graduate catalog | CCIM | Communications Studies | CICS | Journalism | Telecommunications

 

 


TELECOMMUNICATIONS


www.bsu.edu/tcom

Ball Communication Building 201, 765-285-1480




MASTER OF ARTS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

 

Admission requirements

 

Students may only enter the MA in telecommunications program during fall semester of each academic year. Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School and must have completed the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

In addition, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in (1) written; (2) verbal; (3) visual communication; and (4) relevant computer skills. Proficiency will be demonstrated via submission of a portfolio upon application to the program. At minimum, this portfolio should contain: (1) a cover letter that introduces and explains the contents of the portfolio; (2) an original 1,500-word academic, creative, and/or professional writing sample; (3) a transcript indicating a grade of B or better in an undergraduate oral performance course (e.g., public speaking, broadcast performance, dramatic arts) and a syllabus or course description from that course; (4) an original project that emphasizes skill in visual communication (e.g., Web page design, graphic design, publication design, broadcast design, theatrical design, architectural design); and (5) a list of computer application programs with which the applicant is fluent (above basic e-mailing and word-processing applications). Applicants may include other items that are relevant to telecommunications.

 

Additional Graduate Requirements

 

In addition to successfully completing their course work and a thesis or creative project, students pursuing an MA in telecommunications must fulfill several other requirements: (1) participate in a public exhibition of their thesis or creative project; (2) participate in 10 collateral experiences (of their choice) designed to complement and extend their course work (e.g., training workshops in design and production skills, artist-in-residence events, guest speakers, field trips, video conference); and (3) receive approval of a digitally based, personal narrative that shares the story of their experiences in the telecommunications program.

 

PREFIX   NO    SHORT TITLE     CR HRS

 

TCOM    601   Digt Story 1             3

               610   Creativity                 3

               630   Story Design            3

               660   Intercul Imm            3

               670   Special Proj (1)        3

               690   Dir Study (3-6)        3

 

Research methods, 3 hours from

COMM   602   Quan Resrch (3)

               or

               605   Qual Resrch (3)

               or

JOURN   680   J Comm Resch (3)

TCOM    602   Digt Story 2 (3)        3

 

Research requirement, 6 hours from

THES      698   Thesis (1-6)

               or

               Creative Project (1-6)        6

 

Design requirement, 6 hours from

ICS         667   Video Syst (3)

JOURN   623   Visual Story (3)       

TCOM    634   Int Story (3)             6

 

Production and applications,
6 hours from

COMM   614   Cont Rhet (3)

               650   Comm Train (3)

               690   Seminar Comm (3)

ICS         620   Technol (4)

               642   Reg Research (3)

               660   Human Factor (3)

JOURN   612   Writing Semr (3)

               613   Sem Lit Jrn (3)

               614   Writ Lit Jrn (3)

               615   Inv Rept (3)             

NEWS     585   Adv News Sem (3)

TCOM    632   Digital Prod (3)

               669   Prof Exper (1-3)

               680   Seminar (3-6)           6

                                                    –––––

                                                    39 hrs

Other courses that meet the student needs may be substituted, assuming that the student meets the course prerequisites and is preapproved by the program coordinator. Courses from English, history, theatre, marketing, art, music technology, architecture, and the Teachers College may be particularly useful supplements to the study of telecommunications.

 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS (TCOM)

 

530 Audio Production. (3) Emphasizes techniques and skills needed for audio production. Typical experiences in radio broadcasting. A practical test is part of the final examination, and students are expected to maintain a record of their productions. In addition, graduate students will produce a program for air.

Open only to approved graduate students.

 

601 Foundations of Digital Storytelling 1. (3) Presents the nature of graduate education, including purpose of scholarly activity and the scholarly environment. Explores the storytelling process from concept development to presentation; the history of storytelling; the societal impact and value of storytelling; and the influence of technology on the storytelling process.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

 

602 Foundations of Digital Storytelling 2. (3) Introduces story writing concepts and experiences. Students also select from a range of topics associated with the digital storytelling process, including nonlinear storytelling methods, law and ethics, audience analysis and adaptation, performance studies, interdisciplinary approaches to storytelling and development, animation, and gaming.

Prerequisite: TCOM 601; permission of the program coordinator.

 

610 Approaches to Creativity. (3) Examines techniques for developing creative ideas. Students will imagine, innovate, and create experiential presentations and mediated works. Students are encouraged to be risk-takers and learn from the failure of their creative endeavors.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

 

630 Story Design and Development. (3) Examines various approaches to the story- creation process. Emphasizes the practice of storywriting for various genres. Students will participate in a community service project that involves the creation of digitally based stories.

Prerequisite: TCOM 601; permission of the program coordinator.

 

632 Digital Production. (3) Techniques of acquisition and manipulation of digitized sights and sounds. Digital audio and video recording software and hardware are utilized to capture, edit, and finish creative productions. Proficiency in digital audio and video technologies is needed.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

 

634 Interactive Storytelling. (3) Writing nonlinear, interactive stories for entertainment, promotional, journalistic, and instructional applications. Authoring software will be utilized to bring ideas to fruition. Proficiency in digital audio and video technologies is needed.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

 

660 Intercultural Immersion. (3) Directed residential immersion in another culture for the purpose of investigating the story-telling forms and traditions of that culture. Students later present the story of their intercultural experience to others.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

 

669 Professional Experience. (1-3) Enables students to gain supervised, practical experience in the field of digital storytelling by working with an approved firm or agency.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

A total of 3 hours of credit may be earned.

670 Special Projects. (1) Enables students to pursue the ongoing development of storytelling projects. Emphasizes writing and producing digital stories. Projects will require a faculty advisor.

Prerequisite: TCOM 601; permission of the program coordinator.

A total of 3 hours of credit may be earned, but no more than 1 in any one semester or term.

 

680 Seminar in Current Topics. (3-6) Intensive study of selected topics from the literature or practice of digital storytelling. Topics will vary each semester. Content will be drawn from areas not dealt with in the regular curriculum.

Prerequisite: permission of the program coordinator.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned.

 

690 Directed Study. (3-6) Intensive investigation of a topic related to digital storytelling that is not already addressed by regularly offered courses.

Prerequisite: TCOM 601; permission of the program coordinator.

A total of 6 hours of credit may be earned.