Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies Diploma

Female Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies student

Credential

Diploma Diplomas offer practical, career-focused training and are usually completed in one to two years. They help you gain technical and workplace skills that are in demand across many industries.

Delivery mode

Time commitment

Full-Time You take a regular course load and move through the program at the standard pace. Expect to study most weekdays. Part-Time You take fewer courses at once and progress more slowly. This option offers more flexibility for work or personal commitments.

Duration

2 years

Program codes

Code: CCJS

Cost

$4,763 per year Domestic students: $9,526 for the entire 2-year program $50,950 total program cost International students: $50,950 for the entire 2-year program

Location

Available for

Domestic students
International students

Program features

TBD

Program overview

About the program

Learn the foundations of media and writing, and explore the functions of news and communications media, the history of journalism, and cultural policy and theory.

Communications explores how meaning is made in a range of contexts, including advertising, television, film, popular culture, and the internet. Learn how communication is fundamentally related to the development of self and society and examine how the messages of the contemporary world influence perception of such issues as gender, race, class, and community.

Key transfer options for graduates of this diploma include:

Simon Fraser University, Bachelor of Arts, Communication
University of British Columbia Okanagan, Bachelor of Arts, Cultural Studies
Thompson Rivers University, Bachelor of Journalism

This program is intended primarily to provide students with the education necessary for further study. After transfer and additional study, career options include:

Journalist
Communications Coordinator
Public Relations Specialist
Marketing Coordinator
New Media Consultant
Social Media Manager

This diploma can only be completed in full at the Kelowna campus. A selection of courses is offered at the Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses but a number of specialized courses and second year courses are only offered at the Kelowna campus.

For more information, book an appointment with an Education Advisor.

Program description

The Diploma in Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies (CCJS) is a two-year interdisciplinary diploma that foregrounds a critical analysis of the mass media as contemporary society's most pervasive agent of political and cultural transformation. Students will explore the social, political, and economic functions of news and communications media, the history of journalism, and cultural policy & theory. Particular attention will be paid to questions of social justice, as well as of identity and constructions of gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality.

Housed in the Department of Communications, CCJS offers students foundational courses in media theory, writing-intensive courses in Communications and English, and a selection of elective breadth courses from a range of departments --including Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, and Women's Studies.

While students may proceed directly to potential entry-level careers in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising, research, writing, publishing, consulting or new media, especially in small markets and independent digital environments, completion of this program is intended primarily to provide students with the liberal arts education necessary for further study.

Admission and program requirements

Regular Applicants: A regular applicant will be a secondary graduate or a secondary school student, or its equivalent, who has or who will complete the requirements for senior secondary graduation, or its equivalent, not less than one month prior to commencement of classes for the semester to which admission is sought - either fall or winter. The following minimum entrance requirements will apply to regular applicants:

B.C. secondary graduation, or equivalent.
English 12 with minimum 60% or alternatives.

Students with a passing grade of less than 60% in English 12, English 12 First Peoples or TPC 12 will be admissible to the first year of the program, subject to the following conditions:

Registration is restricted to courses for which the student satisfies the prerequisites. Registration in first-year English courses is, therefore, prohibited.
Successful completion of the English entrance requirements within the first year of studies. This may be done in one of the following ways:
- Successful completion of English 12, English 12 First Peoples or TPC 12 or an equivalent course with a minimum grade of 60%. This may be done concurrently through the College's Adult Basic Education Program or by completing an equivalent course through a distance education program.

Mature Applicants: A mature applicant will be at least 19 years of age and will not have attended secondary school on a full-time basis for a minimum period of one year.

Secondary graduation is waived for mature applicants. The English entrance requirements, as stated above, must be satisfied prior to admission. Admission may be granted on the condition that the entrance requirements will be completed prior to the commencement of classes for the semester to which admission is sought - either fall or winter.

A minimum of 50% of the program must be completed through OC including completion of a minimum of 18 credits of 200-level courses or higher.

Schedule and campus options

Start date	Location	Delivery mode	Application status

Tuition and fees

Domestic students

$4,763

per year

International students

$50,950

total program cost

Domestic students: $9,526 for the entire 2-year program
International students: $50,950 for the entire 2-year program
Fees listed are for first year (two semesters) for a typical, full-time student taking 5 courses per semester. Depending on the courses selected fees may vary.
Fees include all mandatory fees: Activity fee, Health & Dental, Student Association fee, Education Technology fee, Development fee.
Detailed International tuition fees information.
Check if this program is student loan eligible. View Financial Aid and Awards
All amounts are approximate and are subject to change.
Detailed domestic tuition and fees information

Program details

Year 1

Foundational courses:

Students must complete all of the following courses:

CMNS 100 - Introduction to Communications

CMNS 110 - Introduction to Mass Communication

CMNS 120 - Journalism Fundamentals

CMNS 130 - Introduction to Digital Media

ENGL 100 - University Writing

ENGL 153 - Critical Writing and Reading: Narrative

Breadth courses:

Students must complete three of the following course options:

ANTH 121 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

CMNS 160 - Introduction to Film Studies

INDG 100 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies

PHIL 114 - Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking I

SOCI 111 - Introduction to Sociology I

GSWS 100 - Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies

Note: Students interested in SOCI 216 or SOCI 217 should take SOCI 111 from the first year breadth list AND also SOCI 121 as one of their first year Arts electives in order to fulfill pre-requisite requirements.

Students may also select from either of these courses:

GEOG 128 - Human Geography: Space, Place and Community

GEOG 129 - Human Geography: Resources, Development and Society

Or one of either of these courses:

HIST 122 - Canada Since 1867

HIST 125 - Contemporary World from World War II to the Present

Or one of either of these courses:

POLI 101 - Introduction to Politics

POLI 114 - Engaging in International Development

Year 2

Foundational courses:

Students must complete three courses from the following options:

CMNS 200 - Communications in the Everyday

CMNS 230 - Communication and Culture

CMNS 240 - The Culture of Television

CMNS 250 - Cultural Industries in Canada

CMNS 260 - Topics in Communications

CMNS 270 - New Media

CMNS 280 - Applied Communication

CMNS 290 - Introduction to Video Game Studies

Students may also select from either of these courses:

CMNS 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

ENGL 235 - Professional Writing and Communications

Students must also select one of the following courses:

ENGL 215 - Studies in Reading Film

ENGL 219 - Intermediate Workshop in Creative Writing - Creative Non-Fiction

ENGL 222 - Studies in International Literature in English

ENGL 231 - Studies in Popular Narrative

Note: Students choosing ENGL 219 should request a pre-requisite waiver from the English Department Chair.

Breadth courses:

Students must complete two courses from the following options:

GEOG 201 - Food and Society

GEOG 210 - Introduction to Environmental Issues

Students may also select from either of these courses:

POLI 222 - Global Political Economy

POLI 240 - Contemporary Political Ideologies

Or one of any of these three courses:

SOCI 202 - Introduction to Social Problems

SOCI 216 - Media and Society

SOCI 217 - Consumer Society

Or one of any of these three courses:

GSWS 202 - Women and Politics

GSWS 215 - Gender and Popular Culture

GSWS 216 - Feminism and Film

Science courses: Two Science courses in Laboratory Science, Mathematics, Computer Science or Statistics. For a list of possible options, see the Associate of Arts program.

Elective Arts courses: Three 1st or 2nd year courses from any discipline. A university-level language course is recommended for students who have not completed a Grade 12 high school second language course.

The Diploma in Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies will be granted upon the successful completion of 60 prescribed compulsory and elective credits, as follows: twenty-one credits in Communications credits, nine credits in English, fifteen Breadth credits, nine Arts Electives credits, and six Science credits.