INFORMATION FOR
The award-winning Department of Communication helps students unlock their creative potential in fields such as communication studies, media studies, journalism, film, video, audio and radio production, and public relations.
Beatrice Amune, Master of Arts in Professional Communication
El Barba, Communication Major - Concentration in Media Production
Rochelle Estrada, Communication Major - Concentration in Journalism
Christal Fernando, Master of Arts in Professional Communication
Andrew Herbst, Communication Major - Concentration in Journalism
Vont Leak, Communication Major - Concentration in Media Production
Hunter Long, Communication Major - Concentration in Media Production
Maureen O’Brien, Communication Major - Concentration in Communication Studies & Elementary Education Major
Esma Senman, Communication Major in Public Relations
Alumni in arts, humanities, and social sciences are employed or in graduate school within 6 months after graduation
Average starting salaries in Communication fields (NACE)
Noteworthy Communication Jobs and Mid-Career Salaries with 8+ Years of Experience 8+ Years of Experience (PayScale)
The BA in Communication lays the groundwork for crafting messages, understanding audiences, working with modern media technologies, learning key communication theories, honing intercultural skills, and developing critical thinking and creative competencies. Students combine critical thinking and creative skills with writing and audio, visual, and digital communications, enhancing their interpersonal and intercultural competencies and providing a platform for ongoing engagement with today's media-driven world. Students examine the relationship of communication with other humans, with culture, and with society, taking a critical eye to the constant flow of messages that surround us — messages from the news media, other humans (social media and digital communication,) advertising and marketing, governments, and non-profits, and more. To understand contemporary issues in human communication and media, students also develop an understanding of the history of media and the digital landscape and cultural, ethical, and legal considerations for professional practice. The BA in Communication gives students the freedom to explore a variety of communication topics, while teaching the skills necessary to be adept, versatile, and highly employable communicators in an extensive range of careers.
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:
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The communication studies concentration provides students with the opportunity to study human interpersonal communication from behavioral, humanistic, and scientific perspectives. This includes instruction in the theory and history of communication, the development and application of intercultural and international communication practices, as well as relational, team, and leadership communication competencies in business, education, and social settings. Enhanced competency in written and oral expression is supported through the examination of oral and nonverbal and current technology-based messaging formats.
Accelerated Program:
The BA in Film, Television, and Audio provides students with the opportunity to pursue a degree that integrates across media (film, television, audio, radio, podcasting, digital streaming). With a BA in Film, Television, and Audio, students develop foundational knowledge in media theory and production while choosing a distinctive media focus, specializing in audio/radio, filmmaking, television production, or integrated media. Each specialization is designed to further a student’s specific career path.
The journalism track prepares students for professional careers in the newspaper and related industries and for advanced study. In a fast-moving digital era, the curriculum enables students to become sophisticated consumers of news media and includes instruction in news writing, reporting, editing, and media law/ethics. Emphasis is placed on integrating new media throughout the concentration's curriculum. Students prepare for internships and entry-level positions at on-line news organizations as well as at traditional newspapers through writing for the student newspaper, The Pioneer Times, an excellent training ground for future journalists.
The public relations track prepares students for careers in a variety of increasingly integrated marketing communications industries. Public relations knowledge and skills apply to virtually all industries and interest areas. Careers in public relations-related fields continue to grow faster than the national average and are listed as a top-8 growth industry by Fortune magazine. Public relations programs help support an organization's business objectives and increase corporate reputation, drive sales and even build a brand. We offer a rigorous public relations curriculum which includes integrated communication planning, digital and social media marketing, strategic multiplatform writing, event promotion, and program development. Learn more >
Communication minors are available in communication studies, film studies, international cinema, journalism, media studies, public relations, theatre and comedy, and visual communication.
The public relations minor provides marketable skills and knowledge to benefit any major or discipline area. The PR minor courses focus on integrated marketing communication planning, digital and social media management, strategic multiplatform writing, event promotion, and PR campaign development. Public relations activities support reputation and brand building, advocacy, corporate social responsibility and play a key role in setting and supporting an organization's business objectives.
This graduate program fosters excellence and imagination in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction, with emphasis on professionalism, pedagogy, and publishing. More Info »
The Audio Broadcasting Certificate develops newsgathering and interviewing skills and teaches students: to create content that engages, informs and influences audiences; to acquire high quality audio using mobile devices as well as industry-standard technology; to distribute content across audio and digital platforms; and to practice legal and ethical behaviors when creating television video news content. Learn more »
• Current students sign-up here: Declare Certificate• If you are not currently enrolled as a student, please apply here.
The certificate in Podcasting prepares students to produce, edit, and share engaging podcasts using a range of audio digital content. Students will develop narratives, learn best practices for conducting interviews and storytelling, learn how to write effectively for the podcast medium, and acquire skills for how to engage audiences and distribute their finished content to a mass audience. Working with state-of-the art equipment, students will acquire the technical skills needed to produce substantive audio content. The certificate is designed to serve students in any major looking to deepen their knowledge and practice of the podcasting medium as well as adult learners and professionals who wish to explore podcasting and create their own.
The Sport Journalism certificate is designed to prepare students from a range of majors to be competitive in the expanding sports media job market. Most of the courses taken in the certificate can also be applied to the Journalism BA degree. But this certificate can add value to a number of other majors such as Sport Management, Exercise Science, English and others. Professionals already working in the sport media industry can use this certificate to develop broadcast news skills to support a career change or advancement.
The Television Broadcasting Certificate develops newsgathering and interviewing skills and teaches students: to create content that engages, informs and influences audiences; to acquire high quality audio and video using mobile devices as well as industry-standard technology; and to practice legal and ethical behaviors when creating television video news content. Individuals who complete the certificate will learn the technical skills necessary to obtain (shoot) high quality video in the field and edit that content independently or in collaboration with a reporter. Learn more »
» Current students sign-up here: Declare Certificate» If you are not currently enrolled as a student, please apply here.
Our communication students write news, conduct research, make films, produce and broadcast TV and radio shows, launch PR campaigns, create and manage social media content, and much more. They learn in state-of the-art facilities, including our HD TV broadcast studios, radio station, film production lab, digital audio production lab, several digital video and audio editing rooms, and our new Social Media Applications Research and Teaching SMART lab.
In our communication programs, students learn in-demand skills that employers have identified as critical for job candidates, including:
Our graduates work at major marketing, public relations, and media companies, have been accepted into top graduate programs, and have won awards, including the Emmy Award.
Our professors are proud practitioners in their fields and love to share their expertise beyond the classroom. Mentorship is at the core of our department, and it’s our goal that every student work directly with a faculty member to expand their knowledge and worldview.
Media production and public relations major, landed a full-time job at NBC Universal right out of college. Prior to graduation, she completed a production internship at Discovery Communications.
And we're ready to help you grow. At William Paterson, we provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to forge forward as a powerhouse—both in the classroom and in their careers. Apply today to discover your potential.
For nearly 90 years, The Beacon has been shining a light on the William Paterson campus as the University’s student newspaper, covering issues important to the students of the day.
The University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the Herb Jackson Center for Journalism—Home of The Beacon. The center, named in honor of the late Herb Jackson, an assistant professor of communication and advisor to The Beacon from 1973 until his death in 1990, was funded through a generous gift from former Beacon editor-in-chief John A. Byrne ’75 in memory of his mentor and friend.
Located on the second floor of the Atrium, the center provides a new, modern space for The Beacon’s student journalists to gather and produce the news and develop critical hands-on skills.
“It is wonderful to see that a journalism career path that began at The Beacon, under Herb Jackson’s mentorship, has returned here today as we celebrate John, Herb, and this wonderful new resource to support today’s Pioneer student journalists,” said President Richard J. Helldobler. “My hope is that this renewed appreciation for the importance of journalism, broadly, and student journalism here on campus, will help promote the highest level of integrity and accuracy as The Beacon staff learns the skills essential to good journalism: accuracy, fairness, context, and a willingness, indeed an eagerness, to ask the hard questions.”
President Helldobler continued, “With free speech and a free press being challenged on college campuses across the country, let today’s gift and naming not only be an affirmation of the value of journalism but also of the fundamental values that are afforded us in the First Amendment. I know our namesake, William Paterson, one of the original signers of the Constitution, would expect nothing less of us.”
John A. Byrne '75 (left) and President Helldobler inside the new center during the dedication event.
Byrne, who served as editor-in-chief of The Beacon from 1973 to 1975, went on to an impressive career as an accomplished journalist, editor, author, and entrepreneur that has spanned the highest ranks of business media, including roles as executive editor at Businessweek’s print magazine, editor-in-chief of its online operations, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. For Byrne, Herb Jackson served as a mentor, an advisor, a friend, and a role model.
“Fifty-three years ago, I walked into a class in Shea Center and there was Herb Jackson,” he said. “I walked up to him and asked him to be the advisor to The Beacon, and he gladly said yes. It takes a lot of courage, patience, and diligence to nudge students to see a vision of what they can do with their lives.”
Byrne recalled how every week, Jackson would diligently mark up the current issue of the paper and come over to The Beacon office with his red-lined copy so that he and the other staff members could learn from their mistakes. “Even when I graduated, the relationship continued,” he said. “He had a huge impact on my life, and it is great to see his name up there.”
The Beacon published its first issue on November 2, 1936, when the institution was the Paterson State Normal School. Founded as the country was climbing up from the midst of the Depression, the first edition included stories on a school dance, field trips, and extension courses.
In the following decades, The Beacon broadened its scope to write more about the world beyond campus and about the interaction of the two, including topics like the Vietnam War, civil rights, and the women’s liberation movement. Today, The Beacon’s student journalists, under the guidance of current advisor Nicholas Hirshon, associate professor of communication, cover a diverse range of issues on campus, in the local community, and beyond, including news, sports, and opinion, for the paper, which is published online.
Students who contribute to The Beacon gather for a photo during the dedication event.
Byrne is the author of more than a dozen books on business education, leadership, and management, including two New York Times bestsellers, he is currently working on a new book entitled Office Intelligence: What No One Tells You About Getting Ahead, scheduled for publication in 2027.
In addition to his journalism and writing, Byrne is a successful media entrepreneur. As chairman and editor-in-chief of C-Change Media Inc., a digital media network of higher education websites for the global business community, he is a leading authority on business education in the world, with nearly 700,000 followers on LinkedIn. In 2010, he founded the digital media company Poets&Quants, which he built into a multimillion-dollar business focused on graduate business education before successfully selling the company. He is a frequent speaker on the future of business education. Byrne holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Throughout his career, Byrne has stayed engaged with the University’s journalism program and the Beacon, supporting the Herb Jackson The Beacon Fund and the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Internship Fund, which reduces financial barriers for students seeking these important hands-on learning opportunities.
Most importantly, he has been the force behind the revitalization of the Beacon on campus. He and fellow Beacon alumnus and classmate Colin Ungaro ‘75 have attended numerous journalism classes on campus to provide encouragement and feedback to students, give advice, and share stories of their time on campus, including what it was like to work with Herb Jackson.
