Learning By Doing
MACOMM students create real-world multimedia productions for actual organizations, businesses, publications or media outlets. This practical focus on hands-on learning with the latest technologies in a professional context, gives students the experience and portfolio they need to compete and excel in the ever-changing 21st century communications and media industries.
Focus on Jobs and Latest Technologies
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupation Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition places jobs for communication and public relations specialists in its highest “much faster than average” growth category, projecting that employment opportunities will increase for communication specialists by 24% from 2008 to 2018. The New York Times has also reported on the “fundamental transformation” in the news industry toward “‘digital journalists’ who produce, record and edit much of their material.” The MACOMM Degree Program will supply the communications, public relations, and news industries with its next generation of professional communicators in ways that only a media studies program with a strong digital multimedia production component like ours can.
An Ideal Location
Sacred Heart’s main campus is a short train ride (just 55 miles) from New York City, the media capital of the world, and is strategically positioned in the heart of suburban Fairfield County, home to the many major media companies and other businesses that make-up Connecticut’s “Gold Coast.”
Internships and Mentorships
MACOMM students complete 12 credits of internships and mentorships as part of a curricular strategy in which students are immersed in a professional setting in order to get advanced practical training and real world results. Examples of recent internships completed in the Department of Communication and Media Studies include:
MACOMM courses combine face-to-face classes with online sessions, allowing students to schedule their campus commitments around their work and family obligations. With rolling acceptance and convenient 8-week sessions scheduled year round, students can start when they want and finish when they can, building a professional portfolio along the way. Full-time students can complete the degree in one year taking two classes each semester.
Professional Portfolios for the Digital Age
Students graduate with a portfolio of digital multimedia materials that demonstrates to potential employers that MACOMM graduates are highly skilled communicators with advanced training in the latest media technologies. MACOMM students build their professional résumés as their work is distributed, broadcast, and/or published through various media outlets while earning their degrees.
Experienced Faculty with Industry Connections
In addition to being established scholars and dedicated instructors, the MACOMM faculty is comprised of award-winning and working media professionals with experience in every sector of the communications and media industry, including film and television, public relations, corporate communications, journalism, publishing, web design and development, and digital multimedia production.
Integrated Laptop Program
Full-time MACOMM graduate students will receive Macbook Pro laptops running the latest Apple and Adobe software, and their coursework will feature extensive work on these mobile multimedia production platforms, which have become the industry standard.
