Communication, Film, and Media Studies

Chair: Tom Garrett, M.F.A., New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

Professors Emeriti: Jerry L. Allen, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Steven A. Raucher, Ph.D., Wayne State University, J.D., Bridgeport School of Law at Quinnipiac College

Associate Professor: Tom Garrett, M.F.A., New York University, Tisch School of the Arts

Director of Studio Operations and Instructional and Institutional Media: Paul C. Falcone, M.B.A., University of New Haven

Distinguished Lecturers: Susan L. Campbell, M.A., Hartford Seminary; Susanne Murphy, M.A. Yale University, M.S. Southern Connecticut State University; Diane Smith, B.A., Binghamton University

Practitioners in Residence: Paul Andre Cassella, M.A, Public Relations, Southern New Hampshire University, MBA Certificate, Simon School of Business, University of Rochester; Natalie Chavoya, B.F.A., Film & Television, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts; Wayne Edwards, B.A., Communications TV/Radio Production, William Paterson University; Dean Pagani, M.A., Corcoran College of the Arts and Design, George Washington University

Coordinator of Principles of Communication: Diane Smith

Coordinator of The Welcome Project: Susanne Murphy

Coordinator of Sports Communication Minor: Wayne Edwards

Coordinator of Race and Ethnic Studies Minor: Wayne Edwards

General Manager WNHU 88.7: Bruce Barber, B.A., Hobart and William Smith Colleges

What can you do with a degree in communication from the University of New Haven? Pretty much anything you're passionate about. Our program will prepare you to be an innovator in entertainment, film, multiplatform journalism, strategic communication, and public relations, as well as in mass media including television, radio, and podcasting. Students acquire knowledge and the specialized skills needed to creatively and successfully adapt to the revolution happening in the field. Students train on state-of-the-art, industry-standard equipment and software and learn from professors who are immersed in the daily developments of the industry.

Our program blends hands-on experience, theoretical concepts and skills, and academic rigor to prepare students for careers and for additional studies at the graduate level. The department helps students land internships with regional and national businesses, public service organizations, and print and electronic media. Students majoring in film attain highly-sought-after internships at the Cannes Film Festival in France, the world's most prestigious film gathering.

Communication majors gain additional experience through writing for The Charger Bulletin (the website and the weekly student newspaper) and Horseshoe magazine (student long-form journalism website), working on Charger Bulletin News (weekly student TV program) and The Charge Up (student TV sports show), producing original content for the Welcome Project, Convergent Journalism and TV production classes, and working at WNHU-FM (the campus radio station), and producing podcasts and specialized film and video programs.

Emmy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winners are among the faculty who also work for ESPN, CT Public Broadcasting, FOX-61, WNPR, and Hearst Newspapers. Others are producing documentaries and independent films.

Graduates from our program are writing for news outlets such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Grio, Hearst Newspapers and a host of well-respected regional news outlets including CT Mirror. We have graduates working as communication specialists in the National Security Council, NBC, NBC Sports, ESPN, Fox-61, WTNH-TV, and ITV, one of the largest producers of unscripted programming in America. Those graduates are quick to contact us when their divisions are hiring.

Faculty and students belong to professional organizations such as the International Communication Association; the National Association of College Broadcasters; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; the National Association of Black Journalists, the American Film Institute; the Association for Educational Journalism; Society of Professional Journalists; College Media Association, and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender.

Our students frequently win awards in regional and national competitions in journalism, public relations, radio, television, and film, helping them advance and network professionally.