Student speaking into microphone in OWL Radio
Radio production is a vital part of the Multimedia Journalism major in SCMS. South Florida Journal podcast is produced in these courses
Students in Public Speaking courses practice their craft at the School’s First Amendment Plaza
Students in Public Speaking courses practice their craft at the School’s First Amendment Plaza
Recent MFA Graduate Monisha Selvaraj gives a poster presentation on her virtual reality research at the 2019 FAU Research Symposium.
Recent MFA Graduate Monisha Selvaraj gives a poster presentation on her virtual reality research at the 2019 FAU Research Symposium
Recent MFA Graduate Monisha Selvaraj gives a poster presentation on her virtual reality research at the 2019 FAU Research Symposium.
MFA Candidates in the Media, Technology, and Entertainment program (MTEn) use virtual production to capture human motion for their original 3D video game characters
 

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION & MULTIMEDIA STUDIES

The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies (SCMS) is a vibrant hub within the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. With an internationally known and award-winning faculty, the School provides opportunities for study for those interested in a wide array of human communicative activities, ranging from face-to-face human interactions to mediated communication to computer animation.

The School of Communication and Multimedia Studies offers two distinct yet aligned baccalaureate degree programs with over 1,200 majors, a Masters of Arts in Communication Studies, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Media, Technology, and Entertainment. The larger of the two B.A. degrees, with over 800 majors, is Communication Studies. The Multimedia Studies degree program allows students to concentrate either in Film, Video, and New Media or in Multimedia Journalism. Undergraduate coursework maybe divided between FAU's main campus in Boca Raton and our Davie campus; the M.A. program is located primarily on the Boca Raton campus, and the M.F.A.program is housed on the Davie campus.

In addition to their coursework, students in the SCMS become involved with many aspects of co-curricular life at FAU. From public debates and Speakers' Corner events, to film festivals and exhibitions, to student clubs such as the Film Clubs and Zeta Iota (the FAU chapter of the national communication honorary society Lambda Pi Eta), to digital media initatives such as Wavelengths and South Florida Journal, to cooperation in student run media such as The University Press, OWL Radio, or OWL TV, SCMS students have myriad opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom in their engagement in campus and community life. Many of these co-curricular activities fall under the umbrella of the SCMS's commitment to the American Democracy Project, a national initiative promoted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in cooperation with The New York Times that is dedicated to the reinvigoration of citizenship and civic engagement among students in public colleges and universities. The SCMS takes the mission of the American Democracy Project to heart, and much of our curriculum explores the inter-relationships among human communication activities and public life. The Communication Studies B.A. is built around issues of communication and civic life.

The SCMS enjoys a unique cooperative, public-private alliance with The Living Rooms Theaters, a four-theater complex located with the School in FAU's new Culture and Society Building. Commercials theaters by night, the Living Room Theaters serve as important teaching spaces during the day for our film classes. The cooperative relationship affords our film students opportunities to study the film business from multiple perspectives.

As a graduate from the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, you would have many career options. Most of our graduates move directly into the job market, but many others go on to graduate school, law school, or other professional advanced degree programs. The opportunities for SCMS graduates to take theoretical, analytic, and critical perspectives and combine them with performance and production skills opens many career doors. And this is not surprising. A poll of 330 industry leaders conducted by the University of Phoenix revealed that 96% of executives ranked communication and interpersonal skills as the most valuable traits for employees, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities conducted a poll of major U.S. employers that showed that employers want colleges and universities to increase their focus on written and oral communication,critical thinking and analytical reasoning, and concepts and developments in technology, including of course communication technologies. Graduates from the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies fit this profile of what employers increasingly seek.

As you look around our website and investigate our programs, we invite you to envision yourself as either an undergraduate major pursuing the rich array of curricular and co-curricular offerings available to you or as a graduate student specializing in either Communication Studies or Media, Technology, and Entertainment. In the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, we enrich lives as well as careers.

Sincerely,
Carol Bishop Mills, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the School

FEATURE STORY


Welcome Back Dr. Voncile Smith!

SCMS 50th Anniversary   February 21, 2023 4pm at the Culture & Society (CU) Building, Boca Campus

To our alumni and current students,  join us in celebrating the visit of Dr. Voncile Smith who founded the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies 50 years ago in 1972.  We have also planned a special surprise for her! RSVP today at SCMS@fau.edu to join us on February 21 at 4 PM on the first floor of the CU Building--The Living Room Theaters Cafe. 

SCMS celebrated its 50th anniversary in February with its founder, Dr. Voncile Smith

NEWS
New Minors in SCMS!
SCMS Announces Three New Minors
We are excited to announce THREE interdisciplinary minors beginning fall 2022! Students can now earn a minor in Political Communication, Sport Studies, and Public Relations, each requiring only 12 credits. Visit the link...
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Pacha Mama Workflow
Alumni Finalists in Producers Guild Honor
"Pacha Mama", a short film from Noitom International (Miami) was nominated for the Producers Guild of America Innovation Award (LA). The film was created by MTEn-MFA alumni Alberto Alvarez (Author and Technical Director;...
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Alison Currie
Student in SCMS Wins Broadway Theater Fellowship
A student from the SCMS, Allison Currie, is among the five recipients of the Black Theatre Coalition/Broadway Across America Fellowship sponsored by the John Gore Organization. Currie is an undergraduate student pursuing...
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Dr. Deandre Poole
SCMS Faculty Wins BIPOC NTT Faculty Award
School of Communication and Multimedia Studies senior instructor Dr. Deandre Poole has received the BIPOC Faculty award for excellence in research, teaching, and service. This teaching award, granted to non tenure-track faculty,...
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Alum Corey Rose Wins 2021 Facebook Journalism Project Scholarship Award
READ
 
EVENTS
SPOTLIGHT STORIES

FACULTY
Ivy Ashe
Ivy Ashe

Ivy Ashe is a full-time faculty member in the SCMS and joined the department in the summer of 2022. Her areas of research include media and geography, tourism and journalism, visual journalism, self-presentation on social... Read More

ALUMNUS
Kiona Kish
Kiona Kish

Kiona Kish graduated from SCMS with a bachelor’s in Communication and Multimedia Studies. After graduating, Kish started working as a social media marketing professional. She recently joined Lume, a deodorant company, as... Read More

STUDENT
Huguette St Hubert
Huguette St Hubert

Huguette St Hubert is a junior pursuing Communication Studies with a concentration in public health and a minor in French. While originally from Haiti, Huburt moved to Florida for higher education. A recipient of the Kelly/Strul... Read More