Bachelor of Communication CU10

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Communication is a flexible degree through which students can acquire key communication skills across a range of areas. The course provides opportunities to pursue studies in communication, media, cultural studies, journalism, professional communication, multimedia, and film studies.

Students choose to graduate in one of four specialisations within the degree:

• Media & Cultural Studies
• Journalism
• Professional Communication
• Multimedia.

Graduates will be skilled professionals able to be employed in a range of media, journalism or communication-related fields.

Program Structure

Students must complete 24 courses/144 units of credit, comprised of at least 8 and no more than 10 level one courses. Students must complete 2 plans (or a double plan in journalism), 4 communication electives and 8 general electives. A plan consists of 6 courses, including at least 4 advanced level courses. No course may be counted as part of more than one plan. The choice of plans will depend on which specialised plan the student wishes to graduate with.

The program structure for each specialisation is as follows:

Bachelor of Communication (Media & Cultural Studies)

Students must complete 24 courses comprised of:

• A core plan in Media and Cultural Studies
• A complementary plan from the other groups listed within the Bachelor of Communication
• At least 4 communication electives from the Bachelor of Communication
• No more than 8 general electives (selected from any approved undergraduate degree program at CQU)

Bachelor of Communication (Journalism)

Students must complete 24 courses comprised of:

• 4 Level 1 courses from the Journalism group
• 8 Advanced Level courses from the Journalism group
• At least 4 communication electives from the Bachelor of Communication
• No more than 8 general electives (selected from any approved undergraduate degree program at CQU)

Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication)

Students must complete 24 courses comprised of:

• A core plan in Professional Communication
• A complementary plan from the other groups listed within the Bachelor of Communication
• At least 4 communication electives from the Bachelor of Communication
• No more than 8 general electives (selected from any approved undergraduate degree program at CQU)

Bachelor of Communication (Multimedia)

Students must complete 24 courses comprised of:

• A core plan in Multimedia
• A complementary plan from the other groups listed within the Bachelor of Communication
• At least 4 communication electives from the Bachelor of Communication
• No more than 8 general electives (selected from any approved undergraduate degree program at CQU)

Plans

Media & Cultural Studies (available at R, B, G, M,SIC, MIC, BIC)

Journalism (The double plan in Journalism is only available internally at Rockhampton)

Professional Communication (available at R, B, G, M, SIC, MIC, BIC)

Multimedia (available at R, B, M, SIC, MIC, BIC and by external)

Film Studies (available on campus at R only)

Computer Requirements

Some courses and/or plans will have specific computer requirements. Check the course synopses and plan notes.

Plans

A. Media & Cultural Studies

(All campuses)

This plan develops students’ knowledge of and literacies in the overlapping areas of communication, media and cultural studies. Courses will focus on communication and culture, cultural industries, cultural policy, the media and popular culture, communication genres, film, communication technologies, and communication and current affairs in the Asia Pacific. Students will develop their communication skills in the context of a critical understanding of contemporary culture, communication practices and the media. Students may select from:

Code	Course
Level 1
COMM11005	Introduction to Communication & Culture
CULT11001	Communication, Culture & Communities
Advanced
COMM12015	Television & Popular Culture
COMM12016	Mass Media & Journalism
CULT12003	Race Issues & Aboriginal Media
COMM12022	Cultural Technologies
COMM12023	Screen Studies
CULT12004	Cultural Policy
COMM12024	Communication Genres
COMM12027	Reporting the Asia Pacific
COMM19029	Film from the Pacific Rim
COMM12031	Communication Project

This plan is available at all campuses, however, individual courses may not be offered at some locations. See the Table of Course Availability.

B. Journalism

(Bundaberg, Gladstone, Mackay, and Rockhampton)

This plan introduces students to the vocational skills required within the field of journalism, as well as to critical and ethical issues surrounding journalism and the media. Level one courses introduce students to the skills involved in news gathering and news writing, and develop an understanding of ethical and legal issues. Advanced courses provide students with a critical and contextual understanding of contemporary mass media, journalism history, media law, and related indigenous issues. Students may select from:

Code	Course
Level 1
JOUR11001	Managing the Media
JOUR11004	Media Ethics
JOUR11005	Introduction to Journalism A
JOUR11006	Introduction to Journalism B
Advanced
COMM12016	Mass Media & Journalism
JOUR12009	Radio Journalism
JOUR12008	Television Journalism
JOUR12010	Feature Writing
JOUR12012	Newspaper Production
COMM12027	Reporting the Asia Pacific
JOUR12013	Editing & Design
CULT12006	Indigenous Issues & the Media
JOUR12014	Journalism & Media History
LAWS12024	Media Law
JOUR12015	Online Investigative Journalism
COMM12031	Communication Project

Note: Students completing a single Journalism plan must take JOUR11005   and JOUR11006  , plus any 4 Advanced Level courses. Students completing the double plan must take JOUR11005  , JOUR11006  , JOUR11004   (Media Ethics) and JOUR11001   (Managing the Media), plus any 8 Advanced Level courses.

The double plan in journalism is only available internal at Rockhampton.

Students wishing to qualify for the award Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) must complete a double plan. Students interested in the other BCommn specialisations (Media Studies, Professional Communication, Multimedia) may complete a single journalism plan as their complementary plan.

Individual courses may not be offered at some locations. Some advanced level courses in this plan will be offered in alternate years. See the Table of Course Availability for details.

C. Professional Communication

(All campuses)

Professional Communication introduces students to the major areas of expertise required by the professional communicator in today’s workforce. Students will develop skills in professional writing, desktop publishing, managing the media, speech communication, public relations and organisational communication, and may consolidate their skills and expertise by producing a major professional communication project.

Code	Course
Level 1
COMM11007	Professional Writing
JOUR11001	Managing the Media
Advanced
COMM12017	Public Relations A
COMM12018	Public Relations B
COMM12025	Organisational Communication
COMM12030	Desktop Publishing
COMM12031	Communication Project
COMM12033	Speech Communication

Students may select from:

This plan is available at all campuses; however, individual courses may not be offered at some locations. See the Table of Course Availability for details.

D. Multimedia

(Available at R, B, SIC, M, MIC, BIC and by external)

The multimedia plan provides students with the technical skills and contextual understandings of media needed to design and develop multimedia software applications.

Students may select 2 level 1 courses and 4 advanced courses from the following list:

Code	Course
Level 1
MMST11001	Introduction to Multimedia
00102	Constructing Cyberspace
00103	Design Perspectives
25131	Foundations of Business Computing
Advanced
MMST12004	Multimedia Design
MMST12005	Multimedia Development
00203	Dynamic Web Interfaces
COIS12036	Human-Computer Interaction
51211	Communication in the Internet Age
COMM12031	Communication Project

E. Film Studies

(Rockhampton only)

The Film Studies plan provides students with a comprehensive study of film within cultural, social and industrial contexts. Through a diverse range of courses, students will be able to study and analyse film texts and genres, film style, modes of production and consumption, film and gender, and film within a global context, as well as engage in independent film research. Students may select from:

Code	Course
Level 1
CULT11002	Cultural Industries
CULT11012	Image & Text
Advanced
COMM12023	Screen Studies
COMM19029	Film From the Pacific Rim
CULT19014	Melodrama, Film & Gender
CULT19015	Explorations in the Gothic
COMM12031	Communication Project
HUMT13007	Humanities Research Topic

F. Elective Courses

Code	Course
Level 1
COMM11008	Communication & Critical Thinking
COMM11009	Contemporary Communication Skills
Advanced
51211	Communication in the Internet Age

Application for Credit Transfer

Credit transfer will only be granted where a student is able to demonstrate that tertiary studies equivalent in content and depth to the CQU program has been successfully completed. Students should examine the course synopses in this handbook to determine the courses from which they may be eligible to claim exemption. For more information about credit transfers contact your program administrator.