NORTH PARK — When it came to North Park University's communications arts degree, the name of the discipline wasn't, what's the word, communicating as much as the school's recruiters and graduates would have liked.
That's why three academic communications concentrations have now been elevated to the status of full-blown majors.
Three new undergraduate majors — communication studies, media studies, and theater and performance studies — will clarify the programs for prospective students and employers alike, according to a statement from the University that announced the changes.
A theater and performance studies degree, for example, will better describe a student's experience on grad school applications than the far more vague communications arts.
Media studies encompasses journalism, screenwriting, and audio and video production. Communications studies focuses on topics such as intercultural communication, critical reading and writing, and rhetorical theory and analysis.
The new majors are the result of a three-year process of study and discussion within the Department of Communications Arts. The changes will take effect beginning with the 2013-14 academic year.
