5 Media and Communications Specializations

Here are 5 Media and Communications Specializations. As cutting-edge communications technologies and ever-evolving entertainment fuel the world’s business and imagination, more and more specializations within this expansive field are growing to provide a path in media and communications to students of all interests and backgrounds. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this fascinating field is continuing to grow. Here are five areas of specialization in media and communications.

1. Performance Studies

The performance studies specializations usually comprise training in several areas of performance, with the student sometimes specializing in one over others. Performance studies include training in dance, music, performance art, and theatre. This specialization may lead to work in arts management, anthropology, education, and even politics. Performance studies is an emerging discipline, and programs with this specialization can vary widely, but as an interdisciplinary specialization, it is broadly applicable.

2. Mass Communication and Media Literacy

In the age of information, mass communication and media literacy specialization is more important than ever. It examines the impact of mass media on local, regional, and national levels and the changes it can produce in the way people think and respond to stimuli and emphasizes the importance of critical thinking where mass communications such as news, journalistic materials, and social media are concerned. This specialization may lead to work in journalism, library science, education, and media consulting.

3. Electronic and Digital Media Production

This specialization encompasses a variety of media production studies, including cinematography, audio production and post-production, and several other areas. Students may choose to specialize in one production discipline but will receive training in each of these areas. Electronic and digital media production specializations may lead to work in audio recording and production, broadcast media, film, television, and other related fields.

4. Public Relations

Public relations leverages intimate and deep knowledge of communication to build, maintain, and sometimes salvage the reputation and social standing of an individual, organization, or company. Public relations experts are found in a broad variety of settings, including entertainment, publicity, business, and tech. Larger companies may have a dedicated public relations team. Because public relations is such a broadly applicable specialization, media and communications majors who specialize in it may find work in almost any industry and anywhere in the world.

5. Game Development

Game development may not seem like an immediately obvious specialization in media and communications. However, the foundation skills built in a media and communications program translate extraordinarily well to game development and its many facets, including game audio, game art, narrative design, and other areas where a strong understanding of media and communications as both a technical practice and a liberal arts form is required. Choosing this specialization may lead to a number of different careers in game development dependent on the student’s area of interest and level of skill in different areas.

Each of these specializations relates to a different area of interest within media and communications and may lead to lucrative, satisfying, and long-term career paths.

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