding the structure of an agency, roles and implementation was imperative. Practical work is the key to gaining confidence, and I feel the department is built for advertising and PR students looking to become professionals in that field."

Other COM courses that are designed to prepare Communications students with the skills they need for the digital landscape include COM 106/107, which introduces students to the foundational digital editing, presentational, and organizing programs; COM 110/111, which provides necessary digital media production skills; COM 333 Digital Journalism, which allows students to develop blogs, podcasts, videos, and leverage their social media presence; and even a new digital magazine course, where students will create a digital publication.

Looking towards the future for both the students and the department itself, the Communications faculty continue to successfully anticipate the needs of Communications students in an ever-changing digital environment and put forth every effort to meet and accommodate those needs to ensure the future success for all of its Communications majors as they enter a variety of transforming media industries.