OSU School of Journalism and Broadcasting changes its name

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Oklahoma State University announced today that the OSU School of Journalism and Broadcasting has been renamed the OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications.

“The new name more accurately describes our mission and our curriculum changes will better prepare students for successful careers in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Derina Holtzhausen, professor and director of the school.  “We sought input from our alumni and the industry as we looked at the steps necessary to continue to grow as a school and maintain our prominence and expertise in the area of new media.”

Along with the name change, changes will be made in the school’s academic programs.

The existing degrees of a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science in journalism and broadcasting will be replaced with a bachelor of arts or science with options in multimedia journalism, sports media or strategic communication. Holtzhausen estimates it will take two years to phase in the new degrees.

The degrees in multimedia journalism will offer specialization in multimedia news reporting, multimedia production or multimedia editing. The degrees in sports media will offer specialization in multimedia reporting, broadcast production or public relations. The strategic communication degrees will offer a specialization in public relations or advertising.

The school’s alumni were surveyed and supported the name and curriculum changes. The school’s faculty also worked with their advisory board and other professionals in the field to ensure that essential changes were made to the curriculum.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved the name change and degree programs at their June 18 meeting. The school has been continuously accredited through the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications since 1928. The OSU School of Media and Strategic Communications is one of 24 departments in the College of Arts & Sciences at OSU. To learn more visit http://cas.okstate.edu.