College of Mass Communication

About

Vision

      A leading communication school in the country committed to develop ethical, competent and socially responsible mass media professionals.

Mission

1. Develop curricular programs that will hone the skills and enhance the competencies of future mass communicators.
2. Instill in future mass communication practitioners a sense of mission and stewardship in their profession.
3. Pursue opportunities for growth by keeping abreast with developments in communication education and mass media industry.

Objectives

1. To train mass communicators who are liberally educated, socially responsible, professionally competent, ethical, imbued with Christian values and dedicated to public welfare and human development.
2. To train mass communicators who will contribute to national development by advocating a culture of peace, justice and responsible stewardship of the environment.
3. To help strengthen the community press as a catalyst for promoting responsible local governance through an informed citizenry.         

Linkages

The College is a founding member of the Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE).  It maintains professional links with other schools of mass communication in the Philippines as well as with national, Asian and international organizations in communication, such as the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Philippine Press Institute (PPI), Press Foundation of Asia (PFA), the Asian Media Information and  Communication Center (AMIC), International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), United National  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Development and Research Center (IDRC) in Canada, among others.

Curricular Program

 The Mass Communication program is administered under a separate College independent from the College of Arts and Sciences which is the case with most mass communication programs of other schools in the country. Being the pioneer journalism/masscom school outside Metro Manila, the SU communication program is recognized as a strong program by other communication schools.

The College offers a basic four-year course leading to the Bachelor of Mass Communication degree.  It is a generalist program with specializations in community journalism, radio-tv broadcasting, advertising and public relations, communication arts and religious communication.

The BMC curriculum is of two parts -- 42 units of core courses and 12 units of electives.  The core courses teach the basic theories, concepts and skills needed in this field.  In addition, the student takes 12 units of electives in any of the following areas: community journalism, community broadcasting, religious communication, advertising and public relations, and environmental journalism.

The minimum requirements for the mass communication degree are 24 units in language and literature, 16 units in math and natural sciences, 51 units in humanities and social sciences, 6 units in economics,  54 units in communication, and 8 units in physical education offers a Certificate in Environmental Journalism (CEJ). In keeping with its Strategic Development Plan, the faculty started to implement this year plans to develop and offer ladderized courses leading to graduate programs by next school year, including that of a BMC major in Broadcasting.

 In addition to its formal offerings, the College conducts seminars, workshops and special courses for campus journalists and mass media professionals from time to time.  It has conducted research in community journalism, journalism education and environmental journalism. 

Certificate in Environmental Journalism

The Certificate in Environmental Journalism (CEJ) is designed to develop/train graduates who are competent in communicating scientific/environmental issues for popular understanding. It provides the student the basic background needed to meet the special demands of covering environmental problems and issues for the mass media, as well as to provide communication support to advocacy activities for the environment.

The CEJ is a two-semester course built into the BMC curriculum. A student enrolled in the BMC program may work towards the CEJ by choosing it as his or her area of concentration.  In this case he or she takes 18 units under the CEJ curriculum in addition to the 30 units of core courses in the BMC curriculum. 

The CEJ can also be taken as a separate non-degree program for professionals (holders of the BMC or science-related degrees) for professional upgrading.