Communication students and faculty at an event for seniors in 2018.
The Mount St. Mary’s Department of Communication announces a new track in digital communication that emphasizes state-of-the-art skill development in video, audio, and photo editing, web design, digital publishing platforms, web-site optimization, copywriting, and social media content creation.
Students are introduced to the track with the course Introduction to Digital Media. Upper-level electives may include Social Media Strategies, Multi-Media Story Telling, Digital Citizenship, Integrated Marketing Communication, Race and Technology, Social Media Movements, and AI and Society. These courses deliver cutting-edge skill development and the latest research about constantly evolving topics in this field. Students may enroll in the Communication programs at both the Emmitsburg and the Frederick campuses.
Communication majors fulfill their internship or practicum requirement by taking advantage of opportunities in podcasting, livestreaming of e-sports, and web-based radio broadcasting. On-campus internships are also available in the Athletic and University Marketing and Communications Departments and the Career and Entrepreneurship Centers. In addition, the Communication Department sponsors two credit-bearing blogs on the university’s website: MSMU Travel Blog, focused on chronicling semesters abroad, and My View of MSMU, a student life-and-living blog. More traditional credit-bearing outlets include the student newspaper, The Mountain Echo; a creative-writing and arts journal, Lighted Corners; the humanities journal, Moorings; and a theology and philosophy journal, Tolle Lege.
This spring Mount St. Mary’s is installing two Express Studios. Located in the Emmitsburg campus’s Phillips Library and at the Frederick campus, the Express Studios provide high-quality video recording with an ease-of-use designed for those without any previous video-production experience. The Express Studio includes a high-definition camera, professional-grade lighting and audio, a confidence monitor and teleprompter, as well as a light board so videos can display forward-facing text. The Express Studios can be used by Communications majors for public speaking and marketing, as well as real-life applications such as news-desk reports and interviews.
Recent Mount Communication graduates have obtained positions at organizations such as Disney Streaming Services, iHeartMedia, Coronation Media, National Geographic, Michael Kors, GCI Health, Allegis Group, Northeast Athletic Conference, Merriweather Post Pavilion, U.S. Holocaust Museum, University of Maryland Health System, WBAL and other regional television outlets, Lafayette College, St. Joseph’s University, Baltimore Museum of Art, and professional sports teams such as the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Kastles and the Philadelphia Union.
The Digital Media track complements existing concentrations in Public Relations and Business Communication, Journalism and Publishing, Creative and Technical Writing, and Social-Cultural Communication.