Boston University College of Communication administrators announced in early July that this year the school will offer minors in journalism, communication and, for the first time, film and television.
COM underwent changes to comply with “One BU” standards, which stipulate that each major be available to students as a minor, said Assistant Dean Micha Sabovik in an email. Previously, COM only offered students minors in public relations, advertising, journalism and broadcast journalism.
“It was also our wish to better serve COM students,” she said.
“With so much modern media convergence, communication professionals have to be able to adapt and wear many hats – we want our education to reflect that.”
COM minors will offer students more flexibility, Sabovik said. Each minor includes two required courses and four departmental electives.
“Students can essentially design their own minor with their chosen department, choosing the courses in communication, film/TV or journalism that best fits their needs.”
Students interested in applying for a minor must complete CO 101 The World of Communication or CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing with at least a C and must proceed to maintain a 2.0 grade point average in all minor classes.
Certain classes, such as production and lottery courses will not be available to film/TV minors due to insufficient space, Sabovik said. COM restricts its students from registering for a minor in the same department as their major.
Students in other BU colleges that have already declared a minor will be able to choose whether to satisfy the requirements of the original minor or declare one of the new minors.
David LeHouillier, a sophomore in the College of Arts in Sciences who plans on switching into COM, said he considers a COM minor beneficial for both COM and non-COM students.
“Communication is a key learning area that I think is kind of neglected – or at least not strongly focused on – at BU as well as at other colleges,” he said.
LeHouillier added that the extra minor could serve a COM student either as a way to expand a student’s horizons in a subject or help one to narrow his or her area of expertise.
“Instead of taking useless electives, a COM student could study another area of [communication] that will help them in the future,” he said. “For example, a student majoring in film/TV can minor in [communication] to help him learn how to market and advertise their films.”
“Personally, I think COM students benefit most from these new minors,” said COM sophomore Tom Schrank, an office assistant at Student Services. “Taking on these minors can open up new opportunities and skills in different fields for any of our COM students.”
However, Sabovik said students should not expect the new COM minors to fulfill their CAS concentration requirements.
“There have already been misconceptions that COM majors can use a new COM minor to replace the required CAS concentration,” she said. “COM majors who wish to register for a COM minor will do so in addition to their CAS concentration or minor.”
COM officials expect the new minors to be popular, especially the new Film/TV minor, among both COM students and others at BU, Sabovik said.
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