Programs
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Bianca Bailey
509-963-1066
bianca.bailey@cwu.edu
Advertising is the art of persuasion—but with a bit of panache. Students who minor in advertising gain an understanding of the role of the creative process in building advertising as well as advertising planning, production, and distribution.
At CWU, advertising students gain real-world experience in writing copy and developing advertising campaigns. Internships with prominent advertising agencies can give students an advantage when it comes to applying for jobs after graduation.
You learn the fundamentals of creating an advertisement including effective words, compelling designs, and striking visuals. Additionally, you’ll learn the benefits of research to determine the effectiveness of an ad campaign.
Terri Reddout
509-963-1056
reddoutt@cwu.edu
The Broadcast specialization in the Digital Journalism major helps build professional skills and ethical awareness in broadcast reporting and video production. Courses are offered in basic and advanced news writing, studio and field production, and news producing and directing. Rigorous and demanding, these courses are designed to provide hands-on training in on-air and behind-the-scenes operations, which are required to enjoy successful careers in a highly competitive industry.
In today’s environment of converging media, successful journalists need the necessary skills and concepts to tell meaningful stories for a variety of outlets. A specialization in writing and reporting (print media) or broadcasting is required. At Central, broadcast students have excellent opportunities for internships at televisions stations in Yakima, Spokane and Seattle and for networking through a number of student organizations including the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio and Television News Directors Association.
Central NewsWatch, CWU's student-run television newscast, offers students opportunities to gather, write, and report news stories for broadcast. In 2015, Central's student radio station The ‘Burg 88.1 was named Best College Radio Station in the U.S. by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.
Bianca Bailey
509-963-1066
bianca.bailey@cwu.edu
Studying communications is your window on the world. Whether you major in communication studies, digital journalism, film and video studies, or public relations, you’ll be gaining an understanding of how we form opinions and gain information.
CWU’s Department of Communication prepares you for a career in the media, public relations, government affairs, or other related fields.
Enjoy a job where every day offers something new! Our graduates work in some of the most prominent media organizations on the West Coast.
Cynthia Mitchell
509-963-1063
Cynthia.Mitchell@cwu.edu
As a digital journalism student at Central, you’ll gain valuable experience in reporting and writing about important events, people and things, producing and editing video and still photography, designing for print and the web, and understanding how to create powerful online and social media platforms.
Perhaps the greatest skills a digital journalism student will gain are learning how to be a critical thinker and how to distill large amounts of information into easily understandable end products, particularly in the burgeoning social media field. Journalism students are highly sought-after for their writing, communicating, and researching abilities, which are beneficial in a number of careers. Digital journalism students choose a specialization in journalistic writing and reporting or broadcast journalism.
Central digital journalism students learn how to question, investigate, interpret, and communicate—with great accuracy and on deadline. Such skills are invaluable in a wide variety of fields including the law, government, public agencies, advertising, public relations, and social studies.
Jon Ward
509-963-2893
jon.ward@cwu.edu
CWU Film Studies majors learn to view film as an art form, a personal or cultural expression, and as a commercial endeavor.
In addition to following their creative muses, students in the CWU Film Studies program develop and hone their technical, analytical, research, and writing skills as they learn to produce and critique films and videos.
You get to make movies. How cool is that?
Cynthia Mitchell
509-963-1063
cynthia.mitchell@cwu.edu
As a digital journalism student, you’ll gain experience in reporting and writing about important events, people and things, producing and editing video and still photography, designing for print and the web, and understanding how to create powerful online and social media platforms.
Perhaps the greatest skill a journalism student will gain is being a critical thinker and someone who knows how to distill large amounts of information into easily understandable end products. Journalism students are highly sought-after for their writing, communicating, and researching abilities. CWU offers a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Journalism. Students choose to specialize in journalistic writing and reporting or broadcast journalism.
Central digital journalism students learn how to question, investigate, interpret, and communicate—with great accuracy and on deadline. Such skills are invaluable in a wide variety of fields including the law, government, public agencies, advertising, public relations, and social studies.
Kevin Brett
509-963-33216
kevin.brett@cwu.edu
In public relations, you get to tell your client's or employer’s story. Public relations specialists plan, direct, and create material that will enhance or maintain the public image of a corporation, individual, organization, non-profit, or association.
According to U.S. News and World Reports, public relations ranks #3 in Best Creative & Media Jobs based on salary, job prospects, future growth, and work-life balance. The best-paid 10 percent in the field made approximately $105,000 annually.
At CWU, public relations majors get to do things themselves. Whether it’s working with the student-run Central Communication Agency or competing in the Public Relation Student Society of America’s national Bateman competition, our students gain first-hand knowledge of planning, developing, and creating public relations campaigns.
Why communication at CWU?
The demand for public relations professionals continues to grow, according to the World PR Report. Job growth in recent years has topped 8 percent per year, with much of the growth occurring in private PR firms.
Students have excellent opportunities for networking through a number of student organizations.
The departments of Communication and Art collaborated to create an environment for publications like "Pulse Magazine" where students are inspired to create and work together with students from different backgrounds.
CWU Communication boasts modern broadcast facilities where students can practice every aspect of broadcast and audio production, and labs equipped with the latest editing and design software used in professional newsrooms.
CWU students learn how to tell meaningful stories for a variety of media outlets and mediums, and they get to work and strategize with real clients.
Journalism degrees are built on hands-on experirence covering real news that's published across a variety of platforms under the guidance of experienced faculty and staff.
Connect with CWU Communication
Hands-on Learning
Experience communication at CWU
Points of Pride
Central students have served in a wide variety of internships including at the Seattle Times, Yakima Herald Republic, KIRO TV, KOMO TV, Edelman Public Relations, and Seattle Seahawks to name a few.
CWU's student-run newspaper and magazine publications, "The Observer" and "Pulse" earned Best of Show honors at the 2017 Midwinter National College Journalism Convention of the Associated Collegiate Press in San Francisco.
Central's student-run Pulse Magazine was selected Best Student Magazine by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in its regional Mark of Excellence Awards.
"Projections of America," a film inspired by the work of Ian Scott, a visiting distinguished professor at Central Washington University, aired on the PBS International in the United Kingdom and the U.S. in 2016.
