Broadcasting, Telecommunications & Mass Media

Patrick Murphy, Ph.D., Chair

215-204-3876

murphy.p@temple.edu

William Mooney, Assistant Chair

215-204-1884

bmooney@temple.edu

Department Office:
Annenberg Hall Room 205

Undergraduate Contact:

Amy Caples, Director of Recruiting
215-204-9717

caples@temple.edu

www.temple.edu/sct/btmm

The Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media expands students' knowledge and skills to create, evaluate, and manage media content and organizations.  With the urban and global communities as their living laboratories, students draw on their creativity, entrepreneurship, intellectual curiosity and analytical abilities to navigate digital media in our global society.

Theory and practice are integrated into all areas of study in the major.  BTMM students learn how to produce, evaluate and manage media content for traditional and emerging media in a variety of genres, including information (news and documentary), music, comedy, sports, drama, and commercial and noncommercial persuasion campaigns.  They study institutions that create, distribute and investigate media products (e.g., production studios, television and radio networks and audience measurement companies) and learn how to create and operate successful media businesses.  BTMM students learn to think purposefully and critically about media, and examine media roles in history, culture and society from many perspectives.  They also learn how to act ethically as they interact with the world both in careers in media institutions and as media consuming and producing citizens.

The BTMM curriculum features Professional Options in four areas:

1)  Media Production Professional Option:  This option introduces students to conceptual and technical tools employed to create media content for the digital world. Students who study in this option develop strong professional skills as well as critical and analytical abilities that enable them to evaluate content for various media.  They seek career opportunities as producers, writers, videographers, editors, recording engineers, web site designers and talent in traditional and emerging media.

2)  Media Business & Entrepreneurship Professional Option:  The practical and ethical ways to start, operate or participate in an enterprise that creates, produces, and/or distributes media content.  Students who follow this option seek career opportunities as media entrepreneurs, media production freelancers, owners/operators of production companies or recording studios, web site developers, or founders/owners of a station, channel or network.

3)  Media Analysis Professional Option:  Critical understanding of the roles of media in contemporary life, including media technology as a cultural force; the nature of media institutions, audiences, and texts; and the media as a source of shared social identities.  Students who select this option are prepared for careers as media consultants, editorial or technical writers, community activists, corporate communication producers and market research analysts.

4) Emergent Media Professional Option:  Focuses on critical analysis and production in new digital media, specifically in mobile media, the web, and video games.  Students who study this option develop an understanding of the global nature of the new digital media environment and its business practices, and production processes.  Students follow this option will be prepared for careers as digital media consultants, web designers, and marketing professionals in the converged media environment. 

Program Requirements:

PLUS Completion of a track (Media Production, Media Business & Entrepreneurship, Media Analysis, or Emergent Media)

*courses in various categories can only be counted once.

Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

Summary of Requirements:

- University requirements:

• New students starting in the 2011-2012 academic year are required to complete the General Education (GenEd) curriculum.
• All students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses in the major, one of which must be at the 3000+ level. Writing-intensive courses are listed below with a "WI" in the Attribute column and are identified as Writing Intensive in their course descriptions in Self Service Banner, accessible through the TU Portal.

- School of Communications and Theater requirements.

General Requirements:

• Minimum of 42 credits in BTMM / maximum of 58 credits in BTMM
• Maximum of 71 credits in the School of Communications and Theater
• Each course that fulfills a requirement for the major must be passed with a C- or better
• All prerequisites must be met unless exempted in writing
• No more than 20 transfer credits may be applied to the BTMM major
• Minimum GPA of 2.0 in the major
• No more than 8 credits in Kinesiology and Dance activities courses

Course Requirements:

• BTMM Foundation Courses: 1011 (Introduction to Media Theory), 1021 (Media and Society) and 1701 (Introduction to Media Technology) must be completed within the first 45 credits at Temple University.  Students transferring in to Temple need to complete at least one BTMM foundation course at Temple, unless exempted by the chair of the department.

• BTMM 4785 (Internship) or Practicum:  BTMM majors can choose between Internship or Practica.  All majors must have 2.75 GPA or greater to enroll in the Internship (3-4 credit hours); all other majors with a lower GPA must complete at least one Practicum (BTMM 4487, 4596, 4597, 4687, 4787, 4887).
• BTMM 4039: Senior Seminar taken during final 30 credits
• Professional Option selections (minimum 18 credit hours)
• Media Policy & Ethics requirement (minimum 3 credits): Complete a minimum of one course from the following: BTMM 4221, 4252, 4296, 4454.
• Media & Critical Topics requirement (minimum 3 credits): Complete a minimum of one course from the following: BTMM 3421, 4153, 4445, 4453, 4455, 4497.
• International/Intercultural Media Issues Requirement (minimum 3 credits): Complete a minimum of one course from the following: BTMM 3471, 3473, 3572, 4496, 4571, 4572.
• Electives (up to 12 credits)

Internships and Senior Seminar:

The academic experience for all BTMM majors culminates with the BTMM 4039: Senior Seminar and BTMM 4785: Internship for 3 or 4 credit hours (NOTE: To qualify for an internship, students must have Junior or Senior standing, a minimum of 2.75 GPA in the major, and passing grades (C-) in the BTMM requirement courses.  For students with a GPA lower than 2.75, a Practicum must be completed in place of the Internship).  Together, these courses provide students the opportunity to explore their potential professional futures.  Internship opportunities exist locally (at virtually every media-oriented organization in the greater Philadelphia region), nationally (in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other U.S. media markets), and internationally (in London, England and Tokyo, Japan, through the School of Communications and Theater's Study Away Program and Temple's Education Abroad Office).  Students who wish to enroll in a second internship as an elective can take BTMM 4786 for 1 to 3 credit hours.

Practica

There are six (6) practica options:  4487: TUTV Practicum, 4596: TV News Production Practicum - Temple Update, 4597: The Sports Production Practicum, 4687: Recording Industry Practicum, 4787: TV Production Workshop, and 4887: Radio Production Practicum.  Students enrolled in TUTV Practicum (BTMM 4487) play a key role in the operation of Temple University Television (TUTV) and will work with the course instructor, engineering staffers and others to schedule the station and produce original content.  In the TV News Production Practicum - Temple Update (BTMM 4596), students produce a weekly live-to-tape TV newsmagazine that airs on local cable TV.  The Sports Production Practicum (BTMM 4597) is a weekly sports program produced by students. Recording Industry Practicum (BTMM04687) is an intensive, practical course that engages students in the day-to-day operation of our student-run record label.  A summer offering, TV Production Workshop (BTMM 4787), also fulfills the requirement of a practicum and involves the production of various content also for broadcast on local cable. The Radio Production Practicum (BTMM 4887) takes place at WHIP, Temple University's Internet radio station located in the Tech Center on Main Campus.

BTMM courses designated a "Practicum" can be taken as either BTMM electives or in place of BTMM 4785: Internship.

Suggested Semester By Semester Plan

Please note that this is a suggested academic plan. Depending on your situation, your academic plan may look different.

Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, & Mass media

Requirements for New Students starting in the 2011-2012 Academic Year

Minor in Digital Media Technologies

The Digital Media Technologies Minor is a 21-23 semester hour interdisciplinary minor offered through the Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media (BTMM) Department within the School of Communications and Theater and the Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) Department within the College of Science and Technology. It is designed to expand students' knowledge of the information age and to empower them to understand how to communicate using emerging media and computer technologies. The ability to tell stories through emerging digital media technologies will be critically and analytically explored as students examine the science of those technologies. The algorithms of communicating via emergent technologies will be at the core of this minor. This program addresses serious gaps in the current curriculum because current students of media have little understanding of the science of digital media and fast evolving interactive web-based information sharing technologies.

The minor is available to undergraduate students in BTMM, Computer & Information Science, as well as other departments and colleges. Upon completion of the minor, students should be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Utilization of the hardware, software and technologies for integrating content for computers, the Internet, and mobile devices;
2. Critical analysis of decisions made regarding the use of technology specifically in the social and ethical arenas;
3. Understand the impact of current and emerging technologies locally and globally;
4. Design and implementation of content for various media digitally;
5. Ability to evaluate the science of technology as it impacts communications;
6. Develop and refine presentation, analytical, problem solving and writing skills.

Transfer credits are not accepted for credit for the minor.

Students must receive the permission of their advisor before starting in this program. Minor credit is not given for BTMM grades below C. Students must maintain at least a 2.00 grade point average in the program for successful completion of the minor. Students with averages under 2.00 for more than two semesters will be dropped from the program. Students with averages under 2.00 may not begin the program.

Requirements for the minor in Digital Media Technologies are as follows:

*Other requirements:

• For BTMM students, at least one (1) C+IN SC elective is required.
• For CIS students, at least one (1) BTMM elective is required.
• For students of other backgrounds, at least one (1) BTMM and one (1) CIS electives are required.
• All prerequisites must be completed or permission by instructor received to enroll in minor courses.
• Example CIS Electives: CIS 2109 (Database and File Management Systems), CIS 3242 (Discrete Structures). Both courses accept CIS 1052-1056 sequence as prerequisites.
• For students taking the Digital Media Technologies minor, 5 courses applied toward completion of minor requirements must be distinct from the major requirements. As such, additional electives will be accepted in place of courses that are listed for both the major and the minor. For BTMM majors taking this minor, BTMM 2701 or 2751 will be accepted in place of the required BTMM 1701.