About the Department
The
present Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of
Maine was established in 1994 by the merger of the former Departments of
Speech Communication and Journalism & Mass Communication. With 12 full
time faculty and over 375 undergraduate and graduate majors, the
department is one of the largest in the College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences. Learn more about the history of our department.
Mission Statement
The Department's primary educational mission is to offer challenging
liberal arts degree programs that include the personal and professional
practices and the social contexts of communication, mass communication,
and journalism. Through the study of human communication we seek to
understand and to improve the human condition. The Department fulfills
this liberal arts mission through its undergraduate programs in
Communication, Mass Communication, and Journalism, and through its
graduate programs in Communication and Mass Communication.
Communication
The communication curriculum prepares undergraduate and graduate
students for communication in the twenty-first century. The
B.A. degree prepares students in the theory, research, and
pragmatics of communication, whether the communication occurs between
persons, in small groups or organizations, or in public and aesthetic
contexts. The M.A. program, based in both the rhetorical and social
science traditions in communication, prepares students for independent
and active approaches to seeking, critiquing, and creating knowledge
about communication processes and practices. Both the B.A. and M.A.
programs provide a broad foundation for advanced study and for
employment as communication specialists.
Mass Communication
Firmly grounded in the liberal arts, the undergraduate Mass
Communication degree provides students with the background in history,
legal, regulatory, ethical, and management issues necessary for a career
in the media and for graduate study. The program prepares students for a
career in the media and for graduate study in mass communication, law,
and the social sciences. The graduate M.A. program prepares students for
professional management leadership positions in mass communication and
for further graduate work in the discipline, in law, and in related
disciplines.
Journalism
The undergraduate Journalism major offers students strong oral and
written expression skills, a firm grasp of public affairs, and a broad
foundation in the liberal arts. The program also encourages media
literacy and productive relations with media institutions The Journalism
degree requires coursework to be completed in one of three
sequences—Advertising, Broadcast Journalism, News Editorial—that prepare
students for broadcast news, advertising and journalism careers in Maine
and nationwide. The major also prepares students for graduate study in
related communication fields, law, the humanities and social sciences.
