Connecting to our world
Staying connected through television, film, radio, print and new media has never been more prevalent than in today's society. The proliferation of media and media devices allow us to stay constantly connected, sharing and shaping our world minute-by-minute.
The Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies is devoted to exploring the ways in which media connect us with the world and how these relationships help shape the societies in which we live. The department has an innovative and creative faculty with many areas of specialization.
DU has a long history of excellence in the broad field of communication. Our alums work for the largest media outlets, corporations and government agencies, as well as local nonprofits, renowned colleges and universities and international development agencies. Faculty, student, and alumni artists display their work around the world.
The university offers innovative undergraduate and graduate programs with advanced intellectual and theoretical foundations. The scholar/artist faculty is committed to offering leading-edge communication theory and practice. Classes are small. Instructors know your name. Learning at DU is challenging and rewarding.
Faculty specialization
Our faculty are leaders and pioneers in the world of media, journalism and film. Their expertise is centered in these areas of study:
- strategic communication: public relations; communication campaigns; health communication; global and multi-cultural communication; media law and ethics; advertising; audience research.
- media studies: contemporary communications media; mass media; interactive and digital media; media influence on individuals, culture and society; globalization and media; the history and future of the media industry; social, political, economic and cultural implications of media process and content; reading and analysis of media texts.
- film studies and production: film and digital video production; narrative, documentary and experimental styles; script/screenwriting; film history and criticism.
- journalism: newswriting; feature writing; design and layout; online journalism; activist media; media law, policy and ethics.
- digital media studies: Web and multimedia design; programming; digital video/audio; influence of digital media on individuals; culture and society.
DU-ing something about it
Our students and alumni are committed to improving the world around them. As leaders within the communication field, our students tackle a variety of issues to further their own educational pursuits and interests as well as make a difference in society. Some recent projects have included:
- Documentary film students explored a variety of subcultures and the unique impact those subcultures play in today's society.
- Journalism students keep the pulse of the campus community through the weekly publication of the Clarion. The paper regularly wins local and national awards for its journalistic efforts.
- Digital Media Studies students volunteer their time through the Digital Media Outreach Center (DMOC) to assist nonprofits with digital technology needs, such as Web site development, electronic brochures, presentations and new media consultations.
- Journalism student Mary Jean O'Malley helped start the DU Bike Library (bike sharing program) and raised $50,000 from the City of Denver to fund the initiative.
- Strategic communication students take on nonprofit organizations as clients and help them build relationships with their publics through strategic messages.
- Students assist faculty with important research including: religion and the media; health communication and strategic messaging campaigns on college campuses and the developing world; and the role of journalism in today's society.
The department also tackles the great global issues of the day. Students, faculty and staff immerse themselves in exploring new and immerging topics.
- The Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media works for the public good by researching how people make meaning out of journalism, digital media and popular entertainment. The center also hosts workshops on issues such as communication during hurricane Katrina, the portrayal of Islam in the media and the role of journalism and First Amendment rights.
- Strategic communication student Brittany Weiser wrote a senior thesis on "Smallpox and Bioterrorism: An Examination of Public Knowledge about Smallpox and Bioterrorism Risk Communication Techniques."
- Journalism student Daliah Singer explored what it means to be a "connected" college student in her thesis, "Sensory Overload: What it Means to be an Informed College Student Today."
- Professor Renee Botta is addressing water sanitization and hygiene issues in an urban slum in Africa by helping building water treatment facilities and implementing hygiene education programs.
- Professor Christof Demont Heinrich developed a Web site and blog devoted to covering and promoting the synergy between solar energy and electric vehicles and plug in hybrid electric vehicles.
- Professor Margaret Thompson spends her summers covering women's rights issues as a journalist for the Feminist Internet Radio Endeavor in Costa Rica and South America.
- Film faculty produce documentary and narrative films on a variety of topics such as college sports, religion and sexual orientation, and death and dying .
- Professor Chris Coleman directs students in a project for the Denver Biennial Celebration that includes the coordination of several digital media exhibits around the city.
Global awareness
In recognition of the increasingly global nature of communication, the University of Denver actively integrates global awareness into our curriculum. In recent years, our faculty have brought international experience to students through speaking and teaching engagements and research in diverse locales such as Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Great Britain, Ireland, Kenya, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Zambia.
Digitalization
Anticipating the expanding role of digital media and arts in the 21st century, the Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies founded one of the first digital media studies degree programs (both BA and MA) in the world. The awareness of and emphasis on the digital age has manifested itself in the department's facilities, curriculum and co-curricular projects, such as the DU Portfolio Community.
