TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

Undergraduate Bulletin Updated for 1997-1998

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School of Communications and Theater

founded 1968

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The School of Communications and Theater is concerned not only with high standards of professional work, but also with encouraging the next generation of artists, teachers, clinicians, and media managers to develop an intellectual background and a sense of social responsibility. Toward this end, SCAT students take at least half of their coursework in disciplines outside the School. For some, history and political science are related areas of interest; others choose literature and the arts; still others choose business, economics, or the social sciences. In this way, the School participates in providing not only professional training but also a broad humanistic education for its students.

The faculty of the School come from diverse backgrounds. Some have extensive professional experience as filmmakers, journalists, television producers, theater directors, speechwriters, advertising executives, and public relations practitioners. Others have come to Communications and Theater through academic study, doing graduate work and continuing the practice of research and scholarship while teaching at Temple.

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HISTORY

The study of communication began formally at Temple University with the founding of the Department of Journalism in 1927. It was the first such department in the Commonwealth. Theater was an extracurricular activity at Temple until 1931, when formal courses were developed.

Radio-Television-Film was organized as an instructional unit in 1947 and extensive film offerings were added in 1967. In 1967 the Master of Fine Arts in Theater was established and in 1971 the Master of Fine Arts in Film and Video was begun. Both have national reputations, as is the case for the Department of Radio-Television-Film.

In 1987 the Department of Speech joined the School from the College of Arts and Sciences. It divided into two departments: the Department of Rhetoric and Communication and the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing.

In 1994 the School underwent a reorganization which took effect in fall 1995. The Radio-Television-Film Department was divided into the Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media and the Department of Film and Media Arts. The Departments of Communication Sciences and Speech Communication were formed, building on the clinical and social science faculty in the School. The Department of Journalism was renamed the Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising.

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SPECIAL FACILITIES

The School of Communications and Theater, established in 1968, is housed in buildings designed for teaching, research, and production. The Theater Department, located in Tomlinson Hall, utilizes three theaters ranging from 100 to 300 seats. The department also provides rehearsal rooms and costume and scene shops.

The primary location of the School is Annenberg Hall, which houses the Departments of Film and Media Arts; Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media; and Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising. WRTI, the University's FM stereo radio station, and broadcast and film production areas (audio and video studios, editing areas, graphics labs, film laboratory) occupy the first floor. Located on the lower level are video and film editing areas, a 75-seat film and video screening room, and journalism photographic labs. The third floor includes computerized news writing and editing rooms, display terminals, and a modern graphics laboratory with Macintosh computers and a laser printer. The Blitman Reading Room provides an extensive collection of materials relating to communications.

The Speech-Language-Hearing Center, located in Weiss Hall, is the clinical facility of the University's professional training program in speech-language pathology and audiology. In addition to the Center, the program has three laboratories for research.

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SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Temple Update
Temple Update is a production course in which students can gain experience producing, reporting, and editing for a half hour weekly news magazine format. The program airs on a cable outlet. The course gives the students opportunity to produce material for a resume tape. It provides students with valuable experience in field work, news writing, video editing, and the pressure of a live program.

Internship Program
Although the requirements may vary, internships are available to junior and senior students of every department in the School. Internships are for academic credit and must involve professional activity related to their course of study. Also, they must be approved by the administrator of faculty member charged with supervising internships.

Temple/London
The School of Communications and Theater program in London is for undergraduate students. Students spend the fall semester in London studying British theater and media with an international faculty.

Enrollment in the London program is also open to qualified students from other universities and colleges to foster an intellectual exchange among students of varied collegiate backgrounds. Courses are designed to make the best use of the uniqueness of London and of the United Kingdom.

Summer seminars in London are also an important feature of the School's special programs. Realizing the inestimable value of direct contact with professionals and other experts, the School of Com-munications and Theater offers an annual seminar on British mass media. These seminars are offered for graduate and undergraduate credit and can be an integral part of a student's coursework.

The seminars, like the year-long program, are open to qualified students from other universities and colleges and to others who choose to continue their education in a less formal manner than in a prescribed program of study.

See International Studies for more information about Study Abroad options. Current information on the London program is available from the Office of the Dean, (215) 204-1902.

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POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

The University policies and regulations generally apply to all undergraduate students and provide a framework within which schools and colleges may specify further conditions or variations appropriate to students in their courses or programs.

Academic Standing
A student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative average to remain in good standing.

Advising
Students in the School of Communications and Theater are advised by professional academic advisers and faculty advisers. New students (up to 30 credits), transfer students in their first semester, and students on academic probation make advising appointments in the Advising Center on the third floor of Annenberg Hall. All other students are advised by faculty in their respective departments. See the department office for assignment to the appropriate adviser.

Some students will be eligible to register for classes via touch-tone telephone. (This group of students will be notified accordingly.) These students should meet with their advisers prior to the eligible phone registration period.

Students preparing to graduate will file necessary paperwork one semester prior to the graduation date. At that time, an appointment should be made in the Academic Advising Center for a graduation review.

Credits Not Applied Toward the Degree
Credits earned in the following courses are not applied toward a degree in the School of Communications and Theater:all courses in Military Science, SRAP, and ELECT; Composition 0045; and Mathematics 0015. Students returning to campus after an absence of three or more years must use the Bulletin in force at the time of readmission or any subsequent Bulletin. Credits more than 10 years old may not be applied toward the degree.

Dean's List
Each semester, undergraduate students who achieve a grade point average of 3.5 or above for the semester with 12 or more credits toward the degree and with no grade of Incomplete or NR are selected for the Dean's List. Letters of congratulation are sent to each of these students.

ELECT Requirements
Students enrolled in any ELECT course may not be enrolled in Journalism J150. Satisfactory completion of any ELECT requirement is a prerequisite for enrolling in Speech Communication courses numbered 0050 or above.

Transfer Students
Refer to Undergraduate Admissions for general information on transferring courses to Temple. In addition to these criteria, each department in the School of Communications and Theater will evaluate any credit to be transferred into a major. This evaluation generally is done at the first meeting with a faculty adviser during the first semester. The maximum number of credits allowed to transfer in the major are: 20 hours in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media, 18 hours in Communication Sciences, 21 hours in Communications and Theater Interdepartmental degree, 21 hours in Film and Media Arts, 12 hours in Speech Communications, and 20 hours in Theater.

The Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising allows only 12 s.h. of journalism courses from another Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) accredited program and no more than 9 s.h. from a non-accredited program. Transfer students should meet with an adviser to determine equivalent credit for Journalism or Mass Communication courses they wish to transfer.

Transfer students are eligible to take advantage of internships, Honors programs, and the Temple/London program and should discuss the specific requirements with an adviser after matriculating at Temple.

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