Mass Communication

This course is about understanding challenges of intercultural communication, biases, listening within and across cultures, ethics of communication, developing intercultural competence etc. It also examines the causes and significance of intercultural differences in verbal and non-verbal communication.

The course will analyze how meaning is created through the manipulation of images and sound in visual media. It explores the role of codes, symbols, typography, text and color in the construction of meaning and in establishing the audience-auteur relationship. The course critically analyses the conventions of narrative structure, sound editing and cinematography in films besides briefly evaluating the impact of the visual media in global society.

This course provides a grounding in the fundamental theory and practice of visual communication. It attempts to develop the students’ practical skills and explore the technical knowledge required for the creation of imagery in a digital context. It provides a critique of contemporary visual culture, surveying the mechanisms by which meaning is constructed through these images. It also attempts to explore the theoretical approaches to image analysis and applies these approaches to the creation of visual messages.

This course explores the nature of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills in interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts; examines areas like time management skills, assertiveness, self-motivation and raising confidence. The course provides an insight into presentation, public speaking and writing skills with an aim to prepare graduates to face the world outside the campus

This course discusses the historical development of theories of communication. It examines and analyses the social and cultural context for these theories. Critically and analytically assesses the continuing validity of these theories in contemporary society, especially in the era of social media communication.

The course explores various dimensions of ethics and morality, both in principles and practice which is fundamental to media as a conscience keeper in mirroring the society and its role in shaping the discourse on reality we live in. It provides understanding the extent and constraints of ethical framework shaped within the larger social political structures and its manifestation in media narratives reflecting contemporary society. It critically evaluates the role of the media while analytically assessing the link between individual morality and the rights and responsibilities of the media to work within ethical frameworks

This course prepares the students with grounding overviews in areas of Popular Culture namely in Contemporary global media which has its role in the formation and distribution of western popular culture as the mainstream world culture. Defining popular culture as the process by which individual identities are positioned in relation to collective experience through the influence of the media content. This course explores the interchange between popular experience and media representations of identity, community and power

This course will introduce students to the role of Photojournalism in the contemporary global media. Defining Photojournalism as the process by which Journalistic aptitudes are combined with the art of photography through the learning process of the basics of Photography and Photojournalism. The course aims to make the students learn Visual storytelling through a series of photographic images, which are thematically linked to provide a broader perspective. In addition, the course will explore the areas of Applied Visual Aesthetics, Visual readings and Applied Ethics in Photojournalism.

Video production is an entry-level course that will serve as an introduction to basic video/film/audio production. The goal of the course is for the student to develop the ability to capture great video images and audio, and to be able to edit those two elements together to tell a story. This course provides a foundation in the theory and practice of Video Production. It attempts to develop the students’ practical skills and explore the technical knowledge required for telling a story using moving images and sound. Students will learn to handle, operate a video camera and shoot on location

This course introduces debates about the impact(s) of various topical issues in media communication. It fosters a critical understanding of the nature, foundation and importance of these debates. Critically and analytically assesses the claims of competing interest groups and stakeholders.

This course introduces debates about the impact(s) of various topical issues in media communication. It fosters a critical understanding of the nature, foundation and importance of these debates. Critically and analytically assesses the claims of competing interest groups and stakeholders.

In this course students will: learn to use a wide variety or qualitative and quantitative methods to collect and analyze data; be taught to think critically about information and become better information users; and develop research strategies. In this course, the students will be guided to choose topics that are relevant to their future.

This course gives an understanding about the practice of journalism particularly print media. It includes practical exercises in basic news-gathering and writing. It also demonstrates how to be a reflective practitioner, besides providing a background to the news industry. It contributes to developing writing skills and understanding of journalistic work field.

This course helps in developing the understanding in students regarding media, importance of research , planning of events ,value of internal communication and issues to managed when in crisis. Ethical aspects in Public relations and the implementation of activities to fulfil the goals related to social responsibility are also some of the elements taught in the course

This course will help PR students in particular to develop some writing skills that they need when they going labor market. In addition, it will help them to acquire the best writing practices that a PRO needs to be aware of.

The course aims at developing students’ understanding regarding political, business, health, sports, education, arts reporting and the ethical concerns and considerations. Interviewing techniques and writing intros and leads.

The course offered in the third year Public Relations applies various methods used by Corporate Organizations to achieve a competitive success among their various publics. The course is designed specifically to engage students to analyze and comprehend the various management functions adopted by contemporary organizations within the Public Relations Departments. It constructs and fosters an analytical and strategical approach among students and gives them knowledge required to perform in the corporate world.

This is a practical, creative and vocational course, aiming to equip students to produce creative media solutions to a predetermined client brief and a set deadline. Students will develop skills in idea generation, writing proposals, production management and budget control as a means of successfully fulfilling the clients’ requests and target group expectations. Students will develop an understanding of media production process for public relations, working on corporate projects and their client, company promotion, publicity activities and learn to work in the technical and creative roles of video commercial production. At the end of the course, students will be directed to produce two major Public Relations productions for real clients using industry-standard media production equipment.

This course shows students the aspects to be kept in mind while planning communication strategies. The problems related to communication and working in the corporate field while understanding the nuances related to strategic approach to publicity, placement of sponsorship, evaluating strategic outcomes , using social media as a strategic tool for PR are some of the important areas which are delved deep into for strengthening students understanding in the area.

This course facilitates the overall application of theory and practice of Protocol and Organizing Events. Students will apply principles of event design, operations, marketing, financing, and managing, define protocol and various types of events such as fundraising, corporate, cultural and sporting, and pply relevant concepts such as risk management and event evaluation.

The introduces students to social media and the role of Social Media in Organizations (Social Influence) and focuses on trending issues such as social Media Ethics for PR, Social media use in Crisis, and developing A Social Media PR Campaign.

This course aims at familiarizing students with basic research approaches and data collection procedures used in Communication Studies. Students will exercise academic writing standards and ethical aspects of academic research. The applied research perspective of UTAS will be introduced to them. The course objectives are as follows: To familiarize the students with theoretical aspects of academic research as well as data collection procedures commonly employed in Communication Studies research; to familiarize students with academic writing standards and ethical aspects of academic research, and to enable students to take up full-fledged academic research projects in future.

This course facilitates the overall application of theory and practice of public relations and help students learn to deal with real-life problem-solving situations, applying principles of strategic planning to develop communication solutions for socially relevant contexts, conducting media planning, managing publicity events and design messages for media and social media etc. The relevance of research and evaluation in PR campaigns is discussed.

The course is designed specifically to engage students to analyze and comprehend the various management functions practiced in current situations globally, to meet its goals analytical and strategical tactics used by industry, and gain that knowledge among students giving them a cutting edge required to perform in the corporate world.

Graduation Project II prepares students for executing a small-scale applied research project related to their respective professional study areas namely, Public Relations, Journalism, and Media Management. Students are required to produce a research-based graduation project report that (i) focuses on real life problems in their respective professional fields in Oman and (ii) are relevant for their professional development. The topic of the dissertation must be pertaining to Omani context. The length of the written dissertation is 6000-8000 words.