BA in Liberal Studies, Communication and Media

Effectively communicate your passions.

Learn how to harness critical thinking, industry best practices, and expressive talents to increase your opportunities for a career rooted in creative communication. Envision media as an agent of change to understand the profound effect that media of all forms have on today’s society. Develop proficiency in communication media and gain real world experience that will be translatable to a variety of fields. Delve into the narrative process and forms of message distribution while also learning distinctive humanity perspectives through vast array of interdisciplinary courses. These community, societal, and global contexts allow our adult learners to assume a full picture on the complex media environment.

This degree is offered by AU Seattle.

Program Overview

The goal of the Communication & Media concentration is to prepare students to work in fields such as film, education, new and emerging media, community journalism, advocacy and public relations.

Students also acquire the necessary prerequisites for successful graduate study. While students may choose to focus on one area in communication, the concentration encourages cross-disciplinary study. Students are encouraged to develop proficiency in at least one medium of communication, such as video, podcasting, social media, photography, writing or public speaking. Students are also required to gain real-world experience through internships in at least one profession-related communication area, such as media production, journalism, social justice advocacy, community relations or event planning.

Degree Requirements

A Communications and Media concentration requires a minimum of 45 credits. Students take at least one class in each of the six areas of learning listed below. Electives, at least 2 credits of internship/field-based learning, and a senior synthesis project round out the concentration.

1. Communication Media

This area invites students to examine how communication media are transforming cultural, economic, political and interpersonal relationships on a local and global scale. Focusing on macro and theoretical perspectives, students learn about history and the latest trends in interactive, convergent and emerging media. They study how new media technologies have impacted and are impacting social and political change locally, nationally and globally. Sample classes that meet this requirement:

• Communication Media
• Critical Media Studies
• Surveillance

2. Media Studio

These experiential, workshop classes emphasize peer-to-peer, instructor feedback as students gain basic skills in one or more areas in communication media, such as social media, community journalism, graphic design, virtual or augmented reality, podcasting, radio production, filmmaking or some other media-related practice. Courses emphasize critical reflection, analysis of audiences, as well as the strengths and limitations of various media formats. Examples of courses that meet this requirement:

•    Documentary Film
•    Community Voices
•    Citizen Journalism
•    Digital Marketing
•    Designing Communication
•    Digital Cinema
•    Media Writing

3. Theorizing Culture and Difference

Courses that fulfill this requirement analyze culture and difference as reflections of a people’s collective history as well as their respective aspirations for the future within hierarchal structures of inequality and oppression. They sharpen theoretical and practical understanding of unjust power relations in areas such as race, gender, class, and/or sexuality. It is recommended that students enroll in or have already completed Diversity, Power, and Privilege (DPP) before completing this particular concentration requirement. Courses that fulfill this subject area include:

•    Intercultural Communication
•    Translating Gender
•    The African American Experience
•    Civil Rights Tour

4. Community Engagement, Activism and Social Change

Students analyze contemporary social movements as well as the framing and re-framing of issues and ethical choices through the creative use of media. As they learn about the strengths and limitations of various forms of media, they develop actionable communication strategies based on articulated goals, designated audiences, available tools and time. Courses that meet this requirement include:

•    Media for Social Change
•    Community Organizing in Action
•    International Activism
•    Nonviolence, Social Movements and Democracy
•    Narrating Change: Stories for Collection Action

5. Media and Psychology

Media and psychology examines the impacts of traditional and new media on individuals, groups and societies. Courses in this area explore mediated communication using developmental and cognitive psychology, systems theory and studies of media effects on audiences. It is designed for students interested media-related industries such as advertising, publicity, public relations and entertainment, and it is also preparation for studies in education and psychology. Courses that meet this requirement include:

•    Media Psychology
•    Neuropsychology
•    The Physiology of Sight

6. Professional Development Seminar

Courses in this area focus on developing the skills necessary for success in a changing workplace. Sample possibilities are:

•    Interpersonal Communication
•    Grant Writing
•    Web Design
•    Non-Profit Management
•    Triple Bottom Line Accounting & Financial Management
•    Everyday Leadership
•    Human Resource Management

Sample Antioch Electives:

•    Digital Storytelling
•    The Body in Context
•    Books by Hand
•    Place-making and Public Art

Sample Transfer Electives:

•    Video Production
•    Speech Communication
•    Advertising
•    Mass Media and Society
•    Rhetoric and the Arts of Persuasion

Sample Community/Field-Based Learning Experiences:

•    Contribute articles and images to AUS publications and newsletters
•    Write hyper-local stories for community publications and blogs
•    Intern at local radio or television stations
•    Collaborate with organizations on a political or social justice campaign.
•    Intern with companies such as Google, Amazon or Adobe
•    Train with international human rights organizations or NGOs
•    Practicum with a King County juvenile justice program
•    Collaborate with a labor union or community-based organization

Sample Synthesis Projects:

•    Produce, direct and edit a video documentary about Puget Sound
•    Record oral histories of environmental activists for a museum exhibit
•    Design a new online course in literature
•    Develop a strategic communication plan for a nonprofit organization

For detailed curriculum, degree requirements, and course descriptions, please visit the AUS catalog.

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