General Information
Mission
In an increasingly crowded and complex world, communication plays many roles. Accurate communication from person to person and from individual to public is essential to understanding, and understanding is basic to intelligent agreement or disagreement. The swift exchange of information permits business to grow, stimulates public taste, and brings about change while helping individuals and institutions to adapt to change. Decreasing the time between the discovery of new knowledge by scientist, scholar, or industrial experimenter and the comprehension of this knowledge by large segments of the public counteracts inertia and spreads the benefits of such discoveries. Communication makes possible the marshaling of public opinion and increases the effectiveness of forces for political progress.
The academic discipline of communication combines the characteristics of an art and of a science. Those who study communication as an art seek to improve in themselves and in others the oral, written, and visual skills of exchanging information. As a science, communication emphasizes the objective study and investigation of this fundamental aspect of human behavior.
The degree programs of the Moody College of Communication do not represent all of the academic disciplines concerned with the process of communication or the effects of communication on the individual and society. Engineering and physics shape and design the instruments by which communication is transmitted, and in the process become involved with human desires and reactions. Linguistics investigates the symbols by which human beings convey messages to each other. All language study bears on the process of communication. Art, drama, music, and literature are forms of communication. Psychology studies the relationship of communication to the individual, and sociology examines the impact of communication on society. Education relies heavily on effective communication. Thus the student who majors in the College of Communication should find relationships between the major and every course in the program. The major should give focus to the student’s educational experience at the University. Those who minor in one of the communication fields should find means of increasing their personal effectiveness through developing skill in writing and speaking and in discerning the role of the mass media in the communication process in society.
Facilities
In addition to the extensive library and computer resources of the University, certain special resources provide support for work in communication. Chief among them is the Jesse H. Jones Communication Center. Communication Building A (CMA) is a six-level building housing classrooms, offices, and sophisticated technology facilities. All facilities offer pervasive wireless Internet access and all instructional and production spaces feature high-definition equipment. Communication Building B (CMB), a nine-level production building, houses Austin’s public television station, KLRU. Also housed in Communication Building B are teaching and production facilities for the School of Journalism and the Department of Radio-Television-Film.
These facilities provide opportunities for academic programs that cross disciplinary lines, interrelate traditional and online media, and otherwise combine the resources of the College in ways not feasible within any one of the component units.
Although students have access to numerous computer labs across campus, they are encouraged to purchase personal laptop computers for their own use.
The Belo Center for New Media (BMC), which opened in summer 2012, is a 5-level 120,000 square-foot facility that weds cutting-edge technology with innovative teaching and research methods. The Belo Center is home to the KUT Public Broadcast Center, the School of Journalism, the Department of Advertising, and the College of Communication Dean’s Office. With base funding provided by the Belo Foundation and the Decherd and Moroney families, the Belo Center serves as a striking gateway to the northwest side of the University of Texas campus. The Belo Center houses a multitude of instructional, research, and meeting spaces including a 300-seat auditorium, a 120-seat lecture hall, and an executive briefing facility, as well as a theatrical-grade 75-seat presentation room. The KUT Public Broadcast center is housed in a two-story, 20,000 square-foot wing which includes a 72-seat, glass-walled performance studio that incorporates the community into some of KUT’s 300 annual in-studio performances.
Financial Assistance Available through the College
The Moody College of Communication and each academic unit have a large number of scholarships that are awarded annually. Students interested in receiving one of these scholarships should apply online early in the spring semester for scholarships to be awarded the following academic year. More information about college scholarships is available at http://moody.utexas.edu/students/scholarships and from the Student Advising Office.
Student Services
Academic Advising
The Student Advising Office, in collaboration with the academic departments, oversees all advising in the college. To allow in-depth advising on specific programs of study, courses, and career choices in the major, each student is assigned an adviser. Students should meet with their advisers to select courses appropriate to the degree and to ensure that all degree requirements are met. In addition, students should consult their advisers for assistance in preparing for graduation.
Career Services
Communication Career Services (CCS) provides a variety of career development and job/internship search assistance programs for students and alumni. The office’s online systems link clients to the CCS job and internship databases and on-campus interviewing and résumé referral programs. Communication job and internship fairs, on-campus interviews, and a wide range of job search workshops and career exploration programs provide networking opportunities and allow students to explore their career options, gain experience, and build their career management skills. Individual career counseling, prelaw advising, and an extensive library and Web site offer additional resources to help candidates research and prepare for the job market in a wide variety of media, communication, and related industries.
As a complement to the assistance available from the college, the University’s Sanger Learning Center and the Center for Strategic Advising and Career Counseling in the School of Undergraduate Studies provide career counseling services to all students. The centers offer professional career counseling, skill and interest inventories and tests, and assistance to students in choosing or changing their majors and considering graduate study.
The University makes no promise to secure employment for each graduate.
Student Organizations
Student organizations provide an opportunity for students to meet fellow students within their major, learn about a major or career, hear from professionals in the field, and gain hands-on experience in club administration and leadership. One organization students may join is the Communication Council, the governing body for student activities in the college. The Communication Council acts as a representative of all undergraduate communication students and sponsors college-wide programs such as Communication Week and Senior Celebration as well as other events throughout the year. A complete list of student organizations in the college is available at http://moody.utexas.edu/ccs .