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Program Description
The evolving, global telecommunications infrastructure touches our lives every day. It affects how we do business, how we engage in self-governance, how we spend our leisure time and how we see others and ourselves. The telecommunications program seeks to prepare informed, responsible professionals for leadership roles in the electronic information industries that make up this constantly developing system. These industries include broadcast, cable, satellite and Internet radio and television, mobile and fixed telephony, and Internet content and connectivity.

This major is designed for students interested in electronic media, including the broadcasting, cable, satellite, Internet and telephone industries. Radio, television, telephones and the Internet have come to dominate all facets our lives, including how we communicate, conduct business, entertain and inform ourselves. The telecommunications curriculum explores the structure and operation of these industries as well as the laws and policies that regulate their use.

Graduates go on to careers at local radio and television stations, TV networks, Internet service providers, wired and wireless telephone companies, and other related industries. The major emphasizes the business and legal parameters of telecommunications, making it an excellent preparation for law school or graduate school and careers in government policy and the entertainment field.

Mission Statement
As with all of the majors in the College of Communications, the telecommunications program's professional education rests on a foundation of practical and philosophical ideals that include: professional competency in written, visual and oral communication; critical thinking and analytical ability; social and professional responsibility; an appreciation of the key role that communications professionals play in the political and cultural life of the community; an ability to apply theory in its various forms; and a sensitivity to the increasingly cross-cultural and international context of media work. While providing students with a solid foundation in professional practice, the major more importantly seeks to ground students in these broader ideals, preparing graduates not just for entry-level positions but for the leadership roles they will command later in their careers.

As an internationally recognized center for telecommunications research, the department is committed to working with external constituencies, policymakers and the public to research the many social, public interest and community effects of existing and emerging forms of electronic media. Through teaching, research and service, the department seeks to help answer pressing local, national and international questions associated with the evolving communication system, and to impart critical skills and values fundamental to furthering democratic society and social equity.

Contact Info:

Matt Jackson,
Head of Department
105 Carnegie Building
State College, PA 16802
mattj@psu.edu
(814) 863-6419