Mass Communication

The department offers a major and a minor in Mass Communication. 

The Patterson Television Studio gives students hands-on experience in newscasting, directing and post production. Because class sizes are small, students have the opportunity to work with the equipment and gain skills with the tools of the industry early in their studies.

Mass Communication is one of the fastest growing fields of inquiry to emerge in higher education. Our program of study places an equally high emphasis on academic accomplishment and practical professional expertise in the areas of journalism and media production. It also seeks to instill in students an understanding of the management and entrepreneurial skills that are required to succeed in an increasingly complex and fast-paced industry.

In Mass Communication, students find a dynamic, competitive atmosphere, room for artistic expression, small class sizes, and close interaction with faculty. In conjunction with other departments, Mass Communication also offers coursework leading to interdisciplinary majors in such areas as Information Technology, American Studies and Arts Management, as well as an interdisciplinary Women's Leadership Certificate.

Three areas of concentration afford students the opportunity to receive specialized training:

In classes for the Journalism Concentration, students acquire a journalistic sensibility for what constitutes newsworthiness, a proper audience awareness, a sense of responsibility in the production and dissemination of news stories, and a level of preparedness that readies them to pursue and achieve their career goals.

Classes in the Media Production Concentration help students develop the skills needed to compete for entry-level media positions while pursuing the broader aim of developing in students an appreciation for and understanding of the practical exigencies of mediated communication.

Courses leading to the Media Studies Concentration courses are designed to help students become more sensitive to the relationship between media and culture by placing media messages, genre conventions, media subtexts and production elements in their respective social and cultural contexts.

What students are saying

The Mass Comm. department has great networking opportunities through professors like Joe Castiglione (Red Sox radio broadcaster), and through alumni like Jeffrey Salgo (Director/ Producer at CBS in NY City). In my junior year alone, I met and networked with two FPC Mass Comm. alums who work at ESPN (my dream employer) and got to tour the station in Bristol, CT. - Joe Fagella ‘07

Want to know more?

Download a Mass Communication program sheet to view on screen or print, or view the College at Rindge Academic Catalog for specific degree requirements and course information.

Contact

Franklin Pierce University
College at Rindge
1.800.437.0048
admissions@franklinpierce.edu

FACULTY

Phyllis Zrzavy
Professor of Mass Communication
B.S., B.Phil., M.Ed., Miami University
Ph.D., Bowling Green State University
zrzavyps@franklinpierce.edu

Associate Professor

Paul Bush
Associate Professor of Mass Communication
B.A., Bucknell University
M.A., Vermont College of Norwich University
M.F.A., Goddard College
bushpd@franklinpierce.edu

Heather Weibel Tullio
Associate Professor of Mass Communication
B.A., Wesleyan University
M.A., University of Iowa
M.F.A., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
tullioh@franklinpierce.edu

Richard Roth
Associate Professor of Mass Communication
B.S., State University of New York, Brockport
M.A., University of Pittsburgh
M.S., Syracuse University
Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
rothr@franklinpierce.edu

Assistant Professors

Andrea M. Bergstrom
Assistant Professor of Mass Communication
B.S., Franklin Pierce University
M.A., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
A.B.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
bergstroma@franklinpierce.edu

Lecturers 

Joe Castiglione
Lecturer, Mass Communication
Distinguished Fellow, M.A., Syracuse University
castigj@franklinpierce.edu 

Leslie Kozaczek
Lecturer, Individual and Community, Mass Communication
B.A., Franklin Pierce University
M.A., Dartmouth College
kozaczekl@franklinpierce.edu

Kristen D. Nevious
B.S., Valparaiso University
M.S., Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
neviousk@franklinpierce.edu

John Robinson
Lecturer, Mass Communication
B.A., Boston University
M.S., University of Maryland
robinsonj@franklinpierce.edu

Ukumbwa Sauti
Lecturer, Mass Communication
B.A., Rochester Institute of Technology
M.Ed., Cambridge College

Blake Wood
Lecturer of Mass Communication
Germaine School of Photography, Franklin Institute
woodb@franklinpierce.edu