Communications and Media - Senior

Course # MDIA 4082

Credits 6

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: Introduction to Mass Communication, Journalism Basics, Media Studies.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the legal and ethical frameworks of media and journalism. It examines national and international media laws, freedom of expression, copyright, defamation, privacy, regulation, and the challenges posed by digital media. The course also covers ethical dilemmas, professional codes of conduct, and landmark legal cases that have shaped modern journalism.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the relationship between law, media, and democracy.
• Identify and apply legal standards to media practice (libel, slander, copyright, privacy).
• Recognize ethical dilemmas and apply professional standards in journalism.
• Evaluate landmark legal cases and their implications for media freedom.
• Demonstrate an understanding of media regulation in the digital era.
• Produce analytical essays and case studies on ethical/legal challenges in journalism.

Course Assessments and Grading

Course # MDIA 4191

Credits 6

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: Documentary and Scriptwriting, Media Production TV

Course Description

This course explores advanced journalism and media storytelling practices. It provides students with an opportunity to develop a production project aligned with contemporary industry methods. The project demonstrates a professional identity built on innovation in conceptualization and media articulation. Students practice the skills required to plan and pitch production proposals. By identifying and connecting with audiences, students draw on audience metrics to create relevant and engaging content and style. Students take advantage of ongoing technological changes in media. Efforts should be made by students to place these developments and reflections within the context of Central Asia. This course builds on the skills and capabilities students have gained throughout their studies in theory and production courses.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Deliver an effective story pitch to employ strong verbal, written, and analytical skills to the degree expected of a senior-level college student.
• Produce a technically well-packages short documentary, short film and podcast that shows students’ ability to combine research, narration, and audio-visual technical skills.
• Conduct in-depth interviews and fieldwork to connect with and relate to various stakeholders.
• Present facts and opinion through research and interviews to correctly interpret the opinions and values on the topic presented.
• Work with a team and locals on delivering stories and voices of the local community.

Course Assessments and Grading

Course # MDIA 4080

Credits 6

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: Audiences for Communications and Media;

Narrative Studies; Print/Radio/TV Production 

Course Description

The course examines a range of social science research methods and approaches with emphasis on their application to the context of media and communications, and discusses research as means of social inquiry.   It focuses on research design; data collection, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the critical appraisal and evaluation of primary and secondary research and understanding of ethics from communication and media research perspective.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Analyse ethnographic research methods and key approaches to interviewing human participants
• Apply appropriate research methods to design research projects
• Explain the role of research within various forms of communication practice
• Explain the ethical implications of research practices and the external environment within which social research is conducted
• Define the key research and research-interpretation skills for work in public communications, advocacy, development and creative industries
• Explain how research informs professional communications practice

Course Assessments and Grading

Course # MDIA 4083

Credits 6

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: None (Recommended Science Communication)

Course Description

This course engages in the critical analysis of many and varied environmental discourses connecting the local with the global.  Students study a range of visual and written texts to learn how environmental communication is used by different actors in society. The role of communication is studied at the intersections of other key issues such as biodiversity, sustainable development, and climate change.  By evaluating and creating different media texts students gain an understanding of how media in various social and political contexts shape environmental communication discourses in the public sphere. Using holistic and systems thinking, students design environmental communication campaigns undergirded by the sustainable development framework that places community concerns at the centre.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Examine the ways in which different political, cultural, economic and geographical contexts shape environmental communication discourses in the public sphere.
• Evaluate a range of texts and assess their effectiveness on the intended audience.
• Examine how visual texts act as cultural prism that shape our understanding of nature.
• Discuss the role of media in reporting key environmental issues in different societies while connecting the local with the global.
• Design communication responses to engage a variety of audiences about environmental issues.

Course Assessments and Grading 

Course # MDIA 4088

Credits 6

Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: None

Course Description

The Film Production course is a hands-on filmmaking programme that guides students through the essential stages of transforming their ideas from late development to final production. Through practical workshops and team collaboration, students gain experience in preparing essential elements at key production stages while bringing their creative visions to the screen. The programme enables students to engage with industry professionals and learn from their expertise, practical tips, and current practices in independent filmmaking. The unique outcome of this course is that students complete the course with a portfolio of produced works that demonstrate their ability to transform ideas to the final stages of completing of their short films.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Develop a Film Project Package consisting of a Teaser and a Film Project Dossier that meet industry standards.
• Create a Teaser that communicates the essence of a film project
• Create a Rough Cut that presents the draft of a film.
• Articulate story, vision, and production strategy in a structured format.
• Deliver a professional pitch of their film project to industry representatives.

Course Assessments and Grading