American University School of Communication
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1893 as Department of Communication. 1984 becomes School of Communication. Independent of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1993 |
Parent institution | American University |
| Dean | Jeff Rutenbeck |
Academic staff | 62 full-time[1] |
| Students | 1,350 (2017-2018)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 763 (Fall 2015)[3] |
| Postgraduates | 337 (Fall 2015)[3] |
| Location | Washington, District of Columbia, United States |
| Campus | Urban |
| Nickname | SOC |
| Website | https://american.edu/soc |
The School of Communication at American University is accredited 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 housed in the College of Arts and Sciences).
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 faculty teach courses ranging from web design to Race, Ethnic and Community reporting. SOC's Investigative Reporting Workshop offers additional expertise.
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 specialize in investigative, international or broadcast journalism. A Master's degree can be earned through the weekday 11-month program or the weekend Interactive Journalism program that takes 20 months of Saturday-only classes.
Film and media arts
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. Students' thesis projects have gone on to win Student Academy Awards and CINE Eagle Awards.
Public communication
The American University's Public Communication degree program teaches how to target an audience, how to create a compelling message, how to write persuasively, in a world of new media and new technology. SOC's Public Communication alumni include speechwriters, press secretaries, media strategists, crisis communicators, Hollywood agents, sports marketers, public diplomacy experts, nonprofit leaders, advertising executives, and public relations professionals.
Communication 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.
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
- Jarrett Bellini, American writer and humorist
- Jim Brady, editor-in-chief, Digital First Media
- Alisyn Camerota, anchor and correspondent, Fox News
- Barry Josephson, president, Josephson Entertainment
- Michael Kempner, president and chief executive officer, The MWW Group
- Rick Leventhal, senior correspondent, Fox News
- Barry Levinson, writer, director, and Producer, Baltimore Pictures
- Giuliana Rancic, host, E! News
Notable faculty
- Sanford J. Ungar, former Dean of American University School of Communication and President of Goucher College
- Russell Williams II, American production sound mixer, two-time Academy Awards winner for Best Sound
- Patricia Aufderheide, scholar and public intellectual on media and social change, expert on fair use in media creation and scholarship.
- Chris Palmer (film producer), world-renowned environmental and wildlife producer, director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University.
- Laura DeNardis, American author and globally recognized scholar of Internet governance and technical infrastructure, tenured Professor and Associate Dean at American University School of Communication.
- Charles Lewis, investigative journalist based in D.C., founder of The Center for Public Integrity, and current executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University School of Communication.
References
- ↑ "American University School of Communication Full-Time Faculty". Retrieved February 14, 2018.
- ↑ "25th Anniversary of the School of Communication". February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- 1 2 "SOC by the Numbers". August 11, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2018.