Alongside my colleagues, Phil Duncan and John Malone, I have worked over the last four years to redesign, implement, teach, and update a new curriculum for the Communication and Media Studies program at Eureka College.

This curricular overhaul had four goals:

Streamline the communication program to assist in student retention, persistence, and job placement after graduation.
This included the elimination of three student tracks and a shift into a “cores” oriented curriculum in which students have both required courses and curricular agency through the selection of desired elective and practicum courses.

The resulting curriculum is as follows for the Communication and Media Studies major:

Introductory Core
All courses required
COM 104: Modern Communication (3 credits)
COM 106: Writing for Media (3 credits)
COM 108: Media and Culture (3 credits)

Experiential Core
9 credits required (courses may be repeated); students may select courses from the list below to fulfill the "experiential core” requirement
COM 205: Pegasus Media Practicum (1 credit)
COM 206: Television Practicum (1 credit)
COM 207: Radio Practicum (1 credit)
COM 275: Pegasus Media Management (3 credits)
COM 276: ECTV Media Management (3 credits)
COM 277: WXEC Media Management (3 credits)
COM 295/495: Communication and Media Studies Internship (1-9 credits)

Topics Core
9 credits required (courses may not be repeated); students may select courses from the list below to fulfill the "topics core” requirement
COM 211: Sports, Media, and Culture (3 credits)
COM 212: Media and Rural America (3 credits)
COM 213: Social Media and Internet Culture (3 credits)
COM 214: Communication Law (3 credits)
COM 215: Relational Communication (3 credits)
COM 216: Cinema Studies (3 credits)
COM 217: Video Games and Contemporary Problems (4 credits)
COM 218: Organizational Communication (3 credits)
COM 219: Media, Gender, and Sexuality (3 credits)
COM 220: Media Management and Sales (3 credits)
COM 221: Media History (3 credits)
COM 222: Audio Production for Radio and Digital Media (3 credits)
COM 223: Writing for Performance (3 credits)

Advanced Core
All courses required
COM 304W: Communication and Media Theory (3 credits)
COM 306W: Communication and Media Methods (3 credits)
COM 308W: Communication and Media Ethics (3 credits)

Capstone
COM 401W: Seminar in Communication and Media Studies (3 credits)
39 credits.

Develop new courses designed to reflect the diversity of the field, including new topics-specific courses focused on particular media and communication contexts
This has included the creation of new courses and revision of old courses focused on media such as social media and the Internet (COM 213), film (COM 216), video games (COM 217), and radio (COM 222). Likewise, this curricular overhaul has included the creation of new courses focused on communication practices in regional contexts (COM 212), legal contexts (COM 214), interpersonal contexts (COM 215), organizational contexts (COM 218), gendered and sexual contexts (COM 219), historical contexts (COM 221), and performative contexts (COM 223).

Develop new courses designed to provide students with practical experiences in media production and management
This has included the creation of new courses and revision of old courses focused on journalism (COM 205 and COM 275), television production (COM 206 and COM 276), and radio production (COM 207 and COM 277). Likewise, this curricular overhaul has included an enhanced focus on student internships, both on- and off-campus (COM 295/495).

Support the college through increased course offerings that contribute to Eureka’s general education curriculum
Eureka College, in addition to general education requirements in writing and mathematics, requires students to complete coursework in the following 10 areas:

Aesthetic Sensibility
Analytical Inquiry and Problem Solving
Communication
Ethical Reasoning
Health, Fitness, and Well-being
Intercultural Understanding
Justice and Civic Responsibility
Scientific Literacy
Spiritual Engagement and the Examined Life
Sustainable Practices and Environmental Conscience.

The Communication and Media Studies curriculum now contributes to six of these requirements. These courses are listed below:

Aesthetic Sensibility (COM 216: Cinema Studies)
Analytical Inquiry and Problem Solving (COM 217: Video Games and Contemporary Problems, COM 219: Media, Gender, and Sexuality, COM 221: Media History)
Communication (COM 104: Modern Communication, COM 106: Writing for Media)
Health, Fitness, and Well-being (COM 215: Relational Communication)
Intercultural Understanding (COM 108: Media and Culture)
Justice and Civic Responsibility (COM 212: Media and Rural America).

This curricular overhaul has led to an increase in majors in Communication and Media Studies. Entering AY 25/26, the program now enrolls 23 majors. It has also graduated 16 majors in the three years since the program was implemented in AY 22/23.