About

Welcome to the blog for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University! We’re proud to be one of the largest and most innovative journalism and mass communication programs in the nation. With a vibrant and active faculty of scholars and professionals, we provide our students with the best training and preparation for productive and responsible careers in mass communication in the 21st century.

 

High-Tech and Cutting Edge Curriculum

Our academic curriculum is designed for students who want to learn cutting-edge communication skills and to develop a lifelong commitment to the responsibilities and privileges of being mass communicators in a high-tech, multicultural, global society. We provide students with a broad liberal arts education with a professional focus in five sequences: advertising, electronic media, mass communication, print journalism and public relations. We also offer courses and graduate concentrations in Latinos and media, online media, and strategic communication.

The School’s faculty offices, classrooms, high-tech media labs and administrative offices are located in historic Old Main, situated atop Chautauqua hill and overlooking the Texas State campus and the city of San Marcos. Students can also earn a general mass communication degree without ever visiting the San Marcos campus – we’re one of the few academic programs to offer a full bachelor of arts degree at the university’s Round Rock Higher Education Center north of Austin.

 

Hands-On Experience

Students who come to study with us have plenty of opportunities to experience hands-on what it’s like to work in media professions. Our School provides professional student-operated media to the campus and community, including the Daily University Star newspaper; KTSW-FM, a 10,500 watt radio station; Bobcat Update, a twice weekly newscast airing on local cable; and Bobcat PRomotions, a student public relations agency serving clients on and off campus.

Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom. Students in our School can be involved in extra-curricular activities through School-sponsored chapters of the American Advertising Federation, National Broadcasting Society, Society of Professional Journalists, Public Relations Student Society of America and other groups.

Our students are excellent scholars and competitors in state, regional and national competitions. Students involved with student media received more than 40 awards and citations from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association in 2006, and the school’s American Advertising Federation team – always competitive – won its second national championship in 2005.

Our Public Relations Society of America Bateman Team won second place in the national competition in 2004, and two of our students have attained national recognition as winners in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program for 2006-2007. Students from the School hold internships at major media outlets in Texas and throughout the nation, including positions with Scripps Howard, Dow Jones, Chips Quinn and others.

 

Diversity in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication

The faculty and student body are richly diverse – 21 percent of all students are Hispanic – and faculty members hail from Puerto Rico, India and Brazil. Faculty members are productive scholars who present papers and actively participate in regional, national and international conferences. Two Fulbright scholars are members of the School’s faculty, and the school is a recipient of a Ford Foundation grant to develop a Latino Media and Markets Program.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University is accredited by ACEJMC – a designation earned through excellence and commitment to high standards in professional journalism and mass communication education and earned by only 20 percent of JMC programs in the county. We have more than 1,700 majors enrolled in our undergraduate and graduate programs — which makes the program one of the largest journalism and mass communication programs in the state of Texas – and the nation.

Thanks for visiting us online, and be sure to be in touch with us if we can answer your questions, schedule a visit, or help you learn more about our programs in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication!