Course descriptions

This course involves a discussion of various theories guiding the use, effects and processes of mass communication. It deals with a wide range of theories that have been developed over the years affected by sociology, psychology, and other disciplines. Theories such as persuasion, agenda setting, and uses and gratifications, as well as theories related to the new media environment will be discussed among others.

This course introduces students to the basic steps of conducting scientific research in mass communication. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research such as survey, content analysis, experiments, personal interviews and others are examined. The sampling process and types of samples are emphasized too. Other explained concepts are independent, dependent, and control variables, as well as constitutive and operational definitions.

This course examines the role of digital media platforms, including social media, blogs, podcasts, and streaming services, in modern marketing strategies. Students will explore how to leverage these platforms to create compelling content, engage audiences, and build brand presence. Through case studies and hands-on projects, students will gain practical experience in crafting and managing digital media campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences and achieve measurable outcomes.

Practical work with an off-campus newspaper, magazine, or other news organization, supervised by a journalism professional in consultation with a faculty member. Repeatable, but no more than six hours total credit may be earned in internship courses toward the 36-hour minimum required for the degree.

In this course, students develop a capstone project or an equally weighted portfolio in their respective field. The project should demonstrate the creative and technical skills that students have acquired during their studies in the program. The project is supervised by the course instructor. Timely completion of the project stages is as important as the quality of the project itself. Students may obtain mentorship from industry professionals in coordination with the course instructor.

This course presents students to a combining approach gathering elements and ideas from marketing and communication as a method to achieve organizational goals. Students learn that organizations mix public relations, advertising, marketing, personal communication and others, can increase their advantages. Students are presented to IMC components, planning, and message design.

In this course, students are required to create their own projects in PR/Advertising. The aim of this course is to enable students to create creative works as part of personal portfolios presented to others upon seeking a job.

Internship in Visual Communications

Senior Visual Communication Project

Focusing on character rigging and animation, expressive timing, staging and fluid movement in character animation, students create original, high quality animated segments in preparation for senior projects and portfolio quality work. Additional advanced techniques are taught such as facial expression and lip-synch.

Working in small production teams, students in this course learn how to manage the production pipeline for a visual communication project. With the focus on working in a team environment to meet deadlines, students are expected to produce a professional quality projects in the areas of to graphic design, animation, video and audio editing, or web design. Students are encouraged to develop an individual approach that defines them as independent, creative and intelligent thinkers ready to challenge and contribute to a contemporary visual communication environment.

Supervised practicum with a variety of communications-specific entities including but not limited to digital media outlets, public relations agencies, advertising agencies, newspapers, broadcast stations and networks, full-service marketing firms and film/video production companies. Requires students to officially document work and hours performed.

Topics in Multimedia

Based on faculty’s selection of topics, students are presented to a certain topic focusing on mass communication.

This course is an introduction to the study and practice of acting. It will consider acting from a number of perspectives: the nature of acting, the process of acting, and the relationship between dramatic texts and their performers. Analyzing and building a character, diverse acting styles, realistic and nonrealistic acting and acting for stage, television and cinema will be discussed and practiced.

This course is an introduction to the study of theatre and drama arts. The course will cover theatre and drama from a number of perspectives: the nature of theatre as a performing art, connection between ritual and theatre, relationship of theatre to life, language and literature, stage, acting directing and playwriting. The course covers the history of drama and theatre, the beginnings (ritual drama and Greek drama), the medieval theatre, the renaissance and the 17th-20th centuries.

Examines the organization of natural ecosystem as it relates to the human community. Basic ecological principles are applied to current environmental issues. Among the topics to be examined are past and present uses and abuses of natural resources; environmental ethics and public policy; global environmental problems; human population growth; pollution; waste disposal; habitat loss; species extinction; and strategies for attaining a sustainable earth;

This is an introduction to scientific methods and experimentation studies of life from basic atoms to cellular levels of organization. Emphasis on human biology and its different organs in general educational lecture is followed. This course is designed for non-science major students.

This course is survey of selected basic concepts of biological sciences. Topics covered include the scientific method; cell structure and function; biochemistry, fundamentals of genetics and molecular biology; biotechnology, and current issues in biology. This course is designed for science majors and minors and prepares students for upper level biology courses.

This course provides clear background information and directions for conducting laboratory activities. Students not only learn basic biological information but also gain experience practicing laboratory techniques. It includes basic techniques for handling the organism, experimental design, data collection, interpretation, and scientific writing. Example physiological processes in major organ systems are studied at the chemical, cellular and organ level. This course is designed for science majors and minors and prepares the students for upper level biology laboratory courses.

Introduces chemistry conceptually; focusing on its eminent role in our everyday life, majorly in the environment. Highlights the chemical principles with little emphasis on calculations for non-science major students. Provides essential topics; Molecular Reasons. The chemist's toolbox, Atoms and Elements, Molecules, Compounds, and Chemical Reactions, Energy for Today and Tomorrow, The Air Around Us, The Liquids & Solids Around Us; Especially Water, Acids and Bases.

This course introduces the most elementary principles of chemistry for non-science major students. Describes the central role chemistry plays in our daily life by showing some interesting applications. This course will identify essential concepts first by indicating the importance of chemistry in our lives, explaining atoms, expressing the atomic structures, classifying the chemical bonds, and chemical calculations, emphasizing the properties of gases, liquids, and solids, in addition to summarizing the concepts of acids, bases and reviewing organic chemistry.

Discover atomic structure and stoichiometry, the reactions in aqueous solutions, thermochemistry and quantum theory, the electrons configuration, chemical bonding, molecular geometry, intermolecular forces, gases, and physical properties of solutions.

The Basic Chemistry Principles Laboratory course will focus on introducing qualitative and quantitative analyses and will enhance the student's technical skills.

Provides students with an introduction to laboratory safety and handling hazardous materials in a working laboratory environment. The emphasis is on lab safety culture - using personal protective equipment; handling lab equipment; handling, storing, and disposing of chemicals; informing students about health concerns; safety, planning, and others.

Serves as a general environmental science course for the non-science major. Topics include: atmospheric composition, solar radiation, temperature, moisture and condensation relationship between air pressure and wind, weather patterns, severe weather, optical phenomena in the atmosphere, and the behavior and possible changes of climate, Air Pollution, Climate Changes, Greenhouse Warning.

This course is a review of basic mathematical concepts and applications through the use of a variety of problem solving techniques which includes fundamentals of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in problems involving whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions, percentages, geometric measurements and formulas, related algebraic equations and expressions. Emphasizes is placed on analysis and solution of application problems. Non-matriculating; the credits do not count towards graduation.

This course is a review of basic mathematical concepts and applications through the use of a variety of problem-solving techniques which includes fundamentals of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in problems involving whole numbers, integers, fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions, percentages, geometric measurements and formulas, related algebraic equations and expressions. Emphasis is placed on analysis and solution of application problems. Non-matriculating; the credits do not count towards graduation.

This course is a review of algebraic concepts and applications through use of a variety of factoring techniques, graphing linear equations and inequalities, systems of equations, and an introduction of the main concepts of polynomial, rational and radical functions. Emphasis is placed on algebraic techniques in order to successfully complete MATH 111 College Algebra. Non-matriculating; the credits do not count towards graduation.

Course topics will include polynomial functions, the binomial theorem, logarithms, exponentials, and solutions to system of equations, trignometric and inverse trignometric functions with emphasis on trignometric identities and equations.

This course presents methods of problem solving, centering on problems and questions which arise naturally in everyday life. Includes topics from algebra and geometry, the mathematics of finance, probability and statistics, exponential growth, and other topics chosen from traditional and contemporary mathematics which do not employ calculus.

Course topics will include linear and quadratic equation and inequalities, radical equations, graphs of equations in two variables, functions and their graphs – linear, quadratic, polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic functions, exponential and logarithmic equations, systems of linear equations, arithmetic and geometric sequences.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and methods of descriptive statistics and elementary probability, with emphasis on interpretation, visualization, and practical application in communication and media research. Students learn how to collect, summarize, and present data using graphical and numerical techniques, analyze relationships between variables, and understand the role of probability and sampling in drawing conclusions from data. The course is practice-oriented and integrates the use of Microsoft Excel for data organization, computation, and visual representation to support informed and data-driven decision-making.

This course is an introduction to probability and statistics. Topics include the concept of probability and its properties, descriptive statistics, discrete and continuous random variables, expected value, distribution functions, the central limit theorem, random sampling and sampling distributions.

This course develops students’ understanding of statistical inference and its role in analyzing and interpreting real-world data. It covers the construction and evaluation of sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests for population parameters, as well as simple and multiple regression models for prediction and decision-making. Emphasis is placed on conceptual understanding, result interpretation, and practical application rather than rote computation. Students use Microsoft Excel (or equivalent software) to perform statistical analyses, visualize data, and communicate findings clearly and accurately in applied contexts relevant to communication, management, and social sciences.

This is a course in the calculus of one variable intended for students who pursue a degree in business and economics, but not in computer science. It is open to others who are qualified and desire more mathematics course at the core level. Topics include a brief review of polynomials, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions, followed by discussion of limits, derivatives, applications of differential calculus to real-world problem in business and economics. An introduction to integration concludes the course.

Provides an introduction to differential and integral calculus. Includes limits, derivatives and applications of derivatives such as related rates, Newton's method, the Mean-value Theorem, Max-Min problems, and curve sketching. Covers integrals, the Fundamental Theorem of Integral Calculus, and applications of integrals, volumes, and average values.

Topics include integration techniques for exponential and logarithmic functions, inverse (trigonometric) functions, hyperbolic functions, the use of polar coordinates, improper integrals, some introductory basics of 1st order ordinary differential equations, infinite series and their convergence and divergence, power and Taylor series and their radii of convergence.

Studies of linear equations and their matrix representations. Introduces the Gaussian elimination methods and determinants in matrix algebra. Reviews the geometric vectors in two and three dimensions and their linear transformations. Define vector spaces; linear independence; basis; row; column and null spaces; rank and nullity.

Topics selected from vector spaces, bases, linear transformations, matrices, canonical forms, Eigen values, hermitian and unitary matrices, inner product spaces, and quadratic forms.

Presents a basic introduction to probability, statistics, and data analysis. The topics covered include visualizing data, summary statistics, simple and conditional probability calculations, discrete and continuous probability distributions, and using p-values for basic hypothesis testing. Further, ideas from the course will be investigated computationally via short projects using a computer program such as Excel, Python, R, or MATLAB, etc.

Topics include vectors, cylindrical and spherical coordinates, vector-valued functions, arc length and curvature, functions of several variables, partial and directional derivatives, gradients, extrema, Lagrange multipliers, multiple integrals, change of variables, surface area, vector fields, Stokes’ Theorem.

Topics will be chosen from: linear differential equations, equations with constant coefficients, Laplace transforms, power series solutions, and systems of ordinary differential equations.

Limits, continuity, and differentiability of functions of one and several variables, sequences and series, and the Riemann Stieltjes integral.

Provides an introduction to numerical analysis. The main topics covered are: Propagation of floating-point error; Zeroes of nonlinear functions: Bisection method, Newton’s method, Secant method, fixed point method; convergence criteria, rate of convergence, effect of multiplicity of zero; introduction to the use of Newton’s method for systems of nonlinear equations. Systems of linear equations: Gauss elimination, LU and Cholesky factorization, ill-conditioning, condition number; iterative methods: Jacobi, Gauss-Seidel, SOR, convergence criterion. Interpolation and Quadrature: Lagrange interpolation, error formula; Newton-Cotes and Romberg quadrature.

Introduction to groups, rings, and fields, with emphasis on groups and rings.

The course will cover various advanced topics in applied mathematics, and can be taken more than once for credit. Examples of such topics are: Fast transforms, digital filters, etc.

This course is designed to provide an overview of physical activity and lifetime personal fitness. The course introduces different components of fitness, different types of aerobic/anaerobic exercises, flexibility and body composition, muscular strength and endurance and management of personal fitness and nutrition. The course covers a variety of lifetime activities that promote health and well-being.

This is an introductory course for students in non-science majors presenting physical principles and laws through examples from everyday life experiences. Topics covered include inertia, speed and velocity, acceleration, Newton’s laws, projectile motion, rotational motion, work and energy, friction, conservation laws, equilibrium, Hooke’s law, fluids and their motion, heat and thermodynamics, mechanical waves and resonance.

Introduces concepts of modern physics such as relativity, quantum mechanics in addition to atomic and nuclear physics. Builds up awareness about the energy future of our planet.