Study communications in a media capital
The
School of Mass Communications is one of the largest programs in VCU’s
College of Humanities and Sciences, with an enrollment of 1,200
undergraduates and 130 graduate students — and
we’re growing.
The school offers three sequences of specialized study:
• advertising (with a concentration in either strategic or creative advertising)
• journalism (with a concentration in broadcast or print)
• public relations
Ideally situated for students who want to pursue communications careers, VCU’s School of Mass Communications is part of a vibrant urban university in Virginia’s state capital. Richmond is the seat of state government, as well as a major center for the communications industry.
Home to The Martin Agency and other top advertising firms, the area has a strong contingent of public relations and public information specialists working in PR firms and in government, nonprofit and corporate sectors. More than 40 Fortune 500 companies call Richmond home.
Richmond also is a news media capital. Media General Inc., which owns newspapers and television stations throughout the Southeast, has its headquarters here; the Associated Press, Dow Jones, Washington Post and other news services have bureaus in Richmond; and the city has numerous television and radio stations, as well as alternative media and new-media outlets.
The VCU School of Mass Communications has capitalized on this proximity to the communications industry. Professionals from the fields of journalism, advertising and PR serve as adjunct professors and guest lecturers. And the area’s media companies and public affairs offices offer internships to our students and employment to our graduates.
Additionally, the school’s students have opportunities to work in Washington, D.C., a two-hour drive from Richmond, as well as in New York City. Richmond is just a 50-minute flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Amtrak also provides service from Richmond to both Washington and New York.