Information from K-State Today
Kansas State University will offer an online bachelor’s degree in mass communications this fall.
The A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications said in a release Tuesday its launching the 120 credit degree program Aug. 17 with new classes starting every eight weeks.
It includes specific coursework in journalism or strategic communications. The journalism sequence prepares students for work in broadcast, news reporting and media design. Strategic communications focuses on advertising and public relations with an emphasis on social media.
The school says the program is ideal for students who started courses on any campus and want to transfer credits to finish stronger and safer online from home, recent high school graduates seeking careers in advertising, public relations, journalism or digital media, working professionals, military members or home-schooled students.
“We will be one of a handful of accredited journalism and mass communications programs in the world to offer an entire undergraduate degree program online,” said Steve Smethers, director of the A.Q. Miller School. “This fits nicely with K-State’s cyber land-grant university leadership, and we are proud to be among the programs on campus making this vision a reality.”
Envisioning this degree program and facilitating the launch was K-State alumnus Alan Boyer. A member of the A.Q. Miller School’s JMC National Advisory Council, Boyer is based in Atlanta and is a longtime marketing executive and an adjunct professor of strategic communications at K-State.
“We quickly assessed the opportunity, developed a road map to moving the in-person curriculum online, mobilized the JMC faculty to select areas of online teaching interest and identified solutions to create an interactive learning environment that equals the in-person experience,” Boyer said. “This program will serve both our current students and prospective students from around the world who will now have access to this school’s talented faculty.”
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests nationwide demand for trained professionals in public relations, advertising and journalism will grow by 4 percent over the next eight years.
More details can be found at online.kstate.edu/programs/mass-communications-bachelors.
