The Organizational Communication program prepares students for professional practices as communication specialists in public and private Philippine organizations. The various courses train the students to analyze, evaluate, facilitate, design, and implement the communication requirements of Philippine organizations for their greater effectivity, efficiency, and productivity. The program is a synthesis of theory and practice.
The curriculum consists of the following:
Organizational Communication Theories (OCMTHYC)
This course is designed to give Orgcom majors an overview of some of the most significant frameworks in the field of organizational communication.
Theory of Organizations (OCMTHYO)
This is an introductory course designed to help students understand the relationship of organization theories and organizational communication within the Philippine scenario.
Fundamentals of the Photographic Image for Organizations (OCMPHTO)
This course aims to engage the students to understand and master the fundamentals of digital photographic imaging in the context of organizational communication.
Writing for Organizations (OCMWRIT)
This course introduces the students to the standards and practices of developing and writing communication tools organizations use to reach their internal and external publics.
Design for Organizations (OCMDESN)
This course aims to introduce the fundamentals of graphic design and visual communication to organizational communication students.
Quantitative Research Methods (OCMRES1)
This course focuses on the application of lessons learned from Organizational Communication (OCM) theory course in creating research projects with postpositivist orientation.
Ethics in Organizational Communication (OCMETHC)
This course analyzes organizational communication ethical issues from multiple perspectives.
Principles of Public Relations (OCMPUBR)
This course introduces the students to the practice and profession of public relations (PR). It is a practice-oriented course that focuses on public relations as a discipline and its relationship with and impact on the social, economic and political milieu in which organizations exist.
Qualitative Research Methods (OCMRES2)
This provides an overview of qualitative research methods that may be useful in organizational communication research and production projects and in conducting communication audits.
Video Production (OCMOVID)
This course is a production-intensive workshop course that introduces OrgCom majors to the process of conceptualizing, producing, and evaluating video projects for organizations.
Organizational Change and Development (OCMCHAN)
This course gives an overview of the approaches to organizational development with an emphasis on assessing/diagnosing organizational communication and planning appropriate interventions targeted towards organizational communication.
Communication Technologies for Organizations (OCMTECH)
This course is designed to introduce the philosophy, developmental trajectory, and organizational uses of communication technologies to organizational communication students.
Multimedia Production for Organizations (OCMMULP)
In line with the emerging trend and need for graduates who are conversant with the converged nature of media, this course is designed to expose students to producing organizational communication projects for multimedia (or a combination of multiple media platforms).
Organizational Communication Audit and Interventions (OCMAUDI)
This course evaluate organizational communication issues, design research-based interventions, and apply theory and research approaches for understanding communication needs of organizations and its multiple publics.
Capstone: Organizational Communication and Society (OCMCAPS)
This capstone course serves as a point of synergy and reflection for the OrgCom majors on the mutual role and dynamics of organizational communication and society (i.e. how society shapes organizational communication structures and processes and the role of orgcom in shaping or re-shaping such structures and processes).
Thesis Proposal Writing (THS1OCM)
This is an independent study where student writes a thesis proposal under the guidance of a thesis adviser. Students may write a thesis on a research or an applied project.
Thesis Writing and Defense (THS2OCM)
This is an independent study where students execute, under the guidance of a thesis adviser, the approved proposal in Thesis 1.
Cognates (OCMCOG1 and OCMCOG2)
In the spirit of interdisciplinarity, cognates enrich the students’ projects through exposure to theories, issues, and perspectives from other disciplines.
Electives (OCMELE1, OCMELE2, OCMELE3, and OCMELE4)
These electives are meant to expand and deepen the students’ immersion in Organizational Communication by allowing for further in-depth engagement with a specific disciplinal inquiry and creative or practical skills training.
Practicum (PRCMOCM)
Practicum for Organizational Communication exposes Organizational Communication majors to communication industry practices relevant to their chosen area of specialization. Students undergo supervised internship and/or consultation with specialists, professionals, or professional organizations towards enhancing the learning process initiated by their thesis projects.
The Communication Arts program offers a balanced learning that goes beyond technical skills and technological know-how, as it encompasses (a) media and communication theories, (b) production skills across diverse media platforms, and (c) socially relevant storytelling. The major and cognate courses in the program prepare students as creative media professionals/artists, media critics, and media entrepreneurs locally and globally.
The curriculum consists of the following:
Theory and History: Film (CAMFILM)
The course introduces students to the historical trajectory of film, as well as present multiple perspectives on cinema.
Theory and History: Journalism (CAMJOUR)
The course introduces students to the historical trajectory of journalism and presents multiple perspectives on journalism. This course also equips students with an understanding of the principles and practice of journalism: how to recognize good stories, gather facts through skillful interviewing and research, develop sources, craft welcoming leads and satisfying endings, and create news and feature articles in convergent and emerging media formats that inform and engage readers.
Theory and History: Communication and New Media (CAMCONM)
The course introduces students to key communication and new media theories and the research conducted in relation to these theories. The course will open with a discussion of what constitutes “theory”, “communication,” “media” and “new media” as well as an interrogation of the various philosophical approaches to communication and media studies.
Theory and History: Broadcasting (CAMBROD)
The course introduces students to the historical trajectory of radio and television broadcasting, as well as the journalistic aspects of radio and television broadcasting.
Fundamentals of Audio Production (CAMAUDI)
The course is a workshop covering the basic principles and techniques in the practice of audio design and production.
Fundamentals of the Photographic Image (CAMFOTO)
The course presents the basic principles and techniques in the practice of photography. In covers an introduction to imaging, covering shooting, developing and printing.
Video Production (CAMVIDP)
This is an introduction to the theory and practice of visualization. It covers a workshop in developing and producing ideas into images by learning the fundamentals of film production and developments in digital video production.
Fundamentals of Publishing (CAMPUBL)
The course covers the basic principles and techniques in the practice of publishing (print and digital as well as the convergence of both).
Risk, Disaster & Humanitarian Communication (CAMRDHC)
The course will address the complex role played by the media and communication in relation to violent conflicts, risks, disasters, and humanitarian assistance. The course will discuss the different types of roles that the media can play and the factors that shape actual media practices, and different approaches to analyzing media representations of conflicts, humanitarian assistance, risk communication and peace-building processes. There will be focus on media genre but the course will also touch upon the representation of conflicts, risks, and humanitarian assistance in alternative media domains.
Introduction to Research for Production (CAMRESP)
The course introduces students to qualitative research that may be useful for purposes of production. In this course, students are expected to apply lessons learned from theory courses in creating research in preparation for production projects.
Studio Production (CAMSTUD)
The course introduces the students to the fundamentals of studio production and broadcasting. The course will cover multiple aspects of writing, image and sound, as well as understanding of audiences needed for studio production. The course also introduces the basic production workflow involved in studio production. Students are to be familiar with equipment and basic studio dynamics in order to creatively translate their ideas. From conceptualization to actual studio production, students will learn to utilize their skills in creating broadcast quality output.
Writing Elective 1 (CAMWEL1)
This writing electives aims to emphasize the value of writing in production (e.g. screenplay, teleplay, multimedia writing).
Communication and Media Ethics (CAMETHC)
This course looks into the different ethical questions faced by media practitioners today and examines basic notions such as truth, virtue, privacy, rights, and freedom. More importantly, this course examines the media as it is and asks students to offer a view of the media as it should be.
Conceptualization (CAMCONC)
The course exposes students to the process of developing ideas (story and form) for various media projects and productions. In this course, students will design a production plan based on a concept and pitch the plan for possible further development during thesis.
Media and Society (CAMMEDS)
This senior seminar course offers an opportunity for Communication Arts students to analyze and reflect on the relevance of mass media in society. In preparing the students for a responsible career in the media, the course will expose students to the social, cultural and political consequences of the dominance of privately owned corporate mass media on a democratic society, and the role media play in the production, reception and representation of race, class, gender and sexuality. A media speakers¿ series will also be engaged as a rich source of information regarding the practice of media in the Philippine context.
Postproduction (CAMPPRO)
This course exposes students to the processes and fundamentals of digital post production techniques which include editing, sound design, and mastering (for digital media) aspects of filmmaking and other emergent forms of production.
Media Entrepreneurship (CAMENTP)
This course is a study of the principles of entrepreneurship in the context of media practice.
Capstone for CAM: Convergent Media for Social Change (CAMCAPS)
In this course, students will interrogate the relationship of media with society, democracy, and social change, expose them to paradigms for analyzing media¿s role in social change and envision their role as producers and media creators who can address the object of critique.
Produce (CAMPROD)
This is a seminar where students develop projects for print, film, radio, television or digital or a convergence of these forms — focusing on the role of the producer.
Thesis Proposal Writing (THSACAM)
This is an independent study where student writes a thesis proposal under the guidance of a thesis adviser. Students may write a thesis on a research or an applied project.
Electives (CAMELE1, CAMELE2, and CAMELE3)
These electives are meant to expand and deepen the students’ immersion in Communication Arts by allowing for further in-depth engagement with a specific disciplinal inquiry and creative or practical skills training.
Thesis Production (THSBCAM)
This is an independent study where students execute, under the guidance of a thesis adviser, the approved proposal in Project in Communication Arts 1.
Practicum (PRCMCAM)
Practicum for Communication Arts exposes Communication Arts majors to communication industry practices relevant to their chosen area of specialization. Students undergo supervised internship and/or consultation with specialists, professionals, or professional organizations towards enhancing the learning process initiated by their thesis projects.
The general goal of the Master’s Program is to develop communicators who are theoretically informed and technically competent in research on communication, media technologies, and society.
The specific objectives of the program are the following:
- Provide the student with varied theoretical frameworks and historical foundations that assess the interrelationships between communicative processes, media technologies, and societal dynamics, with emphasis on the conditions and experiences prevalent in developing country contexts.
- Equip the student with conceptually-driven production skills that are geared towards creative and integrative use of communicative technologies and that are attuned to diverse societal conditions.
- Enable the students to conceptualize, implement, and disseminate research that contribute to scholarship on communication, media technologies, and society, especially about the Philippines and the global South more broadly.
Curriculum Overview
Students are required 18 units of core courses, 12 units of electives, and six units that will be credited towards thesis paper writing.
Entry Requirements
Students applying to the program will have to take the DLSU Graduate Admission Test (DGAT). They also have the option to submit one piece of writing that demonstrates their ability in academic writing. This will be especially helpful if they intend to apply for scholarship opportunities.
Publication Requirement
As part of the program requirements for graduation, each student should have at least one publication in a refereed journal or one juried creative work.
Core Courses (18 units)
Each core course is credited for 3 units:
Communication and New Media Theory (COM537M)
This core course introduces key communication and new media theories and the research conducted in relation to these theories. The course will open with a discussion of what constitutes “theory,” “communication,” “media” and “new media” as well as an interrogation of the various philosophical approaches to communication and new media studies. It will then survey some of the key theories and models used in the field, looking at their historical development and future trajectory.
Media Criticism: Approaches and Practices (COM531M)
This core course reviews the various schools of media criticism, ranging from media effects to genre, audience reception, semiotics, post-structuralism, and intersectionality.
Histories of Media Forms and Institutions (COM532M)
This core course provides a comprehensive historical survey of the development of print, broadcasting, film, and interactive multimedia formats and their systems of distribution. It also evaluates recent trends in the convergence of various communication technologies and emergence of new audiences and markets.
Discourses Cultural Production (COM535M)
This core course examines the interplay of political, industrial, commercial, cultural and artistic forces in the process of media production. It also situates this interplay within the transformative dynamics of globalisation and technological innovation.
Ethics, Standards and Public Policy (COM536M)
This core course discusses political issues raised by the interaction between innovative communication technologies and practices on one hand and relevant societal ethics, standards, and public policy on the other hand.
Media Research and Proposal Writing (COM528M)
This core course hones one’s skills in developing appropriate conceptual approaches and using appropriate methodological techniques in order to write a scholarly thesis proposal in communication.
Elective Courses (12 units)
Each elective is credited for 3 units
Health Communication (COM710M)
This elective course provides an introduction to foundational concepts, theories, and methods necessary for analyzing key issues in the field of Health Communication. At the end of the course, students, in partnership with the course facilitator and community members, are expected to propose a health communication project.
Hypernarratives (COM617M)
This elective course covers explores modes of fiction construction by creating interactive stories.
Immersive Media Environments (COM715M)
This elective course on digital media design focuses on the production of immersive media environments through the diffusion of interactive media into various aspects of our lives. It covers design, usability, technique, and entertainment by exploring various environments such as learning, gaming, shopping and social networking. It also analyses adoption of new technologies and contexts of use through case studies of immersive media solutions.
Interactive Applications and Computational Thinking (COM728M)
This elective course sharpens one’s ability to think computationally in order to begin successfully working with various technologies, including websites, mobile applications and games. This course also serves as a primer for application to development, becoming a starting point for platform-specific development.
Managing New Media for Organizations (COM702M)
This elective course exposes students to the dynamics, economics, and technologies that are reshaping organizations and industries worldwide in an age of convergent media.
More electives
Media and Social Intimacies (COM723M)
This elective course explores how diverse media content from around the world shape people’s imaginaries of diverse forms of intimacy, from the romantic to the familial to the communal. It also looks into how different information and communication technologies shape their practices of these intimacies.
Media Industry Studies (COM720M)
The course provides a platform for the discussion of critical and conceptual perspectives and methodological approaches for the study of media industries. It will cover discussions covering a breadth of media industries and their ecology, including their global and historical contexts.
Mobile Spaces for Learning (COM701M)
This elective course exposes students to the role of mobile technologies in fostering spaces for contemporary participatory learning culture, where learners can build, explore, share and collaborate with others.
Multimedia Production (COM724M)
The elective course builds on the basic photography and videography skills of students for the production of audio-visual communication materials. It teaches a range of skills and knowledge on the production of dynamic and creative multimedia presentations incorporating photographs, video, audio, sound effects, texts and maps. It includes a capstone multimedia production for a particular company or organization.
National Cinemas (COM709M)
The course surveys and examines various theories, approaches and histories in the study of national, transnational and post-national cinemas. It will cover both textual and political economic approaches towards selected cinematic oeuvre from around the world.
New Media and Social Change (COM727M)
This course will expose students to the opportunities and challenges as well as implications of engaging new communication technologies—such as the internet, social media, and mobile media – for communitarian and emancipatory purposes. It provides the opportunity to apply the lessons on the promises and perils of new media to critique existing online initiatives and to develop projects that advance one’s personal advocacies using new media.
New Media Entrepreneurship (COM703M)
This elective course discusses the basics of entrepreneurship and evolving business models for emerging media technologies. It uses contemporary case studies that blend instruction in concepts about entrepreneurship with concepts about the transformations in media economics resulting from the emergence and developments of digital technologies.
New Media Governance and Politics (COM616M):
This elective course examines the interactions between emerging media technologies and political institutions, actors and processes, in light of theories of communication, media, and political practice.
Online News Publishing (COM612M)
This elective course covers the production of different journalism formats in online publishing. It will look at the evolving digital tools —including social media—to best practices and business models in digital media to foster a comprehensive understanding of the constantly changing publishing industry.
Popular Culture (COM618M)
This elective course studies the role of digital media in the globalization of popular culture across media genres.
Public Communication Campaigns (COM714M)
This elective course harnesses one’s capacity to formulate, develop, and implement public communication campaigns in the context of a multi-media environment. It aims to improve one’s skills and knowledge to critically assess and evaluate campaign collaterals and messaging to enable them to plan and execute more strategic campaigns that using appropriate media platforms that will advocate for positive change in the areas of social action, environment, public health, popular culture, and politics, among others.
Queer Cinema (COM721M)
This elective course critically examines representations of queerness and sexuality in cinema. It looks at cinemas from around the world and critically engages with various cultures of sexuality and how they intersect in a globalised cultural environment.
Reconstituting the Image (COM614M)
This elective course deals with the aesthetics, ethics, and politics of image manipulation and subject representation.
Screenwriting in the Philippine Film Industry (COM795M):
This elective course studies screenwriting practices in the context of the Philippine film industry. For those interested, discussions in this course may also result in a screenplay project.
Special Topics and Issues in Applied Media Studies (COM719M)
This elective course interrogates emerging topics and/ or issues in media practice in the Philippines and globally. It encourages an engagement with an identified thematic focus and/ or issue through theory and research-informed production. The thematic focus and/ or issue, together with the readings, is directed by the expertise of the assigned course instructor.
Transmedia (COM731M)
This course explores the theory and practice of transmedia as a framework for narrative distribution and content creation across media platforms. It hones the students’ creative and technological ability to plan and manage communication and media projects in an expanded digital environment. The course will also take you through the evolution of transmedia and its application on various modes of media practice from communication campaign to film and documentary.
The Documentary Discourse (COM737M)
This elective course covers the nature, history, and forms of the documentary film. It also examines the process of producing and creating the documentary film, including the impact of digital media.
The Revisioning Impulse in the Independent Film (COM732M)
This elective course appraises the conceptual and technical strategies employed by independent filmmakers to communicate alternative perspective on contemporary social problems.
Thinking Photographically (COM722M)
This elective course discusses historical and intellectual developments surrounding photography as a medium. It also allows for a creative engagement with these developments through a conceptually-driven “mini-exhibition” portfolio project.
Understanding Philippine Cinema (COM729M)
This elective course examines the different social dynamics that have been central to Philippine cinema. It looks into the diverse production practices, technological innovations, and cultural influences that have shaped this cinema’s key filmmakers and their films.
Thesis (6 units)
Each course is credited for 3 units.
Thesis (COM851M onwards)
This course requires the presentation and defense of a scholarly Master’s level research project in Communication.
