Urgent new COM 495 summer section added.
Registration must be done by early Tuesday, May 6!
P9282 COM 495, MTW 6:00-9:15pm, 4 weeks
Call Summer Session-(207)780-5617 to register!

Welcome to CMS

The Department of Communication and Media Studies offers two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one in Communication and the other in Media Studies. These two degree programs are distinct in several ways. In terms of focus, the Communication degree program takes a broad view of communication including the examination of face-to-face contexts as well as mediated ones. The Media Studies degree program more specifically focuses on media writing, criticism, and production. Another difference in these degree programs occurs at the senior level. Media Studies majors prepare a Senior Project (intended to serve as a portfolio of their writing and/or production work) and participate in a Service Learning Practicum (working for a community organization in a media capacity). Communication majors take two senior seminars. One seminar is chosen from a list of topics and the other is a Capstone seminar designed to be a culmination of their undergraduate work and as a transition to graduate studies. Aside from the differences that make each program unique, the programs share a common core of courses that serve as a foundation for both. The two programs also embrace a liberal arts philosophy. This means that the emphasis is on critical thinking rather than vocational training.

FALL 2008 Courses

Click here for a list of fall 2008 Communication and Media Studies courses. Registration for matriculated students begins on March 19 for seniors with 120 credit hours. For more information on registration dates, please see the registar's office website here at http://www.usm.maine.edu/reg/ .

Please note that all courses now begin with CMS subject designation (there are no longer COM or MES designations). When searching for courses on Maine Street, use CMS as the subject. If you browse the catalog, you may not get the entire list. The course list is also on our website with registration number info you will need to enroll.

 

 

 

Message from the Chair regarding Fall 2008 Preregistration:

Dear COM and MES majors,

Early registration is always a busy time. It is, in fact, the worst time to do advising. As a result, we are making a distinction between registration and advising.

Advising involves charting your degree program's requirements (what to take when) and discussing your progress. Usually, freshman, sophomores and juniors want to make sure they are on the right track and seniors find it helpful to talk about their career goals or graduate school. In any case, advising should be an on-going process.

Our aim is to advise you throughout the year, but, as much as possible, not during registration. All you should need for registration is a quick check of your proposed schedule and a PIN#. Most of you already fit this "all I need is my PIN#" profile. Eventually, we hope this will be true for everyone.

If you need advising (where am I going?, what am I doing?, what should I take?), contact your advisor and set up an appointment. Also, contact your advisor if all you need is your PIN#. If you don't know who your advisor is, call 780-5388 to find out her/his name, phone number and email address.

Finally, many of you have asked if we could set up times when you could simply "walk-in" and get your PIN#. We have set up 4 sessions on the Fridays prior to each week's registration. There are now 4 weeks of registration. One week for each class standing - senior, junior, sophomore, and freshman.

The 4 Friday sessions will be held from 9 to 11AM on: March 21, April 4, April 11, and April 18.

These walk-in sessions are only for those who need a PIN#, not for those who need advising.We realize that change takes time and that there will be glitches. Still, we will endeavor to properly advise and register everyone. Thanks for your cooperation along the way.

Russ Kivatisky
Chair