SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION & MULTIMEDIA STUDIES
The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies (SCMS) is a vibrant hub within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. With the School provides opportunities for study for those interested in a wide array of human communicative activities, ranging from face-to-face human interactions to mediated communication to computer animation.
The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies offers two distinct yet aligned baccalaureate degree programs with over 1,200 majors, a , and a The larger of the two B.A. degrees, with over 800 majors, is The degree program allows students to concentrate either in or in Undergraduate coursework maybe divided between Ñý°®Ö±²¥'s main campus in Boca Raton and our Davie campus; the M.A. program is located primarily on the Boca Raton campus, and the M.F.A.program is housed on the Davie campus.
In addition to their coursework, students in the SCMS become involved with many aspects of co-curricular life at Ñý°®Ö±²¥. From public debates and Speakers' Corner events, to film festivals and exhibitions, to student clubs such as the Film Clubs and Zeta Iota (the Ñý°®Ö±²¥ chapter of the national communication honorary society Lambda Pi Eta), to such as Wavelengths and South Florida Journal, to cooperation in student run media such as The University Press, OWL Radio, or OWL TV, SCMS students have myriad opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom in their engagement in campus and community life. Many of these co-curricular activities fall under the umbrella of the SCMS's commitment to the American Democracy Project, a national initiative promoted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in cooperation with The New York Times that is dedicated to the reinvigoration of citizenship and civic engagement among students in public colleges and universities. The SCMS takes the mission of the American Democracy Project to heart, and much of our curriculum explores the inter-relationships among human communication activities and public life. The Communication Studies B.A. is built around issues of communication and civic life.
The SCMS enjoys a unique cooperative, public-private alliance with , a four-theater complex located with the School in Ñý°®Ö±²¥'s new Culture and Society Building. Commercials theaters by night, the Living Room Theaters serve as important teaching spaces during the day for our film classes. The cooperative relationship affords our film students opportunities to study the film business from multiple perspectives.
As a graduate from the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, you would have many career options. Most of our graduates move directly into the job market, but many others go on to graduate school, law school, or other professional advanced degree programs. The opportunities for SCMS graduates to take theoretical, analytic, and critical perspectives and combine them with performance and production skills opens many career doors. And this is not surprising. A poll of 330 industry leaders conducted by the University of Phoenix revealed that 96% of executives ranked communication and interpersonal skills as the most valuable traits for employees, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities conducted a poll of major U.S. employers that showed that employers want colleges and universities to increase their focus on written and oral communication,critical thinking and analytical reasoning, and concepts and developments in technology, including of course communication technologies. Graduates from the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies fit this profile of what employers increasingly seek.
As you look around our website and investigate our programs, we invite you to envision yourself as either an undergraduate major pursuing the rich array of curricular and co-curricular offerings available to you or as a graduate student specializing in either Communication Studies or Media, Technology, and Entertainment. In the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, we enrich lives as well as careers.
Sincerely,
Carol Bishop Mills, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the School
Ñý°®Ö±²¥ PolCom Lab Provides Insights into making Democracy work
by Gwyn Diaz and Ted Gutsche
Politics have become increasingly divisive, and that makes many people afraid to talk about them. But, for researchers in SCMS and Political Science at Ñý°®Ö±²¥, understanding how people think about politics and what factors influence political decisions is more important now than ever.
Since opening in Spring 2023, the new F has captured public opinion on Florida and international politics, with its polls and findings appearing in , including The Washington Post, Newsweek, Politico, The Guardian, USA Today and Forbes Mexico.
“It is so very important to capture and share public sentiments on current politics and social issues of today,” said Dr. Carol Mills, SCMS Director and Co-Director of the PolCom Lab. “This opportunity for students and faculty to capture data, analyze it, and communicate it in meaningful ways provides all of us a leg-up on creating and exploring immersive educational experiences that benefit the public.”
The PolCom Lab collaborates with Mainstreet Research, a Canadian polling firm that is expanding into the U.S. have focused on Florida state politics and issues, as well as national politics, including the 2024 U.S. Presidential campaign. A focused on the happiness of voters across the U.S., highlighting the challenges of engaging with youth with positive outlooks on the future.
“Intersections between happiness and politics is another interesting aspect of that initiative in that it helps us communicate to policymakers the concerns of the day to large groups of our communities,” Mills said.
The polling initiative also focuses on staking claim for Ñý°®Ö±²¥ as a mainstay of political polling in the future.
“Through the PolCom Lab, we are building on a history of political polling that engages with local media, communities, and our students, said PolCom Lab Co-Director Dr. Kevin Wagner, a political science professor at Ñý°®Ö±²¥. “We have found media really need the insights that we can provide into not just the ideas of their audiences but also into what makes democracy work – and work better.”
Students throughout the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, where the PolCom Lab is housed, have already benefitted from an undergraduate class on political polling – one of many similar classes taught between SCMS and Political Science. The first of many Lab-as-Classroom experiences that engage students with industry, political messaging, and communication efforts surrounding political communication at the center of the PolCom Lab, the Spring 2024 class connected to polling in ways led by industry experts.
“We have been very fortunate to have the support of our partners, faculty researchers, and connections in the polling world that really help push our students to another level,” said PolCom Lab Strategy Lead Dr. Ted Gutsche, who taught the spring class on polling. “There are so many things in store for our lab, like a new physical space that is coming online, internship opportunities, and classes that can help students from all areas of learning to find ways to connect polling to their industry and interests.”
For more on the polling initiative, visit the or email Dr. Mills.