Media and Information Technology

Faculty

James R. Sidbury, Ph.D., Director

Overview

During the lifetime of the current college students, the means of personal and corporate communication have changed dramatically. Computers are as common as microwave ovens and Internet access is as prevalent as cable TV. Cell phones and mp3 players are common possessions of many adults and will only become more widespread in the coming years. The ability to create content for these new media is vital now and will be in the future.

The Media and Information Technology program is our response to this need. This relatively new program combines coursework from several academic departments to provide a unique opportunity for students interested in this field of study. Our coursework draws primarily from the departments of Communication, Computing Sciences and Physics/ Electrical Engineering. But major electives are also available in Marketing and writing. Because our cognate requirements are very flexible, students can tailor their programs to meet their personal interests.

If the recent past is an indication of the future, the precise technology used today will be outdated in a few years. Therefore, course requirements are distributed to address theoretical concepts and practical skills. Our goal is to produce graduates who are not only qualified for today’s marketplace, but who will also have the background to continue the lifelong learning that will be necessary to grow professionally in this field.

In addition to courses in the major, the student will develop a content area in another discipline and will be required to produce a major project in this area. This culminating project will demonstrate practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge.

Media and Information Technology students tend to focus their studies on either Web development or digital video production. Students are free to pursue other interdisciplinary interests such as online advertising or database journalism.

Major Electives (see department pages for course descriptions)

CMPS 312	Web Technology (or CMPS 202)
CMPS 376	Rapid Prototyping
COMM 310	Mass Communication Law
COMM 324	Computer-assisted Newswriting
MKT 370	Interactive Marketing (prerequisite: MKT 351)
MIT 310	E-Research: Information-seeking Skills and Strategies
MIT 481	Internship in Information Technology
PHYS 103	Seeing the Light
PHYS 108	New York Times Physics
PHYS 113	Science of Photography
WRTG 211	Technical & Business Writing
WRTG 219	Writing the Web

Media and Information Technology Curriculum
Dept. and No.		Descriptive Title of Course			Credits
				FIRST YEAR	FALL	SPRING
MAJOR		CMPS 134-136 1		Computer Sci I - Computer Prog II	3	3
MAJOR		PHYS 104 2		Intro. to Consumer Technology		3
COGNATE		ELECTIVE		Elective		3
GE WRTG-SPCH		WRTG 107 - COMM 100		Composition - Public Speaking	3	3
GE C/IL		C/IL 102		Computer & Info Literacy	3
GE PHIL-T/RS		PHIL 120 - T/RS 121		Intro. to Philosophy–Theology I	3	3
GE HUM		HUMN ELECT		Humanities Elective	3
GE FSEM		INTD 100		Freshman Seminar	1
GE PHED		PHED ELECT		Physical Education		1
					16	16
				SECOND YEAR
MAJOR		COMM 329		Graphics		3
COGNATE		ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	3
GE QUANT		MATH 204 3		Special Topics of Statistics	3
GE HUM		ELECT		Humanities Electives	3	3
GE PHIL-T/RS		PHIL 210 - T/RS 122		Ethics - Theology II	3	3
GE S/BH		S/BH ELECT		Social/Behavioral Electives	3	3
GE PHED		PHED ELECT		Physical Education	1	1
					16	16
				THIRD YEAR
MAJOR		COMM 317-COMM 318		Digital AV - Multi-Media Pres.	3	3
MAJOR		PHYS 204 - CMPS 311		Information Tech - Networks	3	3
MAJOR		MIT ELECT		Media & Info. Tech. Electives	6	3
COGNATE		COGNATE ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	6
GE HUMN		HUMN ELECT		Humanities Elective	3
GE NCSI		NCSI ELECT		Natural Science Elective		3
					18	18
				FOURTH YEAR
MAJOR		MIT 490		Information Technology Project	3
MAJOR		PHIL-T/RS 4		Computers & Ethics or equvalent		3
MAJOR		MIT ELECT		Media & Info. Tech. Elective	3
COGNATE		COGNATE ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	6
GE ELECT		FREE ELECT		Free Electives	6	6
					15	15
					Total: 130 CREDITS
To most effectively use the skills developed in the Media and Information Technology major, a content area is needed. Therefore, each student will complete either: another academic major; or an academic minor (or concentration) and take a course in Statistics 3 (Quantitive Reasoning Area). 1 Or CMPS 144 2 Also GE NSCI requirement 3 MATH 204 or any other statistics course that fits into GE QUAN. If the cognate is a second major in the sciences, any GE QUAN is acceptable. 4 PHIL 214 Computers and Ethics or equivalent course in Philosophy or Theology/Religious Studies area.