I. The Undergraduate Program

The Department of Media Studies and Journalism (MSJ) offers an undergraduate course that will prepare students for a career in the traditional media sectors and significantly the emerging sector based on the new digital technologies. In addition the graduates will also be able to apply their skills in business, development and related areas. Like all departments at the University, this serious focus on up-to-date professional training is underpinned by a solid intellectual foundation within the University’s Liberal Arts curriculum that will enable students to keep learning for life as well as for higher studies in the disciplines taught. The syllabus will provide graduates with the ability to continually adapt to new life and work situations.

Compared to many other fields, Media and Journalism has undergone dramatic changes due to new, especially digital, technologies. New media developments have a profound effect on all levels of the journalistic enterprise—from the way reporters gather information and present news stories to how news organizations structure themselves and do business. The nature of TV journalism and Film Production has also been changed. PR and Advertising gurus and spin-doctors now routinely use different modes of communications to win their clients. Graduates of a media and journalism course must be prepared for all of these eventualities.

The MSJ department at ULAB will continue to provide students with the exposure to new media as well as the skills to cope with a fast-changing environment. In short, the program will prepare leaders for this new communication environment. Despite this alertness to the new, the department is, however, mindful of the importance of fundamentals: students will be given a thorough grounding in the theory and history of modern media; on the basics of information gathering, news crafting and communications strategies. They will also be taught the principles of media management, the basics of graphics and broadcast production, especially in digital-based formats, media ethics, and the basics of freedom of access and information in addition to media law.

The focus on the new media will build on the fundamentals by exposing students to a variety of IT and digitally based media, tools and techniques ranging from ‘podcasting’ and 'blogging' to web-based learning. An emphasis on fundamentals will again drive this aspect of the learning, especially given the constraints of local technological infrastructures, rather than an attitude of accepting uncritically every new innovation.

The department will in effect provide learning skills to its students that will enable to adopt a well --balanced approach to work, life and learning.

II. Degree Requirements (BSS in Media Studies and Journalism):
Total course requirements for degree program are as follows: