The Department of Communication Arts offers you a unique learning experience unlike any other in the region. You will learn to analyze, critically evaluate, and develop skills in important communication practices. You will develop the intellectual resources needed to articulate your own ideas and share them with others. A major in Communication Arts offers you the knowledge and expertise that are essential to becoming a leader in a complex world.
THE PERISCOPE
Students are encouraged to become involved in the activities of writing, editing, photography, layout and other opportunities by working on the staff of The Periscope, the bi-monthly student newspaper founded in 1919. To read the current edition of The Periscope, visit www.theperiscope.org.
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATIONS
Major Areas of Study
Are there opportunities for scholarship and service?
Will Communication Arts faculty help me select the right courses?
What can I do with this degree? What kind of jobs are possibilities for me?
Internship Opportunities for Communication Arts Majors
Graduates speak out . . .
Opportunities for Involvement and Paid Work Study
Typical Special Events in the Department
A Brief History of the Communication Arts Festival
Memberships and Affiliations in Communication Arts
Major Areas of Study
Our course of study in Communication Leadership attracts students who want to go into public presentation, promotions, sales or community leadership. Others seek careers in hospital management, mediation, religious leadership, or corporate communication. If you share their goals, you might study business and professional speaking, small group, interpersonal and intercultural communication in this emphasis.
In Public Relations, you would combine interests in communications with those in business management. Typical majors in this area would take courses in news writing and reporting, media law and ethics, public relations techniques, cases and campaigns, along with courses in business communications, marketing, and advertising. Some of the jobs that P.R. majors pursue include: agency account management, public relations coordination, public opinion research, media sales, and public affairs.
Are there opportunities for scholarship and service?
We have a hard-working, fun-loving Communication Club, affiliated with the National Communication Association, and a growing Mu Chi chapter of the international communication honors society, Lambda Pi Eta. Students who qualify wear red and white honor cords at graduation along with their caps and gowns. Students may become members of the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter. All majors take a junior-level career and portfolio building class, two senior-level seminars for writing and portfolio building and presenting scholarly research.
Will Communication Arts faculty help me select the right courses?
Absolutely. That’s where we really shine. Everyone at Shorter is dedicated to making sure that you are counseled about your classes, advised appropriately, and helped down the right personal and professional path for you. We in Communication Arts are no exception. You don’t stand in long lines for arena registration. Instead you receive pre-registration help from your adviser, register at his or her computer, and when you leave, your schedule is all set for the next term. You should know that we have a strong record of on-time graduations. Our goal for you: Graduation in eight semesters. We bet it’s yours, too.
What can I do with this degree? What kind of jobs are possibilities for me?
The study of communication prepares you for a variety of professions valuing both oral and written communication knowledge and know-how. Because Communication Leadership and Public Relations graduates possess the theoretical and practical understanding of human connections, they can enter a new career confident in their ability to communicate ideas with clarity and effectiveness, a skill that opens doors in virtually any professional field.
Some of the current positions our graduates pursue include: Community Relations Director; Activities Director; Sales Representative; Speech Writer; Public Affairs Director; Special Events Coordinator; Human Resources Specialist; Intercultural Communication Consultant; Cruise Director; Labor Negotiator; Promotions Manager; Sports Marketer; Crisis Communications Specialist; Lobbyist; News Anchor; and Advertising Executive.
Internship Opportunities for Communication Arts Majors
We are proud of our placements in organizations like Wellstar Health System, Darlington School, American Red Cross, Red Ribbon Works, Comcast, World Market Alliance, Cornerstone Hospitality, The March of Dimes, Crawford Communications, the Atlanta Braves, the Rome Braves, K-98, Southern Broadcasting, Q102, 99X, The Weather Channel, The Cartoon Network, College Broadcasting, and many more. Getting a job offer at the end of an internship is a great boost, and we have more instances of that happening than we can tell you about in this brochure.
Graduates speak out . . .
“ I really like my job. I thought that nothing could be more stressful than college, but this kind of stress is different. It is a good thing to be so trusted and to be able to learn and do so much. There is so much riding on everything I do.”
-Nicole Barry, (2003) Press Secretary, Atlanta
“I thought the Communication Arts faculty might enjoy an e-mail to remind you of what an amazing job you are doing and how well-equipped we are for the “real world” after graduating from Shorter. Thank you for all of your sacrifices, encouraging talks, and investment in all of us. We love you and are very appreciative...even if we don’t say it often enough!” - Kari Borders, (2002) Southern Baptist Convention Journeyman, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa
“I would not trade my time at Shorter for all the money in the world. The riches I gained came in the form of knowledge, wisdom, friendship, and love. The education I received went far beyond the classroom, and the impact of every class, organization, teacher, friend and late study session at Waffle House will be treasured for the rest of my life. I know my feelings are widely shared among past and present Shorter students, as they will be for those yet to attend.”
-Nicole Byers (2003) Manager-in-Training/Accountant
Opportunities for Involvement and Paid Work Study
We have a campus televised radio station, SC49, which students staff and manage with the help of a faculty adviser. Here, you can become a studio personality, a program director or a student station manager. Students work at a professional 12-channel board and handle newly released music subscriptions just like the professionals in stations all over the country. If you are interested in video, you should think about joining other Shorter students in our video lab, as you learn digital camera operation and editing skills in our Apple Macintosh labs.
The Periscope is our student-managed and faculty-advised campus newspaper published every two weeks from September to May. The Argo is our fall delivery yearbook, published by enthusiastic student journalists. You’ll want to consider working on one of these great hands-on, award-winning publications. With either, you’ll learn essential desktop publishing, news and feature writing, layout design, and photography skills, making you uniquely marketable in the workplace.
Typical Special Events in the Department
- Communication Rush
- Senior Seminar Poster Sessions for Research Presentation
- Dining Etiquette Business and Professional Working Dinners
- Students attend National Conferences in Orlando, NYC, Washington, DC, Nashville, Gulf Shores, Atlanta
- Senior Seminar Presentations for Scholarly and Community Programs
- Publications/Radio Station Staff Picnics
- Internship Appreciation Dinners
- Graduation Celebration Banquets for Departmental Majors, Parents, Grandparents, Spouses, and Friends.
A Brief History of the Communication Arts Festival
The Communication Arts Festival began in the 1960s as an effort to focus attention on outstanding students in the basic speech classes, now known as COM 1010 Oral Communication. Each semester, students enrolled in these sections are asked to select outstanding students whom they consider their “best speakers” during the term. They form the core for a college-wide program of communication excellence. This special event was founded by Mrs. Betty Zane Morris, Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts.
Memberships and Affiliations in Communication Arts
• College Media Advisers, Inc.
• Associated Collegiate Press
• The Student Baptist Press
• American Scholastic Press Association, First Place Award 2003.
• Georgia College Press Association
• Georgia Communication Association, Inc.
• Southern States Communication Association
• National Communication Association
• Interscholastic Broadcast System
• American Advertising Federation
• Columbia Scholastic Press Association
• Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication
• American Academy of Advertising
• Public Relations Student Society of America
The great statesman Webster was correct in his assessment about the ability to successfully communicate. In the Communication Arts Department at Shorter College, we know exactly what he meant. Whether you are interested in advertising or on-air broadcasting, public information or community affairs, communication management or media relations, the study of communication at Shorter is exciting, dynamic, and important.
Now if you’re still asking yourself, “But what can I DO with a communication degree?” please call or e-mail Tom Earp, chairperson for the department, 706.233.7269 or tearp@shorter.edu
He’ll be glad to hear from you, to talk about your goals, and to visit about how we might help you achieve them. If possible, you should come for a visit, sit in on a class, and meet some of our faculty and students. They’ll tell you that communication ranks among the top five selected majors at Shorter. There are many good reasons for that. Please be in touch, and let the faculty and students tell you a few of them.
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