Advice wanted! Does anybody do any of the following courses? (1 Viewer)

[trao06]

- International Bachelor of Communication & Media Studies (Honours)
- Bachelor of Communication & Media Studies (on its own, or with Bachelor of Arts)
- Bachelor of Journalism (on its own, or with Bachelor of Communication & Media Studies, or with Bachelor of Arts)

I would really appreciate any feedback on these =)
What are they like (e.g. hours, professors, exams etc - anything!), do you like them or dislike them and why, etc.

What's the difference between a Bachelor of Journalism, and a Bachelor of Communication & Media Studies with a major in Journalism?

Also.. can you do a double degree with the International Bachelor of Communication & Media Studies (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts?

Any info would be great! =)

 

[Josie]

I don't do any of the above (I'm in Arts), but I do a lot of subjects with people who are doing a Bachelor of Journalism or a BCM.

Most of the people I've met who do Journalism or Communication and Media really enjoy it, they tell me the lecturers are good. The hours are just like a regular BA, around 12 hours a week contact for a normal load. Like arts, they have a combination of exams and assignments.
As far as I can tell, Journalism and BCM have a completely different writing style. Some of the Journalism students in my Policy class have a lot of trouble writing 2500+ word reports because most of their assignments and classes teach them to write concisely and focus on getting the word length down, not up. In that sense, BCM is like regular arts, with the usual essays and whatnot.

Actually, re-reading your question, you're basically looking at Journalism either way, so ignore that last part.

The International BCM, which looks pretty new, basically forces a bit of diversity: you have a mandatory minor in a language other than english, a semester studying overseas, and of course the honours component, which basically gives you more flexibility in subjects and recognises you're already a smart cookie (also gives you an international 'edge'. You can do all of these things in a Bachelor of Arts.. but your UAI requirement is different basically.

Int BCM (Hons) - 93.15
BA- 75.10
BCM (Journalism) - 81.55
B. Journ, by itself or in a double, has a non-UAI component.

That post was going to be more coherent, but you get the idea. Have a cruise around the handbook looking at the different degrees.

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/yr2008/ug/arts/index.html

 

[dion7789]

I dont do either of those but my best friend started a B jounralism last year and transferred this year into the BCM majoring in Journo...She personally didnt like the journalism course because there was a lot of theory telling you how to write, and she said they werent as fun as she thought it would be. She is liking the BCM...As for lecturers/tutors she like most of them, but there is one that she can not stand at all...but that is to be expected in all subjects i guess. As said above the contact hours are basically that of the BA in both of them i believe, maybe a little more in the B Journ.

 

[Born Dancer]

I do a B Arts/B Media & Comms. I hated the journalism subjects because the first year concentrated only on feature writing and that was it. I decided against taking it and switched to marketing and advertising as my major which i enjoy. The course itself is quite good, you do a lot of sociology and cultural studies subjects which are really interesting. There is a lot of theory though, and if you don't read every week you will fall behind. As someone mentioned already the contact hours arent very big at all, but the reading makes up for that.

If you do a straight journalism course, it's run be creative arts rather than the arts faculty so the structure of the course is quite different. Check out the course handbook for more information:

B Journalism: http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/yr2008/ug/crearts/H08006046.html

B Media & Comms: http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/yr2008/ug/arts/H08005922.html