Communication & Media Studies

School of Arts & Humanities

Notice

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonoma State University has transitioned to remote instruction for Fall 2020. Employees are working remotely in almost all departments. Email is the best way to communicate with our faculty and staff. You will find information on both the "Advising" tab and "Faculty & Staff" tab of this COMS webpage for office hours, Zoom links and emails. In addition, please see the SSU COVID-19 site for more information.

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Announcements

Internship Stories: Check out our new feature under "Internships" highlighting personal stories from COMS students and faculty on the value of internships.

Interested in Changing your Major to COMS?: The deadline to apply for the Fall 2021 semester is Friday, March 19th at 3PM. For more information, please email shelly.stephens@sonoma.edu

Welcome to Communication and Media Studies at Sonoma State University

Faculty, Alumni and Student Spotlights

Please check out our News and Events page to see spotlights on our amazing faculty, alumni and current Coms students.

Communication & Media Studies

Are you considering a career in media? Our department offers media-focused courses, experienced professors and a hands-on learning experience. Our classes cross over a diverse range of topics and skillsets which allow students to be knowledgeable in many aspects of the media industry.

What is Media Studies?

Media Studies explores the history and impact of media on society as well as research theory and methods of media analysis. Our core curriculum is designed to make students smarter, more savvy media consumers as well as more thoughtful and ethical media practitioners.

Tricaster Studio

We also provide our students with a robust curriculum that allows them to develop media skills in a variety of areas, including video production, writing for the media, public relations, broadcasting and digital media. Students have the opportunity to focus on specific skills or developing skills across the media spectrum.

Change of Major

Do you want to become a COMS Major?

COMS is an impacted major. Please request to be notified when applications are available each semester. COMS Change of Major - Request to be Notified

Classroom Picture with Amy G

Careers, Fields & Industries

Where Do SSU COMS Alumni Work?

There are many career paths that a person with a Communication and Media Studies Major can choose. Below are some of the career paths that graduates from Sonoma State University with a major in Communication and Media Studies have followed. Use this as an ideas list, but certainly not all of the careers you might consider:

Print Journalism
Public Relations
Radio Broadcasting

Video Production
Feature Films
Web Design

Television News
Social Media
Web Content Management

Message from Department Chair

As we all prepare to embark on a well-deserved winter break, there are many reasons to feel thankful about the semester we just completed as well as look toward the future with a sense of optimism.

Despite the difficulties posed by putting the entire Coms curriculum online, our great faculty rose to the challenge and kept courses engaging and student-focused. But perhaps it’s our students who deserve the biggest accolades. From continuing to put out weekly editions of The Star newspaper to collaborating on excellent video projects from different parts of the state, Coms students not only met the challenge, they exceeded expectations! We are exceptionally proud of them.

Still, we’re also extremely excited by the news that the CSU is planning to open campuses back up in the fall and return to live teaching. Life at Sonoma State University is more than just attending classes. It’s about community. It will be fantastic to see our students face-to-face again and watch them take part in everything this campus has to offer.

We have exciting things awaiting upon their return: our new Media Innovation Lab was completed just as the pandemic shut down the campus, and we can’t wait to put it to use! We’ve also launched a proposal to create a second Coms degree- a BA in Cinematic Arts and Technology. We’re hoping to get final approval for the new degree program during the 2021-22 academic year. As they say, stay tuned…

In the meantime, we hope all of our students have a restful and safe holiday. We’re looking forward to seeing you again (virtually) in the spring!

Ed Beebout, Professor

News & Events

Coms Instructor Brings Some Well-Known Guests to Her Online Course

January 19, 2021

Student Spotlight: Kylie Rose Lawrence

December 14, 2020

Two Communication and Media Studies professors are among the 2020-21 recipients of the prestigious Koret Scholars Award.

October 20, 2020

Spotlight

Citrus Dawn

Congratulations to recent graduate Ryan Harvey. The film he directed for Campus MovieFest in 2019, entitled "Citrus Dawn," has won the BEST COMEDY award at the TERMINUS NATIONAL FESTIVAL. Well done, Ryan!