| College of Communication - The University of Texas at Austin | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1965 |
| Dean | Roderick P. Hart |
| Academic staff | 113[1] |
| Undergraduates | 3635[1] |
| Postgraduates | 670[1] |
| Location | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Website | communication.utexas.edu |
The College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The College was established in 1965 in an effort to consolidate the all Communication Studies under one roof including the Department of Public Speaking (1899), School of Journalism (1914), and independent department of Radio-Television-Film (1921).[2] The College is home to one of the country's top film programs[3] as well as a Journalism department which consistently produces the nation's number one college newspaper.[4] The College of Communication offers Bachelor of Science degrees in several communications disciplines as well as offering a robust postgraduate circulum.
Contents |
The Department of Public Speaking, now the department of Communication Studies, at UT Austin was established in 1899, and the School of Journalism began in 1914 moving into its own building in 1952. An early interest in broadcasting on campus resulted in the formation of the Department of Radio-Television-Film. In 1921, a radio station was established to conduct experimental work in radio communication, and by the 1930s what was probably the first television broadcast in Texas originated on the campus. The first degree program in broadcasting began in 1939. Established in 1941 with the founding of The University of Texas at Austin Speech and Hearing Clinic and the introduction of course work leading to Texas Education Agency certification, the program of Communication Sciences and Disorders is the oldest program of its kind in the state of Texas.[2]
In 1965 the School of Journalism, the Department of Speech, and a newly formed Department of Radio-Television-Film became the three departments officially organized as the School of Communication. In that same year, the accredited sequence of advertising in the Department of Journalism was established as a separate Department of Advertising. Originally housed in the Department of Speech Communication, a separate Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders was established in 1998.[2]
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Austin had become a filmmaking hub due in part to several Communications alumni including Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater leading many people in the industry to begin calling Austin the "Third Coast" for film. This has spurred the Radio-Television-Film department on to national recognition[3], while also giving students more opportunities for internships and jobs after matriculation.[5]
The campus of the College of Communication sits in a complex on the north west side of UT's campus, adjacent to The Drag and just north of the Littlefield House. There was no formal definition of the Communication campus until all communication's studies were consolidated in the late 1960s. Construction of a three-building communication complex began in 1968, and the three Departments of Journalism, Radio-Television-Film and Speech Communication moved into new facilities in 1974.[2]
In 2007, the first new construction project for the school in over 30 years was announced after a 15 million dollar donation from the Belo Foundation. The Belo Center for New Media will augment teaching and research space for the college. The two-year construction project officially broke ground in May 2010. Construction costs for the center, projected to be between 100,000 and 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2), are estimated to be $45 million.[6]
The Texas Student Media building, formerly known as the CMC building, was officially renamed the William Randolph Hearst Building after a significant donation from the Hearst corporation in 2009. The FCC licensed Student television station locating within the Hearst Building K09VR received an 80,000 dollar digital transmitter retrofit to comply with the mandated digital television transition in 2009.
The College of Communication serves as both UT's undergraduate department of communication, as well as a graduate school offering advanced degrees. Undergraduate majors can receive their Bachelor of Science degree at the school and have the option of enrolling in programs wherein the student can group his or her electives together towards a "concentration" in a particular field apart from their major including computing,[7], business,[8], a more general Bridging Disciplines Program.[9]
Like the undergraduate portion of the University of Texas at Austin, the Communication College operates on a semester system. As part of the larger institution, the College is ultimately administered by UT's President and Board of Trustees. The school is directly managed by a dean (currently Roderick P. Hart) who is advised by several associate deans responsible for various aspects of the administration.[10] The Communications College offers a bachelor of science degree in five "academic departments" including: Advertising and Public Relations, Communications Studies, Communications Disorders, Journalism, and Radio-Television-Film as well as a more generalized communications studies.
The College contains six separate "research units" focusing on different aspects of communication including the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas which focuses on promoting journalism in Central and South America[11] and the UT Film Institute which worked in conjunction with the university affiliated "Burnt Orange Productions" allowing students a chance to participate in workshops and internship opportunities. The now defunct UTFI had employed over 200 interns on four feature films including The Quiet and Homo Erectus before financial difficulties .[12]
Founded in 2003, the UT Los Angeles Program gives students the opportunity to intern in the entertainment industry while also completing upper division coursework.[13] The program is open to all UT students who have completed core communications classes as well as a handful of non-UT students usually from universities around the world.[14] UTLA encourages students to intern the last semester of their senior year and focuses on practical experience through interning 4 days per week with classes on Mondays. Students have access to a large database of internship opportunities but arrange interviews themselves prior to the start of the semester.
| “ | The UT Semester in Los Angeles Program’s mission is to enable students to compete with graduates of USC, UCLA, NYU, Columbia and other film schools by exposing them to the working world of the entertainment industry, and to the people who make things happen in Hollywood. Through a combination of working internships with prominent companies, courses taught by working professionals, and guest lectures by prominent industry experts, students get chance to gain the skills and contacts that will make a career in film, television, music or new media possible. Every alumnus of the program comes to Hollywood with a real sense of where and what the jobs are, whom to call, and how to present themselves. It is the goal of the program to translate theory into reality, to enable students to start their careers, and to offer real-world support as they begin their journeys. | ” |
Admissions for undergraduate students are handled by the universities undergraduate admissions in general. Along with the schools of Architecture, Business, and Engineering, admissions into the College of Communication is highly selective.[15]. Of the 3270 freshman applying to the school for fall 2008, 790 were admitted leading to an overall acceptance rate of 24.1%.[16], roughly half the rate of the university as a whole. For this reason, many UT students apply for an internal transfer while completing their core requirements. The school leaves on average 200 spots per year for internal transfers and 80 spots for external transfers though official numbers are not disclosed. Within the school itself, the Department of Advertising and Public Relations has the largest number of both undergraduate and graduate students, with 1212 and 180 [17], respectively, in the 2008-2009 academic year.
| Reviewing Body | Survey Name | Rank | Scope | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Advertising Programs[3] | 4 | National | 2003 |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Public Relations Programs[3] | 7 | National | 2003' |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Audiology Programs[3] | 13 | National | 2003 |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Speech Pathology Programs[3] | 12 | National | 2003 |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Print Journalism Programs[3] | 11 | National | 2003 |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Film Programs[3] | 7 | National | 2003 |
| U.S. News & World Report | Top Radio-Television Programs[3] | 4 | National | 2003 |
| National Communication Association | Applied Communication[3] | Top 3 | National | 1996 |
| National Communication Association | Communication Theory and Research[3] | Top 3 | National | 1996 |
| National Communication Association | Critical/Cultural Media Studies[3] | Top 3 | National | 1996 |
| National Communication Association | Organizational Communication[3] | Top 3 | National | 1996 |
| National Communication Association | Rhetoric[3] | Top 3 | National | 1996 |
As of the 2007-2008 academic year, the College of Communication has an enrollment of 4505 students: 3635 undergraduates, 670 graduate students, and 233 doctoral candidates.[1] The school offers a number of professional and community service student groups, as well as social life governance councils for the student body. As a hub for all media on campus, the Communications College has historically been at the center of major issues on campus and a nexus of school spirit. The college operates TSTV, one of the few FCC licensed television stations entirely run by students.[18] The station has interviewed several persons of note in the past including Pauly Shore, Mark Cuban, and Dennis Quaid.
The Communication College currently claims 118 active instructors.[17] Many professors have had successful careers independent of the College as filmmakers,[19] editors,[20] and captains of industry. [21][22]
The communication college has matriculated several distinguished alumni including Walter Cronkite, Lady Bird Johnson, and Matthew McConaughey.[1] As well, 18 former College of Communication students have been awarded Pulitzer Prizes.[23] Filmmakers, Wes Anderson, graduated with a BA in Philosophy from the University of Texas and Richard Linklater, though did not graduate, are former students of the college. In 2008, Robert Rodriguez, graduated from the college with a BS in Radio-Television-Film, and was the University of Texas at Austin Spring 2009 Wide-Commencement Speaker.[1]. The College has also been the starting place for many famous cartoonists including Ben Sargent, Roy Crane, and Berkeley Breathed who had all drawn for The Daily Texan during their tenure.