General Description
The Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts offers courses fulfilling both the core curriculum requirements and those designed to fulfill degree program requirements for two majors. The primary core classes are Public Speaking, Introduction to Mass Communications, and Theatre Appreciation. These courses are designed to improve students' basic oral communications skills, to acquaint students with the diverse and complex nature of today's mass-mediated world, and to provide an understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural traditions surrounding the development of the theatre.

The Department also offers a variety of upper-level courses leading to the B.A. in Mass Communications and the B.A. in Theatre. In addition to advising its own majors and pre-majors, the department strives to enhance the academic and cultural life of the campus through a variety of excellent co-curricular vehicles, such as plays, workshops, the campus newspaper, University Television, and the radio station. The department is comprised of a wide variety of teacher/scholars with appropriate academic credentials and relevant professional experience, who actively pursue research in their fields, publish in refereed journals, and present papers at major regional, national and international conferences. Faculty are actively involved with their professional organizations and regularly contribute in a variety of ways to the cultural and intellectual life of the campus community, the city of Carrollton, and the State of Georgia.

Curriculum and Programs
The Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts provides a high-quality undergraduate liberal arts education leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in either Mass Communications or Theatre with appropriate supporting co-curricular activities in each area. The Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications is a broad-based program designed to educate and train students across media industries with emphasis on media literacy, writing, and technology competencies. The Bachelor of Arts in Theatre is designed to illuminate the complexity of humanity through course work and productions that mesh theatrical history, theory, and aesthetic concepts with emphasis on acting, directing, designing, constructing, and playwriting. The specific mission of the Theatre Program is to educate and inspire students who wish to study the art of theatre. By offering a B.A. degree in theatre, the department hopes to provide students with a well-rounded education in all areas of theatre arts - production and performance (including acting, directing, and design/technical skills), literature, and history. Providing this type of education will empower individuals to seek careers in theatre, careers related to theatre, or other professions. The department also offers a minor in both Mass Communications and Theatre.

The major in Mass Communications prepares students for professional careers in newspaper or magazine journalism, public relations and corporate communications, broadcast journalism, television production, and related fields. The major in Theatre prepares students for professional careers in theatre as actors, directors, designers, playwrights, dramaturgs, and technicians. Both majors prepare students for graduate study in their respective disciplines, leading to occupations in education, business, and law, or to more specialized areas of work within professional theatre or mass media programming and management.

Experiential Learning
The department provides a variety of experiential learning activities. Students enrolled in the Theatre program are expected to participate in all of the plays presented each year, either as cast or crew member. Mass Communications majors are strongly encouraged to enroll in one or more of the Practicum, or Applied, courses, prior to graduating, so that they may be directly responsible for the production of radio or TV programs, or the college newspaper. Internships are a vital part of both degree programs and are made available to interested and qualified students.

The University Community
The Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts supports the university's interdisciplinary initiatives by offering many courses with the XIDS prefix on a recurring basis. Typical courses are "Thirties and the Theatre," "What Do You Really Know About Backstage," and "The Anti-War Film," among others. Faculty members have successfully team-taught courses with colleagues both inside and outside the department, and have offered special courses that transcend our discipline and tie into others from different colleges, such as "Sports, Media, and Society." Faculty have been interested and successful in teaching courses in the core curriculum that interface with the Learning Community concept practiced by the College of Arts and Sciences. Members of the department, both faculty and staff, actively participate in Campus Visitation Days, the annual Media Conference, Georgia Theatre Conference, the Responsible Sexuality Committee, and Homecoming activities. Theatre faculty and students are routinely involved with the Music Department in the annual Madrigal Dinners.

Faculty
The faculty in the Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts represent diversity in terms of age, experience, gender, and national origin. They are excellent teachers, concerned and informed advisors, and active scholars with general and specialized knowledge of Theatre and Mass Communications. The faculty, largely untenured at this point, are engaged in a wide variety of research projects and creative activity related to musical theatre, technology, media literacy, costuming, diversity issues, and film. They frequently present the results at conferences and in print, and they serve as session coordinators, panel moderators, event planners, and association officers. 

Technology

Policies and Guidelines Concerning the Allocation and Use of Technology

1. The department will make every effort to purchase or otherwise acquire for the use of its faculty and staff all appropriate instructional technology to support and improve the quality of instruction in both regular classroom environments and in its associated co-curricular activities. 

 2. Technology will be acquired through the use of ENG equipment funds, student activities funds, and also through other arrangements such as barter, trade, or special revenue streams created to acquire funds especially for the support of instructional technology. 

 3. The technology used to support the instructional mission of the department includes but is not limited to such items as television and radio production equipment, newspaper production equipment, theatrical technology such as lighting and sound boards and associated equipment, sewing machines, power tools, desktop and laptop computers, portable video projectors, portable Elmo document cameras, videocassette recorders and digital video disk players, and color television monitors.  The department does not acquire or support Smart Boards, computer networks, or Plasma/HD television sets or systems. 

 4. Training will be provided to all faculty and staff who desire it and who will be using it in their instructional or support capacities. 

 5. Faculty and staff should be aware of the limited quantity of certain pieces of technology and should follow the reservations procedures to ensure that the equipment will be available to them when needed. 

 6. Broken or malfunctioning equipment should be reported immediately to the department chair or the office manager. 

 7. Technology is to be used for classroom use or academic support functions and not for personal use.  Except in special cases, the equipment is not to be taken home. 

 8. The department fully encourages any faculty member who wishes to take courses or seek out instruction in the use of technology to improve instruction or research, but faculty/staff may not always be fully supported financially for all such classes. 

 9. Every attempt will be made to keep up to date with technology and to make sure that new equipment purchased is compatible with other existing equipment so that the total technological package, as it grows, remains usable and consistent with the previous training and expertise of the users. Specialized consultants may be hired from time to time to assist the department in the selection, purchase, and installation of various pieces of technology. 

10. The policies involving departmental technology are to be evaluated by all current members of the faculty and staff annually to determine if they are serving the needs of the faculty, staff, and student end-users, and are consistent with supporting the goals and mission of the department. Persons wishing to make additions or modifications to the policies, or to make specific requests for pieces of technology, will do so in writing to the department chair. A list of technology needs/wishes will be kept current and on file by the department office manager.