The School of Communication & Arts embraces your desire to create, providing support and encouragement as you pursue projects that matter to you. Our faculty is dedicated to providing hands-on opportunities for majors and non-majors alike: our curriculum offers a strong formal background in theory coupled with intense practical experience, but you don't have to major in media studies, for example, to have your own show on the University Cable Network (UCN). There are as many ways to express yourself as you have ideas; the School of Communication & Arts will help show you how.

Student Productions

In both 2008 and 2009, the Theatre program staged three student-penned, student-directed one-act plays. The UCN regularly helps produce student-initiated series, with students filling all production roles including writing, producing, shooting and editing. These programs have included the late-night talk show The Phil McLean Show and the dating program Date or No Date. Recent documentary productions include the award-winning travelogue series AmerICON, and the short "Notes: A Noteworthy Story of Music" about Storm Lake High School's music program. High-definition productions include the last installment of the mini-series "12:50" by Matt Clark (Class of 2008) and the documentary "A Mother's Fight,"  which chronicles a Storm Lake mother's struggle with her 13-year-old daughter's mysterious disease and was co-produced by Allissa Hopkins (Class of 2008) and Jerry Johnson (Class of 1985), assistant professor of Media Studies. Other UCN programs include the ongoing sci-fi mystery comedy Photon Toaster, co-created by Justin Isbell (Class of 2001), BVU media support specialist, and Adam Chown (Class of 2001), BVU instructional technology specialist.

Innovative Class Design

In response to the changing media landscape, BVU's Reporting class became Introduction to Digital Journalism in spring 2009. Since then, students in the class have blogged with alumni working in the media industry and abandoned textbooks in favor of a group discussion-based approach to watching the current news. "In early 2009, the newspaper industry - and really the entire news media industry - was in a state of massive upheaval," says Jamii Claiborne, assistant professor of media studies. "Obviously, there was no current textbook on the topic -- things were changing daily.  So, I had students find and read (or watch or listen to) as much current discussion as they could on what was happening and what it might mean for journalism in this country.  We'd share what we found via a social bookmarking tool called Delicious. It became our textbook."

"The course gives students lots of power and lots of responsibility," adds Claiborne. "They're creating the text.  They're designing the curriculum.  They're leading the charge. Sure, I'm there too - reading and researching and posting and linking and discussing with them - but we're truly in it together.  Because it genuinely is new terrain for all of us, it makes for some powerful moments of inquiry and discovery."

Travel Courses

Some of the most exciting lessons at BVU do not happen on campus. In the University's January term courses, you'll have the chance to mix academics, travel, and professional development at inspiring and exciting far-flung locations.

You'll have the opportunity to go behind the scenes of Orlando's major theme parks in the Florida business and media interim course The Extreme Theme Park & Resort Experience, most recently offered in January 2010. The trip provides an up-close look at the inner workings of theme parks (including Disney World and Universal Studios) by arranging meetings directly with the park's media and public relations professionals. As a trip participant, you'll analyze the parks from financial, marketing, communication and public relations perspectives. You'll also utilize annual reports, videos, analyst opinions and advertising to get a feel for the business and media aspects of the theme park industry.

Other trips regularly offered include journeys to New York City and locations in Europe. The School periodically offers a trip to New Zealand for which students study Pacific Rim literature, post-colonial theory, and the assimilation of Maori and European cultures. As part of the 2009 course, students were hosted by descendents of the Maori chief Te Rauparaha (c. 1768 - 1849) and stayed on the island that was once the chief's island fortress. Currently a rare bird sanctuary, the island is usually off-limits to the public. In 2008, the School offered a trip that toured locations in France and England featured in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.

These trips (and others like them) are multi-disciplinary and led by multiple faculty members from different programs and schools.