Webster University’s School of Communications (SOC) recently hosted an open house for incoming freshens and transfer students who want to major in Communications
The School of Communications at Webster takes a hands-on approach to learning. Students work with professional-grade media equipment as early as their freshman year.
Debra A. Carpenter, dean of the SOC, said the department faculty are “devoted to teaching and combine theory in their classes about communications with practical application.”
Carpenter talked to the students about how going to college is a big step in their and their parent’s lives.
Carpenter said, “Webster University’s School of Communications has risen for 240 students when it started to 900 at the most. Also there are 17 majors to pick from, such as Broadcast Journalism, Journalism, photography, and Public Relations.”
Carpenter said the student-teacher ratio is about 15-25 to 1.
“You are not learning from a book, you’re doing hands on and you can study abroad in London, China, and so on,” she said.
Mindy Berkowitz, internship director and portfolio development chair at SOC, said students earned internships with MTV, working in Ghana in Public Relations and for the CW11 news.
Internships connect SOC students with more than 300 employers across the nation. “Also a lot of the times students do get hired at their internships,” Berkowitz said.
SOC chair and professor Joe Schuster said, “You’re making a good choice by coming to Webster’s School of Communications to learn hands-on experience that you would never experience in another university until your junior or senior year.”
Photography professor, Bill Barrett offered good advice: “If you’re a high school student and you learn a language like Spanish or French, don’t lose it. By learning a other language, it opens more doors to a successful career with anything you major in.”
Students toured the Leif J. Sverdrup/Business/Technology Center, home of the SOC. They observed the media center, including the school’s radio station, photo lab and the office of the school’s award-winning paper, The Journal.
Everyone was brought in the Sunnen lounge where Matt Schutte, associate director of Undergraduate Admissions, did a presentation on financial aid, admissions and scholarships.
He said, “Students need at least a 2.5 to get into Webster. Also in coming freshens need at least a 22 ACT and a 1550 composite on the SAT. And we are transfer-friendly.”
The scholarships available at Webster are Webster Academic Scholarship, Daniel Webster Scholarship, and Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship.
Schutte said that students must file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form with the federal government by March 1, 2009.
“Also students can do work/study, get grants, or get a loan,” said Schutte.
A panel of four current Communications students then answered questions.
Phillip Crawford, a senior majoring in Photography, said, “I want to become a noted, successful photographer and make a difference in my client’s lives, my community, and take care of my family.”
Junior Broadcast Journalism major Nadia Battle said, “They will tell you who you are dealing with and what you are dealing with, people you’re going to be working with and for, things you get on your resume n especially with your internship. And we have a real diverse campus and you’ll know every culture.”
For more info on Webster University SOC, call (314) 968-6991 or email admit@webster.edu.
