Entertainment Media Major Degree

The Entertainment Media major prepares you for a career in advertising, communications, entertainment, or social media. After you complete the Entertainment Media program, you can launch a successful career with a strong base of skills from communication, business, legal studies, and English courses.

Learn to promote, publicize, and write about various aspects of the entertainment industry, including movies, television, gaming, and online productions. And, use industry tools and technology to create professional communications.

Program Features

A mix of courses in communications, digital media, and professional communication, as well as opportunities to apply their knowledge through student media outlets and publications provide a variety of education experiences.
Complete at least one required internship and a capstone experience and develop a digital portfolio to showcase their skills and abilities in the field of communication.
Entertainment Media majors have access to a multi-cam TV studio, green screen, post-production lab (equipped with Adobe CC including Premiere and AfterEffects), professional lighting and sound kits.

What You'll Learn

From your first day, you’ll take courses in your major and advance towards graduation with a yearly plan. Not sure what classes to take? We’ll help you create the perfect plan.

Courses and Sample 4-Year Plan

Year 1

This example four-year plan is provided as a broad framework that you can follow in order to complete your degree within four years. Be sure to always consult your academic advisor before registering for classes.

COM103

Human Communication (KP)

This course is a basic survey of human communication, especially interpersonal and group. Attention is given to perception, language and meaning, listening, theories of persuasion, verbal and nonverbal communication, small group discussion, interpersonal conflict, and interviewing. The course focuses on understanding how human communication is fundamentally related to issues of interpersonal relationships; the history of human communication and language development; perception and intrapersonal communication; leadership; group/team work; multicultural diversity in organizations; decision-making; power; public speaking; and ethical challenges. This course helps students to develop and practice skills that will guide effective action in their professional careers and interpersonal relationships. This course includes a Service Learning component.

MATH106

Mathematical Reasoning

This course is the foundational course for mathematical and quantitative reasoning at Lasell College. Mathematical reasoning is the critical skill that enables a student to solve real-world problems involving quantitative analysis by making use of particular mathematical skills. Through the development of their mathematical reasoning skills, students will recognize the power of mathematics in its own right as well as its relevance in the real world. Students will develop and enhance their mathematical reasoning skills through a project/application-based curriculum supported by readily available current technological tools and topics that will include, but not be limited to, the following: solving systems of equations, linear programming, statistical, and graphical data analysis.

001

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

WRT101

Writing I

In this course, students gain understanding of and confidence in strategies for effective writing by composing and reading in a variety of genres. The course emphasizes writing as a process and focuses on the rhetorical choices writers make. Students engage critically with sources by examining how genre, context, purpose, credibility, and bias work together to create meaning and impact audiences. Students who choose to take Writing I Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a “C” or higher in order to pass this course

FYS103

First Year Seminar

The First Year Seminar (FYS) is part of the Core Curriculum and a requirement for all incoming first year students and transfer students with fewer than 15 credits. The First Year Seminar is a theme-based inquiry course that engages students in a specific area of interest while providing support for a smooth transition into the Lasell University community and the Connected Learning philosophy. Through studying an academic topic, students develop and apply core intellectual skills and receive an introduction to the core knowledge perspectives. At the same time, students connect to the experiences and people that make up the Lasell University Community. Course outcomes are accomplished through engaging activities including reading, writing, class discussions, presentations, team projects, field trips, and exploration of campus resources. Civic engagement and service-learning activities are often part of this course as is participation in the Connected Learning Symposium. Through the seminar, students develop close ties with faculty and peer mentors who serve as advocates for first year students' academic success. Past course titles have included: The Immigrant Experience, Fashion & Film of the 20th Century, The Social History of Rock & Roll, Exploring Cultures & Languages, The Spark of Creativity, Women and Sports, and Latin America: Food And Traditions. This requirement may be fulfilled by taking either FYS103 or HON101 (for students enrolled in the Honors Program).

COM105

Writing for The Media

This course provides students with a basic introduction to and overview of communication writing that focuses on channels of communication (clients, audiences, formats); creating writing samples; conducting writing exercises; developing strategies for soliciting feedback; and engaging in peer editing exercises. Students learn about various media writing formats, such as news releases, features, profiles, columns, editorials, reviews, speeches, public service announcements, backgrounders, etc. This is a writing intensive course. Prerequisite: COM 101.

COM102

Visual Media Toolkit

This course introduces?a practice-based?approach to visual communication design.?Through a series of projects, students develop?knowledge and techniques for communicating meaning visually using Adobe and other software for digital imaging, publication and web design.?They will expand their visual vocabulary while exploring topics including?typography, color,?photo enhancement and manipulation, and principles of graphic design for?print and digital media. By creating visual messages and a digital portfolio website, and?critiquing?their own and?others’?work,?students increase their?overall?visual literacy and understanding of effective visual communication.

WRT102

Writing II

This course is a continuation of Writing I and focuses on research and public writing. Theme-based courses provide students with lenses to explore issues of interest and develop their reading, research, and writing skills. Students work with a topic of their choice, broadly based on the course theme. Assignments build upon each other, lead up to a researched position paper, and culminate in a public piece. Students who choose to take Writing II Workshop are provided with time during class to work on their writing while the instructor and a writing tutor are present to provide assistance. Students must earn a grade of “C” or higher in order to pass this course. Prerequisite: WRT 101

SOC104X

Equity & Intersectionality(KP)

Equity & Intersectionality(KP)

Year 2

COM203

Effective Speaking

This course provides instruction and practice in preparing and delivering the various kinds of oral presentations encountered by professionals. Students learn how to analyze audiences, organize different types of presentations, prepare and use visual aids, deliver presentations to different audiences and respond to questions. Students are taught to express themselves in a clear, confident, responsible, and appropriate manner. The classroom environment is conducive to confidence building and overcoming the fear of speaking.

COM216

Entertainment Media

A focus on the entertainment media industry requires making sense of the material that captures the audience's attention, influences culture, and provides enjoyment to mass media consumers. Course topics include the business of entertainment media, the production and distribution of media content, and multimedia convergence. Students in this course examine the multiple genres for the content of entertainment media, such as drama, comedy, reality TV, and gaming. Students learn how the entertainment industry works, captures the interests of contemporary audiences, and influences our culture and values. Prerequisite: COM 101. Formerly - COM302

COM219

Social Media Management

Communication professionals must to be able to utilize different social media platforms to both engage audiences and increase brand impact and influence. This course is designed to introduce students to the key concepts and practices of managing social media channels. Through case studies, interactive assignments, and a social media project, students will learn necessary skills to managing a social media platform, including conducting a social media audit, developing a strategic social media plan, building an editorial calendar, identifying key metrics and using data analytics to assess and report the impact of social media posts and campaigns. Students will also earn Hubspot Certification in Social Media during the course. Prerequisite: Sophomore status.

HIST104

World Civ II:

This Knowledge Perspective course will provide students with the opportunity to interpret and analyze the complex interrelationships and inequities in human societies in a global historical context. Emphasizing the interrelatedness and mutuality of influence between East and West, we examine questions of exclusiveness, intolerance, and cooperation. Prerequisite: ENG101 with a C or better

001

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

KP (Knowledge Perspective) Course

MATH208

Statistics

This is an introductory course in descriptive and inferential statistics. Topics include: data analysis, and graphical methods of describing data, measures of central tendency and variability, probability, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, and regression analysis. Prerequisites: MATH 106 with a grade of C or better or demonstrated competency through placement testing and ENG 102.

MDSC203

Multidisciplinary Experience

In this project-based course, students explore a social or intellectual problem using at least two knowledge perspectives. Faculty and students follow a collaborative process of exploration, discussion, and problem solving that integrates knowledge perspectives and core intellectual skills.

COM212

Intercultural Communication

This course examines communication issues that arise from contact between people from different cultural backgrounds in everyday life, social encounters, and business transactions. Interdisciplinary approaches are applied to the study of how verbal and nonverbal presentation, ethnic, gender, and cultural differences affect communication. The course provides exercises in participation, analysis, and criticism of interethnic and interracial communications in small group settings. Students examine factors of international communication such as the cultural, economic, political, and social influences and the role of communication in affecting social change in a wide variety of cultures and countries. Prerequisite: COM101 or SOC101 or PSYC101

COM206

Professional Communication

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the most important communication and career-related formats of professional writing, including power point presentations, memos, business letters, reports, brief speeches, instructions, newsletters and brochures. Special emphasis is given to various writing processes one must complete on a tight deadline for a business audience of peers, customers or employers. Prerequisite: ENG 102.

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

Year 3

COM208

Public Relations

In this course, students explore the evolution, theoretical basis for, and practice of professional Public Relations. Students review the history and current practices of Public Relations and examine the differences between PR and advertising; press relations and public affairs; promotions and news events; marketing and media placements. Students gain insights into the Public Relations function for corporations, high tech companies, government agencies, politics, education, the entertainment industry, sports, and non-profit institutions. Lectures, case studies, readings, group work, guest speakers, and class discussions focus on techniques useful in such areas as local and national publicity, special events, and community and government relations for organizations. Prerequisite: COM101

COM225

Producing

Producing introduces students to the basics of TV producing. Students learn the process of writing a pitch, proposal, treatment, and budget. They also learn the fundamentals of basic screenwriting and production scheduling, as well as managing cast, crew and vendor relationships. The course also explores the roles of the casting director, location manager, production coordinator, and script supervisor. The course concludes with a preview of the production team and the role of the line producer, unit production manager, production manager and assistant directors involved in managing the physical production process of producing a television show. This course emphasizes the competency of writing and research.

PHIL302

Ethical Reasoning

This course will address the interaction between the lives we lead and the application of traditional (and some nontraditional) ethical theories and principles to important decision points in our lives. Students will take on real-life ethical problems and dilemmas for each class; each student will be responsible for presenting a number of issues, as well as for guiding the discussion of those issues in class. The problems we address will largely span a lifetime of experiences and concerns. Students will also write several papers that evaluate formal arguments, using standard tools of critical thinking and philosophy. The course is discussion based, so a willingness to read carefully, to think critically, and to engage in classroom presentations and discussions is essential. Prerequisite: Junior standing, MDSC203 & ENG102.

COM332

Television & Film Studies

This course will explore this significant question: Should we take film and TV seriously as a form of mass communication? The answer can be found in the ways that film and TV produce meanings for the audience and our culture as a dominant form of entertainment over that past 60 plus years in post WWII America. As such, film and TV demand our scrutiny. Throughout the course, we will look at such topics as how film and TV entertainment narrative is structured, how sets are designed, how sound interacts with image, how commercials persuade and how these structures can emphasize certain meanings (and de-emphasize others) and transmit values to viewers. Current trends in technological shifts have forced changes in the delivery of film and TV programming, for example to audio and video files streaming on computers, such as tablets, the decline of movie going and network TV and the rise of hundreds of cable channels and streaming. However, all of these new technologies demand more film and TV entertainment content, not less. This course uses two avenues of inquiry: one exploring the mass communication basis for studying the content delivered through mediums of film and TV; and another outlining an analysis of film and TV content which illustrates the transmission of cultural values (primarily American) to the audience. Prerequisite: BUSS221

COM331

Media Literacy & Ethics

Mass media have become the primary and predominant storytellers of our time, and their messages can influence the way we see ourselves and the world around us. However, because messages are shaped by the corporate interests that control media organizations, their impact may not always be in the best interests of the public. It is the responsibility of audiences, therefore, to understand and to think critically about mass media messages. This course provides students with a framework to explore such media content critically. Students study the role mass media plays in communicating cultural values and its impact on society, by emphasizing how media companies shape public discourse. The course uses two avenues of inquiry; one exploring the philosophical basis of media ethics and another outlining case histories from the media. Current trends in the news and popular culture’s view of the ethical lapses in mass media, journalism, advertising, and public relations, are also explored. Special emphasis is placed on the diverse theoretical approaches through which ethical questions of media literacy can be explored. Prerequisite: COM101 and Junior standing.

COM307

Understanding Video Games

Understanding Video Games introduces students to the foundation, process, and impact of the video game industry. Students evolve from merely riding the gaming highway to analyzing and deconstructing it. The course pays particular attention to the history and breakthroughs in the technology, social and political impacts such as the ESRB, sex and violence in games, as well as past, present and future trends of the gaming market.

COM206

Professional Communication

COM399

Pre-Internship Seminar

This seminar helps students to develop professional objectives and identify potential sites for their internships. In this seminar students identify their personal work style and strengths, will identify a good career match, will create an effective cover letter & resume, will develop effective networking, interviewing, and negotiation skills. This course will help students apply search tools for finding internships. A goal of this course is to secure an internship for the following semester. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

Year 4

COM315

Communication Research

This course introduces students to methods of social research that are applied to communication theory and practice. This includes both academic research on human communication and the kinds of professional research conducted in media industries, such as journalism, advertising and public relations. Students conduct individual and group research projects during the term. Prerequisite: COM101, MATH208 & Jr Standing

COM327

Digital Storytelling

This project-based course introduces students to the practice of digital storytelling to engage, inform and persuade audiences. Students will explore narrative structure and aesthetics of different storytelling media, with emphasis on micro, short form and episodic audio and video for social and online platforms. Students will develop story ideas, use desktop and mobile tools to acquire content in a variety of settings, and edit and repurpose content to maximize its usefulness. Through creation and analysis of their own and others’ digital stories, students will increase their understanding of effective digital storytelling. Prerequisite: COM101

COM400

Field Experience I

This course is the professional component of the capstone experience in the Communication Department. The course provides students with a work/skill development opportunity to practice communication theory and skills in a real work setting. The internship course is comprised of a minimum of 150 hours in the field, the weekly seminar, and its assignments, including an oral presentation. Students also write weekly reflections on their experience, complete written assignments, and do an oral presentation to a group of their peers. The field supervisor contributes to the student’s learning through guidance, feedback and evaluation of the students work. Prerequisite: COM399 Pre-Internship Seminar

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

COM495

Capstone Project & Portfolio

In this capstone course, students will review and refine their digital portfolios to demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired through their studies. They will also apply their learning to produce a capstone project based on their area of specialization and career goals. These projects will involve research into the project topic, as well as integration of relevant communication theory, ethical issues and professional practices. Students will iterate projects from draft to final deliverable(s) based on presentation and critique of their work throughout the term. The course culminates with students exhibiting their projects and portfolios to program faculty. Prerequisite: Senior standing.

COM330

Strategic Campaigns

This course integrates the knowledge students have acquired in previous courses in the field of marketing communications. Students will develop a strategic communication campaign that is grounded on both an organization’s objectives and a thorough understanding of a target audience. Students will work with a client (real or fictitious), on an actual campaign that includes marketing and communication objectives, primary and secondary consumer research, a target-centered strategy, tactical recommendations, execution of the creative brief, and an evaluation plan. Special emphasis will be placed on the strategic work that goes into developing, planning, and executing the campaign within industry standards. Prerequisites: COM208 Public Relations or COM221 OR BUSS220

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

000

Elective or Minor Course

Choose an Elective or Minor course

4-Year Plan

News and Entertainment Marketing Students Go Behind the Scenes at ABC

Learning Outcomes

Communicate clearly and effectively with diverse audiences through writing, oral, and non-verbal methods.
Critically analyze the content, functions, effects and ethics of media in a diverse, global society.
Formulate applied communication research questions and employ quantitative or qualitative methods to gather, analyze, and share findings.
Employ tools and technology within industry standards to plan, create, present, and evaluate professional communications.
Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths and experiences relative to communication career goals, and identify areas necessary for professional growth.

For a complete list of courses and learning outcomes, view the Academic Catalog >>

Career Outlook

The Entertainment major prepares media literate, digitally adept graduates to pursue careers in media, corporate communications, promotions and other communication fields.

Our students have interned with:

Camera & jumbotron, TD Garden
Content Writer, Giving Forward
Podcast intern, Staples
Production Assistant, WCVB
Social Media intern, BVM sports
PR intern, Kortenhaus Communications

Our alumni work for:

Kraft Sport Group
Marriott
CNBC, as a Video Editor
US Department of Transportation
MLB Network

Beyond the Classroom

COMArts Conversations

Each year the School of Communication and the Arts hosts award-winning media and design professionals who cover topics such as UX research and design, storytelling and documentary filmmaking, influencers on social media, and marketing strategy.

Student-Run Publications

Lasell's student-run publications include the 1851 Chronicle newspaper, TARNISHED covering visual and written arts, and POLISHED, our award-winning fashion magazine.

Lasell's Radio and TV Station

WLAS 102.9 FM, our state-of-the-art radio station, lets you get hands-on in programming, production, and promotions. LCTV, Lasell Community Television, allows students gain experience working with camera equipment, learning editing software, and screenwriting.