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Bachelor of Communication CU10

Duration: 3 years full-time, 6 years part-time.
Mode: Internal, external, multi-modal.
Location(On-Campus): B/G/M/R/BIC/GIC/MIC/SIC. Not all plans are available at all campuses, enquire for details.
Courses/Units of Credit: 24 courses/144 units of credit.
Faculty: Informatics & Communication.
Entry: QTAC.
Accreditation: Nil.
Practicum/Work Placement: Nil.
Residential School: Nil.
Exit Awards: Nil.
Contact: Kerrie Bloxsom 07 4930 9681

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.


    Central Queensland University Handbook
    This handbook was correct as at: 07-June-2001
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