Multimedia Communication

Faculty

Lindsey Wotanis, Ph.D., Chairperson
Bill Murphy, M.A.

Goals

The Multimedia Communication curriculum at Marywood University provides students with a comprehensive education in the mass communication discipline. It is a broad-based program that includes Audio Production; Digital Influencing; Film, TV & Digital Production; Journalism and Public Communication; and Sports Media. Students may also pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Administration with Multimedia Communication as a primary concentration. An Arts Administration degree is ideal for the student interested in a career on the business side of the communication/arts industries. The program also offers an Associate of Arts degree in Media Production. The department supports, in consultation with an academic adviser, the creation of interdisciplinary or self-designed programs.

The department prepares students to assume roles as communication professionals in news outlets, television and radio stations, marketing and public relations firms, audio/video production houses, and other public and private organizations where communication professionals are needed. The jobs range from digital filmmakers and documentarians to TV producers to media reporters to digital marketing specialists and social media managers. The department also echoes the University’s goal to provide an education directed toward the self-development of a fully human person; and to pursue truth and academic excellence. Students are also encouraged to develop critical, creative, and ethical leadership, as well as independent
thinking skills and to examine contemporary issues.

The department also supports its activities through its own contemporary Mac-based teaching facilities located in the Learning Commons. Our facility, built in 2016, boasts professional quality television, radio, and podcasting studios; editing suites; an editing lab with 16 Mac computers. All Multimedia Communication students have 24/7 access to the Multimedia Communication facilities. Students also have ready access to Adobe, Logic Pro, and Final Draft software for all of the media production needs. Professional audio and lighting kits complement sophisticated digital field production systems.

Student Media Outlets & Organizations

The department offers students a number of opportunities to enhance their education. These include professional internships, membership in professional and student-based organizations, such as The Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) and Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society of the National Communication Association. To prepare them for the profession, students take one credit of practicum for their first six semesters and earn experiential hours through work at two or more of the following student media organizations:

91.7 WVMW-FM is our award-winning, cutting-edge technology equipped on-air stereo radio station licensed by the FCC. Our studio is equipped with a PC-based music system, and a digital delay for talk shows. A student staff, under the direction of a faculty adviser, manages and operates the station’s daily broadcasting schedule with a coverage area that encompasses northeastern Pennsylvania; programming can be heard live around the globe using the TuneIn app. We are affiliated with the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System. Students also produce audio and audio/video podcasts from our new podcasting studio.

TV Marywood is our cutting-edge technology equipped digital television studio with full audio and video production capabilities, electronic field, graphics, and post-production facilities. The studio functions as a soundstage for digital filmmaking, audio recording, and virtual set design and implementation. Student management and operational staff, under the supervision of a faculty adviser, direct live and taped news and entertainment programming via regional facilities of Comcast Cable; programming may also be produced for internal and external clients.

The Wood Word is Marywood’s award-winning, online student news source. Students produce news and other content under the direction of a faculty adviser. Student positions range from editors to photographers to writers. Its website is regularly updated with new stories, photographs, and other multimedia content. Students have access to an office space and newsroom, equipped with computers and collaborative work space.

Marywood Films is a student-led film production studio that allows students to exercise their screenwriting, acting, directing, editing and production skills. Students produce short films under the direction of a faculty adviser. The Marywood Chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) is an honorary society for students who demonstrate commitment to working in campus media. SCJ is the nation’s oldest honor society dedicated to serving student media leaders. Students who join may participate in an annual free contest where their work is judged by professionals in the field.

Lambda Pi Eta, Rho Tau Chapter is of official honor society of the National Communication Association. Student membership requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA with 60 semester hours completed and a 3.25 GPA for Communication Studies courses with 12 semester credit hours completed.

Internships & Field Experiences

Internships (3 credits) and Field Experience (2 credits) are not required but are strongly encouraged as they provide practical experience under the direction of qualified professionals at cooperating organizations in all of the areas of specialization in Multimedia Communication. An internship or field experience may be arranged with organizations in various geographical
locations to meet the student’s career objectives.

Multimedia Communication Degree

All majors are required to consult their advisers prior to registration each semester. The responsibility of fulfilling the department’s requirements, however, rests with the student.

In order for the department to recommend a major for graduation, 50 percent of the student’s major courses must have been taken at Marywood with a minimum QPA of 2.33 in the major. Similarly, 50 percent of courses used to fulfill minor requirements must have been taken at Marywood University with a minimum QPA of 2.33 in the minor.