The Department offers students with theoretical and professional training in journalism and speech communication, on the basis of holistic education. It aims to cultivate in students a sense of professionalism and public service.
Considering the factors of educational resources, professional developments and social needs, the Department sets the following goals:
1. Integrating related academic fields in journalism and speech communication.
Knowledge and skills in speech communication can help journalists grasp the essence and functions of speech communication, so that they can develop a keen sense of languages. Besides, contemporary journalism stresses the communication modes of dialogues between cultures, instead of the previous confrontational, linear and ethno-centric ones. Hence, the studies of speech communication (e.g., principles of interviews, interpersonal communication and cross-cultural communication) will cast new lights in journalism.
2. Developing a spirit of social concerns and services.
Journalists must understand the changing world around them, concern themselves with social issues, and pay respect to different ethnic groups and cultures. The Department offers courses to foster abilities in discovering social issues and to uphold the “practice” spirits of “service and learning”; thus, students can express their concerns to the society, while serving the community in their journalistic practices.
3. Fostering historical and international visions for journalists.
In journalism works, historical and international visions lay the basis for both intensive and extensive news reports. News coverage offers not only descriptions, but also perspectives. Historical and international visions help to broaden the horizons of journalists.
4. Cultivating independent thinking and creative exploring abilities.
Independent thinking and creative exploring abilities help journalists to study on their own in analyzing problems and forming strategies in meeting changes and challenges in the information-ridden society. Only journalists with these abilities can adjust to the changes in the media environment and informational needs.
To achieve these goals, the Department, in addition to offering professional courses, encourages students to:
1. Embrace the opportunities of self-learning by taking minors and courses outside the Department and participate in lectures, seminars, scholarly activities etc.;
2. Engage themselves to serving local communities by internships in media and by community services etc.;
3. Broaden international visions by joining international programs of exchange students, international societies and activities etc.; and
4. Acquire foreign language proficiency by mastering first and second foreign languages.
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