The School of Mass Communications has a special program for its majors who have been accepted into the VCU Honors College. This initiative is called the Mass Communication Scholars Program. The program provides Mass Comm Honors students with additional academic challenges, enrichment and other activities to prepare them for professional careers and post-graduate studies.

For example, the School has taken Mass Comm Scholars on field trips, such as to the Newseum in Washington, D.C., and to conventions of groups like the Online News Association. The School also apprises Mass Comm Scholars about high-profile internships, scholarships and other opportunities.

Moreover, Mass Comm Scholars can take Honors courses (or Honors sections of existing courses) offered by the School of Mass Communications. These Mass Comm Honors courses count toward the credits that VCU Honors students must accumulate to graduate with University Honors.

In addition, Mass Comm Scholars have the opportunity to graduate with Mass Comm Honors. To do that, they must:

• Maintain an overall 3.5 GPA and a 3.5 GPA in mass communications.

• Maintain good standing in the VCU Honors College.

• Complete 18 credit hours in Honors courses or “variants” (Honors breakouts of regular courses). At least 15 of these Honors credits must be taken in the School. At least three honors credits must be completed each academic year.

• Attend at least four Honors-speakers events or colloquia each academic year.

• Complete a mass communications capstone, three-credit thesis or project course, MASC 492 Independent Study.

• Complete an approved international component. (Generally, this means participating in a study-abroad program or taking a course that requires a close examination of other cultures and countries.)

• Compile a dossier or portfolio of their communications-related work.

Many of those requirements parallel the requirements of the Honors College. For example, all VCU Honors students must maintain a 3.5 GPA, attend Honors lectures and present a dossier. Under the Mass Comm Scholars program, Honors students would take more of their Honors courses in the School of Mass Communications and would highlight their advertising, journalism or public relations work in their dossier.

Earning Honors credits in the School of Mass Comm

Mass Comm Scholars can earn Mass Comm Honors credits in various ways.

The School of Mass Communications hopes to offer at least one full-fledged Honors course every year. In Fall 2011, for instance, the School offered MASC 291-701 Topics in Mass Communications: Diversity Issues in 21st Century Media Workplaces. This course was designed and taught by visiting Professor Lee Ivory, a former USA Today reporter, editor and media executive and president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists. For Fall 2012, thanks to funding from VCU’s Honors College, Dr. Marcus Messner and Associate Professor Jeff South are offering HONR 398-703 Social Media and the Presidential Race.

The School may offer Honors sections of existing courses and provide challenges and enrichment in those sections. For example, the School has designed a section of MASC 493 Fieldwork – our internship course – for Mass Comm Scholars. Only Honors students can take the MASC 493-701 section. (To qualify for this section, Honors students must do a communications-related internship that has regional or national impact. During the semester, students in MASC 493-701 must participate in discussions, online or in person, arranged by the school’s internship coordinator. They also must attend at least two professional events, such as the Brandcenter’s Friday Forum lectures or meetings of the Society of Professional Journalists or the Public Relations Society of America. And as part of their internship, Mass Comm Scholars must produce at least three work samples that can be included in their Honors dossiers.)

The School offers Honors “variants” of certain mass comm courses. A variant is an Honors section of a course that meets at the same time as the regular section of the course. Besides attending the regular class meetings, the Honors students in the variant meet with the instructor for additional activities (usually an extra hour a week). In Fall 2011, the School is offering an Honors variant of its introductory course, MASC 101 Mass Communications. And in Spring 2012, the School plans to offer an Honors variant of MASC 408 Communications Ethics and Law.

Honors students taking a regular class also can make a “contract” with the professor to do additional work that would qualify the course for Honors credit. The VCU Honors College must approve those contracts.

Mass Comm Scholars also can do an independent study (MASC 492) supervised by a mass comm faculty member. If the independent study has an especially rigorous focus, the student can ask the Honors College to approve that course for Honors credit.

For more information on the Mass Comm Scholars Program, contact Associate Professor Jeff South, the school’s director of undergraduate studies.