Throughout this academic year, The Rider will explore the programs of study at UTRGV. This is the seventh in a series. The Rider interviewed Jennifer Lemanski, Communication Department associate chair, for information.
Major: Communication
School: College of Liberal Arts
Department Chair: John Cook
Prerequisites: None
Total credit hours needed to graduate: 120
What is communications? “Communications is a very broad discipline which has many different opportunities for people in lots of different fields in the future. We actually have a total of five degree plans within our department, so there is a lot of room for specialization. Communications is really getting messages out to people and receiving messages from them so that you’re really understanding the meaning and able to further your understanding between people and groups.”
Which classes can students expect to take? “We have three mass communication degree plans. One is print journalism, one is broadcast journalism and one is a combined advertising and [public relations] track. Then, we have a communication studies concentration. In addition, we have two teacher certifications. One is in [communication] studies and one is in mass communications. If you decide on one of the three mass communications tracks, you would take Introduction to Mass Communication, Visual Communication and Writing for the Mass Media. Then, they would do either print, which is newspaper or magazine, broadcast, which is TV and radio or advertising/PR. In the communication studies, they would focus on the interpersonal organizational communication, public speaking, those sorts of things. Then, for the teacher certifications, we actually don’t have many people go through those, but they are more of a general communication studies or mass communications with education courses also.”
What skills will students learn by the time they graduate? “Well, they’ll learn effective ways of communicating. They’ll learn how to tailor their communication to different audiences, which is very important when you’re in mass communication or communication studies. I think that’s one of the biggest and most important things. You need to know your target audience, whether you’re going to be giving a speech or you are writing a newspaper article. You want them to understand and be interested in what you’re trying to say.”
What are some possible careers? “With communication studies, we have a lot of people end up going into teaching. We also have people who do training and consulting for organizations. With a degree in communications, you also open yourself up to some managerial positions or advising. It’s a lot of working with people and interacting on a person-to-person basis in communication studies. And, then with mass communications, we have a lot of event planning. We have people working at The Monitor and various radio stations. We have people that are journalists, copy editors and some start their own advertising business, so there are a lot of different opportunities. Communication is helpful for any career.”
Who are some possible employers? “Any local newspapers or magazines. Some people leave the Valley, but most of them stay here. School districts, not only teaching, but also their communication offices will hire. It’s almost limitless. I’ve seen people work at doctors’ offices as well.”
What salary can a student expect to earn after graduation? “In the Valley, since the cost of living is so low, the salaries may be a little lower than they would be in the bigger cities. I would probably say about [$27,000] to $30,000.”
Are there any student clubs? “We have two clubs that are ongoing. There’s an advertising club and there’s a chapter of PRSSA, which is the Public Relations Student Society of America. I think Dr. [Greg] Selber may be having more of a print journalism club that they’re trying to start up.”
For more information: contact Lemanski at jennifer.lemanski@utrgv.edu or call the department at 665-3583 for Edinburg and 882-8297 for Brownsville.
—Compiled by Sarah Carvajal
