The Program

The Bachelor of Mass Communication (BMC) program of Silliman University aims to develop communication practitioners and entrepreneurs who are professionally competent, socially responsible, ethical, and imbued with Christian values. Holder of a Level IV PAASCU accreditation, the program equips students with competencies they need to provide high-quality media approaches and to be future leaders in the mass and organizational communication sectors of the country.  It is implemented by the SU College of Mass Communication (CMC), which was the first journalism and communication school to have been established outside Metro Manila.

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.

The Curriculum

The four-year BMC program is anchored on the whole-person education philosophy of Silliman University. Its curriculum consists of a total 167 units distributed among the following: Major Courses – 57 units; Electives – 42 units; Thesis Research/Special Project and Internship – 9 units; General Education Courses – 45 units; Physical Education – 8 units, and National Service Training Program – 6 units. BMC students may also choose Broadcasting as their major field, where studies focus on professional skills in broadcasting, online journalism, and webcasting.

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.

Careers in Communication

Graduates of the BMC program in the last 50 years have pursued successful careers in the mass media, corporate, government, non-government, academic, and other sectors.  The quality training they acquired at Silliman enabled them to become excellent journalists, photojournalists, and editors in print, broadcast, or new media outfits; multimedia content developers, videographers, or digital artists; columnists or opinion writers; independent providers of communication services or products; public information or media relations officers or managers; communication or social science researchers, professors, and education managers.

BMC graduates also can go into crossover careers as implementers of development or corporate responsibility programs; knowledge managers, information and data analysts, or curators; technical writers in various fields; events organizers or activity planners; coaches or trainers in communication and language.