Undergraduate Concentrations

JTC majors select one of our five concentrations for the course of their studies in the department. Each concentration trains students with the skills and knowledge they will need to build a career. For general information about the major, please see the undergraduate studies page.

    computer-mediated | news-editorial | public relations | specialized | tv news and video

Computer-Mediated Communication Concentration

• Focus: The Computer-Mediated Communication concentration prepares students for digital communication specialties in many different media environments. CMC students gain a theoretical understanding of computer-based communication concepts, and develop expertise in the uses and applications of communication-related hardware and software.
• Career Opportunities: Students in this concentration may take positions in such computer-based specialties as multimedia design, digital imaging or video, or digital media content development. Other options include Web site development for news media or public relations.
• Suggested minors/option areas/second majors: Business, Computer Information Systems, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Natural Resources, History, Information Science & Technology, Ethnic Studies. These should be discussed with your adviser.
• Current CMC checksheet

News-Editorial Concentration                                                                                  back to top

• Focus: Students in the News-editorial concentration learn critical thinking and applied skills to prepare for careers with newspapers, magazines, business publications, newsletters and online publications. Courses in the concentration focus on news writing and reporting, copy editing, publication design, and online journalism. Course assignments take students from concepts to finished products as they learn techniques for gathering information, evaluating data, and presenting material in style and formats appropriate for general and specialized readerships. Accuracy, fairness and responsibility are core values in each course.
• Career Opportunities: Students graduating from this concentration often become newspaper, magazine and newsletter writers and editors, photojournalists, online journalists, columnists and publication designers.
• Suggested minors/option areas/second majors: Political Science, History, Sociology, English, Economics, Health and Exercise Science (for sports writers), Ethnic Studies, Psychology or Business. These should be discussed with your adviser.
• Current News-Ed checksheet

Public Relations Concentration                                                                                back to top

• Focus: The Public Relations Concentration prepares students for careers as professional communicators in corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and government institutions. Public relations professionals counsel management and organize programs to provide information and build relationships between organizations and their constituencies, including consumers, employees, investors, government agencies and the community. The concentration emphasizes a strategic approach to public communications programs, focusing on media. Specialties include media relations and public information, publications writing and design, and on-line and multimedia production.
• Career Opportunities: Graduates are employed as agency account executives, public information officers, marketing or development coordinators, publication and on-line writers and editors, and media relations specialists.
• Suggested minors/option areas/second majors: Students should discuss with an adviser the potential areas within Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences and Business. The Economics course requirement may instead be used in Core Curriculum Category IIIC (Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement). Business provides limited access to students outside of the College of Business. These business courses are generally available to JTC students: CIS 150, ACT 205, BUS 205, FN 305, MKT 305, MGT 305. Students are encouraged to consider a minor in business. Students satisfying this requirement with business courses still have to meet the overall requirement of 65 credits in Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, which may mean extra coursework. These should be discussed with your adviser.
• Current PR checksheet

Specialized & Technical Communication Concentration                                          back to top

• Focus: Students in the Specialized Communication Concentration typically share their interest in communication with interest in a specialized technical or science area. They learn to produce specialized technical information useful to diverse audiences. Such information can be related to health, environment, biological and physical sciences, business and economics, computer and information sciences, or a range of other specialties. This flexible concentration enables students to learn to write, edit, and produce such specialized content for magazines and other publications, manuals, Web sites, electronic and other media. The unique feature of this concentration is its emphasis on greater student knowledge of a specialized content area so that graduates can communicate more effectively about that area. Students choose a 21-credit option area in the area of their interest or complete a second major in the specialized area.
• Career Opportunities: Typically, graduates of the specialized communication concentration are employed in agricultural, business, environmental, health, information technology, and related fields. They work as environmental communicators, health and medical communicators, science writers and editors, magazine writers and editors, Web and multimedia designers, technical writers and editors and related positions. In these positions, graduates explain and translate specialized information for specific and general audiences.
• Suggested minors/option areas/second majors: Agricultural Sciences; Business; Engineering; Forestry and Natural Resources; Applied Human Sciences; Ethnic Studies; Veterinary Medicine; Biomedical Sciences; Economics; Natural Science, Computer Information Systems. These should be discussed with your adviser.
• Current Specialized Communication checksheet

Television News and Video Communication Concentration                                     back to top

• Focus: The Television News and Video Communication concentration prepares students for careers in television writing, producing, camera work and video editing. Students learn the techniques and practices necessary to create quality, information-based television programming for genres such as television news, sports, documentary and corporate video. Students also learn to critically evaluate content, style and use of the television medium. The concentration focuses first on basic production techniques, expanding into specific courses where students develop production expertise and learn how to tailor programming for specialized audiences.
• Career Opportunities: Students graduating from this concentration often become television news reporters, anchors, photographers, producers and editors; sports television producers and managers; producers for corporate video departments; and video freelancers who work in a wide range of television arenas.
• Suggested minors/option areas/second majors: Political Science; History; Economics; Business; Speech Communication; Computer Information Systems. These should be discussed with your adviser.
• Current TV/Video checksheet