University of St. Thomas

When asked what one word best describes the journalism and communication studies major at St. Thomas, a faculty member responded, “dynamic.”

A real student asks:

 

If I want to specialize in advertising, do I have to write jingles?

A journalism and communication studies faculty member responds: No. Advertising is much bigger than jingles or slogans.  Those messages, which are readily apparent to public audiences, are just one part of an entire advertising effort. If you specialize in advertising, you’ll learn how to plan an entire campaign, which includes learning how to conduct the research that determines the target audience for a product, how to develop a strategy to reach that target audience through a variety of media venues, how to develop the creative tactics (slogans, copy, visual images, sound) that achieves the goals of the strategy, how to budget and buy the appropriate media space and time, and how to work effectively with the advertising clients on whose behalf you are developing the campaign. So even if you end up wanting to write jingles, you’ll have been educated in our department about the whole advertising process.

A real student asks:

 

If I want to specialize in broadcast journalism, do I have to look good on camera?

A journalism and communication studies faculty member responds: No. Some broadcast journalists want to appear on camera as on-air reporters or anchors, but many don’t. Many broadcast journalists find behind-the-scenes work challenging. They like producing and directing newscasts, shooting and editing video or sound for on-air packages, writing and posting streaming video and text to a TV station’s web site, or working as news directors and managers who determine where to send reporters and videographers to cover specific stories. If you decide to do on-camera work after you leave our department, you’ll have crucial skills in reporting, editing and writing, and you’ll be more than a pretty face on TV--you’ll be a thoughtful journalist.

A real student asks:

 

If I want to specialize in print journalism, will I spend my time solving crimes and reporting from exotic locations?

A journalism and communication studies faculty member responds: Probably not. While some reporters specialize in covering crimes and telling stories about them, they are not police officers who investigate crimes. And while some reporters are posted around the world in many hot spots, far more reporters work in local communities. Wherever you end up as a reporter, you’ll need to be able to uncover facts and place them in an accurate, responsible context, interview people, tell their stories and ultimately give the public information it needs to know. That’s what we’ll teach you in our department.

A real student asks:

 

If I want to specialize in corporate communication or public relations, do I have to plan parties?

A journalism and communication studies faculty member responds: No. Corporate communication specialists and public relations specialists do sometimes have to plan and execute special events, but those events are merely one tactic in a larger array of strategies that these professionals employ. Public relations professionals need to know how to reach specific communities of people, how to advocate clearly to those communities on behalf of clients’ and organizations’ interests, how to make a client understand the needs of the public and how to plan and conduct a communication campaign. If you specialize in public relations in our department, we’ll help you develop that array of skills.

What jobs are possible with a Journalism and Communication Studies major?

What are recent graduates doing now?

Mesa Johnson ’06, media studies/print journalism minor, proposal editor at a benefits management consulting firm. Johnson writes, edits and manages proposals and other client-facing documents.

Jessica Vogt, ’06, advertising, account manager at BVK, a fully-integrated advertising agency in Milwaukee, Wisc. Vogt works mostly in healthcare marketing, acting as a liaison between the client, the media department and the creative department in developing TV and radio spots, outdoor boards, microsites, direct mail and other advertising.  

Amanda Lutz ’04, broadcast journalism/communication studies double major, producer at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Lutz works behind the scenes on the station’s morning shows, writing stories and helping to put newscasts together from top to bottom. 

What opportunities are there to bolster my resume while I'm in the program?

Internships. We encourage you to complete at least one internship. While we don’t currently require all our students to complete internships, most of them do. We know that internships can provide important ways for students to put their developing communication and journalism skills to use on real-world projects. Internships also can help students learn what they don’t want to do after graduation. Because we’re in a major media market here in the Twin Cities, with a wide array of news organizations, advertising and public relations agencies, and nonprofit organizations, our students can do internships year round. We maintain a constant posting of internship opportunities and encourage our students to apply for them.

We also encourage our students not to overlook the value of internship-type experience that they can get on campus by working on our weekly student newspaper, The Aquin, our monthly TV news magazine show, “Campus Scope” or our internet radio station, KUST. The important practical skills learned on these student media can help boost your internship application in the professional community.

And finally, we encourage our students to remember the value of professional networking that comes with membership in our student clubs, which are the Ad Club, the Communication Club, the Public Relations Student Society of America and the Society of Professional Journalists. Each of these clubs presents guest speakers, mentors, panel discussions and so on that offer students an entrée into the professional community.

Study abroad. We’ve regularly offered several short-term study abroad courses taught by our own faculty. For example, in January 2008, our faculty is teaching Visual Communication in Italy, Multicultural Communication in Organizational Settings in Hawaii, Culture and Communication in Post-Apartheid South Africa and Gender, Race and Mass Media in London.

In addition, our students frequently study on semester-long programs. They go to England, Australia, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, you name it. They can typically find at least one course to transfer back to our program and take the rest of their courses as electives or as requirements for a double major or general education core.

Faculty at work

Our professors serve as advisers to our student media and our student clubs, and they serve as academic advisers to our majors, who talk with faculty about courses, internships and career goals. In addition, our professors may work with students on independent study projects that require intensive research.