Program: Mass Communication, Advertising-Public Relations Concentration (Recording Industry) B.S. - Middle Tennessee State University

Apr 04, 2025

2015-16 Undergraduate Catalog

School of Journalism
615-898-2814
Tricia Farwell, program coordinator
Tricia.Farwell@mtsu.edu

Advertising and public relations are distinct fields; these programs help students prepare for positions in advertising agencies and departments, media sales and management, advertising production and design, public relations agencies and departments, and organizational and employee relations.

Students in public relations may choose the general program or a specialty in the recording industry; both programs require 37-39 credits by the junior year. Students should choose a minor in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. With permission of the advisor or the director of the School of Journalism, a student may replace the 15 hours in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business with a minor in the basic or applied sciences or a minor in the liberal arts and sciences.

Admission to Candidacy

To be admitted to candidacy, the student must meet the following requirements:

45 hours completed before applying for candidacy
Grade of C (2.00) or better in each of the following:

EMC 1020 /JOUR 1020 /RIM 1020

JOUR 2710

PR 2040

ENGL 1010 or ENGL 1020 (grade of C prerequisite for JOUR 2710 )

Math course satisfying General Education Mathematics requirement

3. Minimum overall GPA in all school and university coursework of 2.50.

Required Courses

Foundation Requirements (6 hours)

JOUR 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours
JOUR 3650 - Free Expression, Mass Media, and the American Public 3 credit hours

Writing/Design Requirements (15 hours)

Professional Topics (3 hours)

Choose one:

ADV 3020 - Principles of Advertising 3 credit hours
JOUR 3530 - Feature Writing 3 credit hours
JOUR 3450 - Editing 3 credit hours
PR 3400 - Case Studies in Public Relations 3 credit hours
RIM 3720 - Artist Management 3 credit hours
RIM 3890 - International Recording Industry 3 credit hours
RIM 4320 - Concert Promotion and Touring 3 credit hours
RIM 4620 - Marketing of Recordings 3 credit hours
VCOM 3910 - Basic Visual Design 3 credit hours

Senior Topics (3 hours)

PR 4740 - Public Relations Campaigns 3 credit hours

Internship/Practicum or Upper-Division Elective (1-3 hours)

JOUR 3580 - MC Practicum 1 to 3 credit hours OR
JOUR 4000 - MC Internship 1 to 3 credit hours OR
RIM 4000 - Recording Industry Internship: Business 1 to 6 credit hours

Curriculum: Mass Communication, Advertising-Public Relations (Recording Industry)

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Majors must have a C (2.00) or better in all mass communication courses.

Freshman

ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
JOUR 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours OR
EMC 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours OR
RIM 1020 - American Media and Social Institutions 3 credit hours
Mathematics 3 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts (2 rubrics) 6 credit hours
Natural Sciences 4 credit hours

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Sophomore

ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - Foreign Literature in Translation 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
CSCI 1150 - Computer Orientation 3 credit hours OR
INFS 2200 - Introduction to Microcomputing 3 credit hours OR
INFS 3100 - Principles of Management Information Systems 3 credit hours
JOUR 2710 - Media Writing 3 credit hours
PR 2040 - Public Relations Principles 3 credit hours
Natural Science 4 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Science 3 credit hours
Electives 6 credit hours
Minor course (Business) 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Junior

JOUR 3650 - Free Expression, Mass Media, and the American Public 3 credit hours
PR 3360 - Public Relations Communication 3 credit hours
RIM 3770 - Publicity in the Recording Industry 3 credit hours
VCOM 2010 - Introduction to Visual Communication 3 credit hours
Electives 9 credit hours
Minor courses (Business) 6 credit hours
JOUR conceptual requirement 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

RIM 3600 - Survey of the Recording Industry 3 credit hours
PR 4740 - Public Relations Campaigns 3 credit hours
PR 3380 - Public Relations Publications 3 credit hours OR
VCOM 2950 - Visual Communication Applications 3 credit hours
PR 3400 - Case Studies in Public Relations 3 credit hours OR
VCOM 3910 - Basic Visual Design 3 credit hours OR
RIM 3720 - Artist Management 3 credit hours OR
RIM 3890 - International Recording Industry 3 credit hours OR
RIM 4320 - Concert Promotion and Touring 3 credit hours OR
RIM 4620 - Marketing of Recordings 3 credit hours OR
JOUR 3450 - Editing 3 credit hours OR
JOUR 3530 - Feature Writing 3 credit hours
JOUR 3580 - MC Practicum 1 to 3 credit hours OR
JOUR 4000 - MC Internship 1 to 3 credit hours OR
RIM 4000 - Recording Industry Internship: Business 1 to 6 credit hours
Electives 9 credit hours
Minor courses (Business) 6 credit hours

Subtotal: 28-30 Hours

Total hours in program: 120

NOTE:

Students in the Advertising-Public Relations concentration are required to complete one 15-18 hour minor. Students in any School of Journalism concentration may not minor in any area of the College of Media and Entertainment. A computer literacy course is required. CSCI 1000 will not meet this requirement.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Mass Communication, Advertising-Public Relations (RIM), B.S., Academic Map

Mass Communication, Advertising-Public Relations Concentration (Recording Industry) B.S.

Admission to Candidacy

Required Courses

Foundation Requirements (6 hours)

Writing/Design Requirements (15 hours)

Writing

Design

Conceptual Requirements (9 hours)

Professional Topics (3 hours)

Senior Topics (3 hours)

Internship/Practicum or Upper-Division Elective (1-3 hours)

Curriculum: Mass Communication, Advertising-Public Relations (Recording Industry)

Freshman

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Sophomore

Subtotal: 31 Hours

Junior

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

Subtotal: 28-30 Hours

Total hours in program: 120

NOTE:

Academic Map