American University School of Communication

School of Communication
Established	1893 as Department of Communication. 1984 becomes School of Communication. Independent of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1993
Type	Private
Dean	Larry Kirkman
Academic staff	33 full-time[1]
Students	791 (undergraduate)/337 (graduate)
Location	Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Campus	Urban
Nickname	SOC
Website	http://american.edu/soc

The School of Communication at American University is highly regarded for its faculty, facilities, and high professional standards by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. The school offers five undergraduate majors: communication studies, print/broadcast journalism, public communication, visual media, and foreign language and communication media (jointly administered with the College of Arts and Sciences). Interdisciplinary degrees in communication, legal institutions, economics, and government (CLEG, which is housed in the School of Public Affairs) and multimedia design and development (which is houses in the College of Arts and Sciences). The school offers several advanced degrees: the new MA in Media Entrepreneurship, MFA in Film and Electronic Media, MA in Film & Video, MA in Producing for Film & Video, MA in Journalism & Public Affairs (Print/Broadcast/Interactive), MA in Political Communication (offered jointly with the American University School of Public Affairs), MA in International Media (offered jointly with the American University School of International Service) and a 3-year PhD program in Communication Studies.

Departments

Journalism

SOC's journalism and public communication programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). SOC's cutting-edge faculty teach courses from the heady to the hands-on, in everything from basic web design to Race, Ethnic and Community reporting. Academic Centers Investigative Reporting Workshop and J-Lab offer additional expertise and contribute to the School's reputation as a dynamic learning laboratory.

Undergraduates get the basics in web, writing and reporting and work up to courses that could include ethics, law, health reporting and advanced reporting.

Graduate programs dive deeper into policy, politics, Washington or technology. Students produce the American Observer, an online magazine, to showcase newly learned skills. A Master's degree can be earned through the weekday 11-month program or the weekend Interactive Journalism program that takes 20 months of Saturdays.

Film and media studies

SOC's film and media arts program is a member of CILECT, the international association of film and television schools. Faculty include Emmy, Oscar and Sundance award-winners, such as Russell Williams (sound engineer). Students' thesis projects have gone on to win Student Academy Awards and prestigious CINE Eagle Awards.

Public communication

The American University's Public Communication degree program teaches professional skills and strategic thinking. The school teaches how to target an audience, how to create a compelling message, how to write persuasively, how to advocate in a changing world of new media and cutting edge technology. The ability to communicate this way – to communicate strategically – is what our Public Communication program is all about.

The Program's goal is to educate students not only in the most recent trends but in the type of thinking that will set them apart from their peers. SOC's Public Communication alumni include top speechwriters, press secretaries, media strategists, crisis communicators, Hollywood agents, sports marketers, public diplomacy experts, nonprofit leaders, advertising executives, and public relations professionals.

Communications Studies

The Communication Studies division offers interdisciplinary degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, and are intended for students seeking a broad-based, intellectually challenging course of study that will allow them to expand and deepen their understanding of the political, social, cultural, and historical dimensions of the communications disciplines.

The undergraduate program in Communication Studies is a liberal arts-oriented major that draws on the strengths and attributes of the School’s journalism, public communication, and film and media arts curricula. The International Media master’s program is a partnership between the School of Communication and the School of International Service, providing a combination of communication theory, media production skills, and academic research techniques to equip students for professional leadership positions in international and global communication. The Ph.D. program in Communication is an accelerated, interdisciplinary curriculum designed around the intersections of media, technology, and democracy.

Notable alumni

• Barry Josephson, President, Josephson Entertainment
• Susan Zirinsky, Executive Producer, CBS News and 48 Hours
• Michael Kempner, President and Chief Executive Officer, The MWW Group
• Barry Levinson, Writer, Director, and Producer, Baltimore Pictures
• Jim Brady, Editor-In-Chief, Digital First Media
• David Drobis, Chairman Emeritus, Ketchum, Inc.
• Giuliana Rancic, Host, E! News
• Lorraine Cichowski, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Associated Press
• Patrick H. Butler, President and CEO, Association of Public Television Stations
• Alisyn Camerota, Anchor and Correspondent, Fox News Channel

Academic Centers

American University Center for Social Media

CSM showcases ways to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentary films and on the public media environment that support civil society and democracy. In addition to hosting film festivals, conferences and working groups, it maintains a Web site that serves as a clearinghouse of resources for filmmakers, activists and scholars.

Investigative Reporting Workshop

The Investigative Reporting Workshop undertakes significant, original, national and international investigative reporting projects for multimedia publication or broadcast in collaboration with others, and will serve as a laboratory “incubator” to develop new economic models and techniques for conducting and delivering investigative journalism. There is no other university research center in the world examining new models for enabling and disseminating investigative reporting.

J-lab

J-Lab helps journalists and citizens use digital technologies to develop new ways of participating in public life. J-Lab's programs include J-Learning and the Knight Citizen News Network, both of which are Web-based, comprehensive community journalism instruction programs; the McCormick New Media Women Entrepreneurs Project, which provides seed funding and support for original news ideas proposed by women; and New Voices, which provides start-up funding and instruction for pioneering community news ventures in the United States. J-Lab also administers the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism, one of the profession's most prestigious honors.

Center for Environmental Filmmaking

The Center, led by professor Chris Palmer, was founded on the belief that environmental and wildlife films are vitally important educational and political tools in the struggle to protect the environment. The Center’s mission is to train filmmakers to create films and new media that are effective at producing conservation and that are highly entertaining, ethically sound and educationally powerful.

Foreign Correspondence Network

You want to work overseas. Photojournalist, documentary filmmaker, artist-in-residence and Emmy winner Bill Gentile--who has covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Nicaragua--will connect you with SOC alumni working in more than 30 countries.

Community Voice Project

The Community Voice Project is a cross-campus initiative of faculty and students from SOC’s journalism division and the College of Arts and Sciences anthropology department. The Project enhances the academic missions of SOC and CAS while showcasing ways to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. Launched with an initial two-year, $150,000 grant from the Surdna Foundation and the Project is working to grow its financial support. A digital library of the students’ work is being created to serve as a model for other university and non-profit collaborations throughout the country.

Current

AU's School of Communication is the steward of Takoma Park, Md.-based Current newspaper and its Web site Current.org. Current, published continuously since 1982 under the stewardship of WNET, is the sole, editorially independent news medium and forum for public television and radio—including PBS, NPR, and their member stations—an industry that, according to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, reported U.S. gross revenues of $2.6 billion in 2009.

Climate Shift Project

The Climate Shift Project is dedicated to the examination of these challenges, producing interdisciplinary research and independent media. Climate Shift’s network of social scientists, scholars and professionals work with a diversity of organizations and agencies; train students, researchers and leaders; and convene forums and events that engage the Washington, D.C. community.

Notable Faculty

• Patricia Aufderheide
• W. Joseph Campbell
• Laura DeNardis
• Amy Eisman
• Larry Engel
• William Gentile
• Iris Krasnow
• Charles Lewis
• Dotty Lynch
• Kathryn Montgomery
• Matthew Nisbet
• Chris Palmer
• Russel Williams

Facilities

Media Production Center

The Media Production Center is a fully functional digital HD production facility. The facility contains thirteen digital video editing suites, three digital radio production suites, two multi-format AV-enabled classrooms, a computer based newsroom featuring Associated Press' ENPS, a 40'x40' three-camera television studio and a fully provisioned media production equipment checkout room.^[2]

Ed Bliss Broadcast Newsroom

The Ed Bliss Broadcast Newsroom is configured with the Electronic News Production Service, a newswire application, and 19 networked Windows computers.

Digital Video Editing Suites

The Mac based Digital Video Editing Suites are equipped with Final Cut Pro Studio, Avid Media Composer, Sony HDV VTR and a variety of digital media production applications.

Radio Editing Suites

The Radio Editing Suites are equipped with a Mac based audit workstation running Adobe Audition, professional quality microphones, digital and analog playback machines and a professional radio mixing board.

Media Production Equipment Checkout Room

The Equipment Checkout Room offers a variety of professional level film and video, sound and lighting equipment packages.

Photography Lab

The Photography Lab gives students access to a variety of cameras, from 35mm SLR film to large format cameras. The photography facilities also include a darkroom with 15 enlargers to produce film based prints as well as a Mac based digital advanced imaging lab.^[3]

McKinley Hall Renovation

McKinley is slated to become the new home of the American University School of Communication when restoration is completed. Groundbreaking for restoration and construction is scheduled to take place in 2012. The renovated McKinley Hall will contain 55,000 square feet of dedicated School of Communication space featuring an 150 seat theater, a Media Innovations Lab/Converged Newsroom, 6 Digital Imaging Labs and a rooftop terrace.^[4]

Other Programs

Discover the World of Communication

SOC's summer program for high school students interested in learning more about communication and journalism.

Classroom in the Wild

The Center for Environmental Filmmaking's intensive outdoor workshop in beautiful environments around the world, including Florida, the Chesapeake Bay, Alaska, and Costa Rica. Students camp out and learn how to meet the sometimes extreme challenges of natural history field production, including how to prepare and organize a shoot, use filmmaking equipment, record sound, and shoot footage to make a compelling and engaging story—all with minimal environmental impact.

External links

• American University School of Communication
• American University
• Discover the World of Communication
• The Investigative Reporting Workshop
• School of Communication Admissions
• Journalism Program at AU SOC
• Public Communication at AU SOC
• Film and Media Arts at AU SOC
• Center for Social Media
• The Investigative Reporting Workshop
• J-lab
• Center for Environmental Film
• Foreign Correspondence Network
• Current
• Climate Shift Project

Notes

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