Goodbye Thesis Paper! Hello Senior Project!

The Communications Department has collectively decided to make a few changes to the COM 490 courses for seniors in the past year as part of the rollout of the department's new curriculum. This shift was a collective decision among the Communications Department faculty to provide students with applicable skills and a body of work to enter the workforce. The intent is to prepare students for what may come after graduation as they embark into the field of their choice, whether it be journalism, television, film, media, advertising or public relations.

One of the ways the Communications Department prepares its majors for their professions after graduation is by revamping the COM 490 Senior Seminar course from a research paper as a culminating activity to COM 490 Senior Project, where students now complete a digital portfolio that highlights their work.

According to former Assistant Professor Dr. Linda Dam, who taught the COM 490 course for AD/PR majors, part of the motivation to change the course requirements for COM 490 was a result of hearing the experiences of alumni students after they left CSU Dominguez Hills, many of whom indicated that they would have been better served to have certain skills and a portfolio than a research paper for getting into the workplace.

"The thesis paper gave students the opportunity to focus on one singular project, to really work on their writing and researching skills," Dr. Dam said. "[But] it was not as applicable as picking up more skills."

In the COM 490 Senior Seminar class, students worked the entire semester on one research project and wrote a thesis paper. While this form of academic writing was a useful exercise, it was more applicable for students going on to graduate school.

According to Assistant Professor Dr. Brant Burkey, who teaches the senior project class for Journalism students, the Communications Department decided that more students needed applied skills to prepare them for careers in their field since fewer Communications students go directly to graduate school after graduating from CSUDH. Dr. Burkey also indicated that the new COM 490 Senior Project class provides students with a whole new range of applicable skills and experience as they create portfolios that can demonstrate to potential employers what their strengths are.

"The main idea is that students would be better suited to compete in the media marketplace with a portfolio of professional caliber work to show than an academic research paper," Dr. Burkey said.

Students can now create digital portfolios that showcase the work they've done on strategic campaigns, news feature packages, or other media projects. This might include projects they work on in this class or from their internships, clubs, publications, or other organizations they may have created content for outside the class.

For example, Journalism students are expected to create for the class a news feature package that includes an in-depth article, a podcast, and a video all related to a specific social justice issue but they may also include stories they've written for The Bulletin in their portfolios.

Another component of the project is for students to identify companies where they might want to work and tailor their professional cover letters and resumes accordingly.

"I did not learn to tailor my cover letter in full until taking this class," said graduating senior Esmeralda Huerta. "It is beneficial and something new, and I feel like every student should leave here knowing how to do that."

Students are also encouraged to leverage their social media networks and develop a professional Web presence as they prepare to enter a variety of media industries. Additionally, in the Journalism section of the senior project, students also complete an exit exam and present their final projects and portfolios to professional journalists on the advisory board as part of the accreditation process.

"I work closely with my students so that they are prepared for the realities of the journalism field," Dr. Burkey said. "I want them to know how to develop story ideas, pitch those ideas, find sources, conduct interviews, research their topics, and be able to present those ideas from different angles, using different storytelling techniques, across a variety of media platforms."

According to both Dr. Dam and Dr. Burkey, the hope is that our majors will now be better prepared to show they are well rounded media professionals capable of producing content in different formats and prepared for whatever their industries of choice throw at them. In essence, this class is intended to be a springboard for students into the "real world."

"Journalism students can no longer just get by knowing how to write well," Dr. Burkey said. "They also need to be able to create podcasts, videos, blogs, and engage with their audiences via social media. But whether you're a Journalism major or you're in FTVM or AD/PR, we, as faculty, want to make sure you have all the tools in your belt you'll need to succeed."