Overview
Jeremy Sarachan, Chair
Douglas Bicket, Mary Loporcaro, Jack Rosenberry,* Arien Rozelle, Ronen Shay, Todd Sodano, Lauren A. Vicker
*On leave, Spring 2016
With thousands of successful graduates, the media and communication major at St. John Fisher College dates back to 1974 when it was created as a major in the department of Communication/Journalism. Now, the department's primary degree offering is a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication; it also offers a Bachelor of Science in Media Management and is closely affiliated with the interdisciplinary Digital Cultures and Technologies program. The media and communication major offers small classes and a tight-knit community of students and faculty. Students work with faculty in small seminar and lab classes, engage in faculty research, and are mentored into the media professions. The College's proximity to downtown Rochester, NY allows student participation in internships, service-learning initiatives, and networking opportunities.
The media industries have undergone unprecedented growth in the last decade with renewed emphasis on creating content to persuade, entertain, or inform—for any specific platform. Our program has evolved to meet the changing needs of these industries. Our students tell stories, whether through the creation of webisodes of a fictional program, covering a news event via Twitter, or the building of advertising and public relations campaigns across the web, video, and print.
Before joining academia, our professors held jobs as PR professionals, web designers, newspaper editors, magazine writers, and video editors. As award-winning academics, their research includes work in children and video game design, community and citizen journalism, the BBC and British news coverage, diversity in higher education, fan culture and science fiction television and shifting paradigms of television consumption practices.
Students have the opportunity to show off their work at multiple showcases, including presentations before real world clients and exhibitions of student films presented on campus and at the Little (Rochester’s local art-house movie theater).
Our internship program places students throughout the greater Rochester area, with students finding summer opportunities in New York City and beyond. Interns work at public relations and marketing firms, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, network and public television stations and production houses and web design companies. Our Media Practicum class allows students to experience the work environment at several Rochester-area businesses.
On campus, we offer activities for students to develop their knowledge and portfolios.
- Through Cardinal Television (CTV), students can produce both television programs and longer film projects. Students have access to a Macintosh computer lab with the Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects, Photoshop, Edge), professional equipment, a state-of-the-art high definition television studio, and Premiere Pro editing software.
- By joining Cardinal Media, students write and produce news, features, and sports stories, sell and design ads for broadcast, the web, and our monthly printed magazine and work with other talented writers, photographers and editors.
- The PRIMA Group, our student-run integrated public relations firm, offers a full range of PR campaign planning, marketing research, advertising, creative development, and more for on- and off-campus clients. Our chapter of PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America, offers students career exploration, seminars, and networking opportunities with industry professionals.
Majors and minors within the department provide focus in these areas:
Media Management – Students study public relations and advertising to prepare for careers as PR professionals, corporate communicators, advertising strategists, and copywriters for a range of companies from Fortune 500s to startups.
Video and Film Production – Students study video production across genres and production venues to create narratives, documentaries, ads, and independent films to find work with production companies and television stations or to prepare for further study in film and television.
Interactive Media and Design – Students study design for the web, interactive media, and print in preparation for work in public relations and advertising firms or smaller startup companies. Students interested in video game design or data visualization often consider a double major with Digital Cultures and Technologies.
Journalism – Students study journalism and nonfiction storytelling from a variety of genres (news, features, film criticism, sports) and platforms (print, video and documentary, web and social media), developing skills as writers, interviewers, designers, and videographers.
Communication and Media Studies – Students study topics in media law, group dynamics, visual communications, media and politics, film and television analysis and television history that prepare them for a variety of professions or to pursue graduate work in communication, law or business.
Transfer students are welcome and are easily acclimated to the department and the program.
The Washington Experience: Fisher Semester in Washington
Media and Communication majors may take advantage of The Washington Experience, a semester in Washington, D.C. Please refer to The Washington Experience for details.