Course Descriptions

COMM 318 - Multi-Media Presentations

COMM 319 - Sports Writing

COMM 320 - News Reporting

3 cr.

This course is designed to introduce students to reporting for electronic and print media.  Students learn how to obtain and analyze documents used in criminal/civil investigations, as well as how to develop and maintain contacts in news investigations.

COMM 322 - Advanced Television Production

3 cr.

Building upon the foundation acquired in COMM 222, students pursue specialized projects in producing and directing programs for broadcast, cable and new technologies.

COMM 323 - Television Journalism

3 cr.

Broadcast- journalism skills are refined through classroom and outside assignments.  Production techniques, including tape editing, are explored.  Television news formats are produced.

COMM 324 - (W) Advanced Newswriting

3 cr.

Intensive training and practice in techniques of reporting and writing news stories and in covering public affairs. Familiarity with journalistic basics and style required.

COMM 325 - Advertising Copywriting

COMM 326 - Political Advertising

COMM 327 - Cases in Strategic Public Relations

3 cr.

Case studies focus on the problems and challenges faced by a variety of organizations.  Practical application of creative problem-solving, theory and research in actual organizations.

COMM 328 - News Editing

3 cr.

Preparing copy for publication.  Correcting, improving and trimming stories. Headline writing, layout, graphics.  Wire services, printing process.

COMM 329 - Graphics

COMM 330 - Advertising Decision Making

3 cr.

This course will cover the managerial and decision-making processes of advertising and related marketing communications functions.  Students will learn the various problems and opportunities faced by advertising decision makers, and the alternative solutions available to handle these situations.

COMM 331 - Mass Media Management

COMM 333 - Methods of Business Communication

3 cr.

Focuses on oral and written communication in a business environment. Students learn to analyze communication situations, identify stakeholders, develop strategy, and craft professional reports and transactional documents to achieve organizational goals. Students use multimedia software to create industry-standard graphics for professional written communication and deliver successful presentations to diverse audiences.

COMM 334 - Broadcast Programming

COMM 337 - Magazine Feature Writing

3 cr.

Students learn the basics of magazine feature writing, including developing their own voices, analyzing magazine demographic markets, writing articles targeted to those demographic markets, and learning techniques to survive as a freelance magazine writer. 

COMM 365 - Social Media Production

3 cr.

This course teaches students the skills and techniques required for producing and editing digital content for social media. The class will utilize short lectures about the production skills employed to produce video, TV and web content in tandem with hands-on production workshops for various end mediums of social media. (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) The end result will be that students acquire the abilities and skills to take on social media production roles in a variety of industries such as Advertising, Public Relations, Film and Television, etc.

COMM 380 - Advertising Practicum

3 cr.

Students function as a full-service advertising agency that provides clients with a complete array of services ranging from campaign creation to implementation and evaluation.

COMM 411 - Persuasion and Propaganda

COMM 415 - Senior Seminar

3 cr.

This capstone course will synthesize course work to prepare students for entry into the profession of communication.  Emphasis will be placed on the application of Jesuit ideals to the identification and approaches that concerns today’s communication industry.

COMM 422 - Educational Television

COMM 425 - Cable Television

COMM 426 - International Broadcasting

COMM 428 - Public Relations Campaigns and Competitions

COMM 430 - Advanced Business Communication Strategies

3 cr.

This course explores the communication challenges of the modern business environment and instructs students how to develop complex unified communication strategies aimed at a broad range of internal and external stakeholders to advance the objectives of their organizations. A major team based communication planning project is central to this course.

COMM 433 - Television Criticism

COMM 435 - Social Media Campaigns

3 cr.

COMM 435 is where students will apply the knowledge they have garnered in other social media classes to develop, complete and present a communication plan for an actual client selected by the instructor. The course emphasizes the methods and techniques of social media communication and problem solving.

COMM 460 - Advertising Competition

3 cr.

Students function as part of an advertising agency and create an advertising campaign for presentation to the client and the judges at the National Student Advertising Competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.  This is a two semester course, which serves as a capstone for the Advertising track.

COMM 480 - Television Practicum

3 cr.

Communication seniors undertake significant projects resulting in broadcast-quality projects suitable for airing by commercial or non-commercial television stations, radio stations or cable systems.

COMM 481 - Internship

3-6 cr.

Highly recommended for every major, this on-the-job experience is guided by practitioners in the communication field and supervised individually by a faculty member in consultation with the student’s advisor and the department chair. (Internship credits can only be used in the free elective area.)

COMM 482 - Directed Independent Study

3 cr.

In consultation with the student’s advisor and department chair, Communication Seniors undertake a significant area of study resulting in a major research paper. Students select a Communication professor whom they wish to direct the study.  Provided to augment an area of the student’s interest not substantially covered in available departmental courses.

COMM 484 - Special Topics

COMM 499 - Senior Thesis

3 cr.

An optional research-based written project in which Communication seniors (in consultation with their advisor and department chair) select an issue or problem for scholarly study, undertake significant and meaningful research, and produce a major paper of publishable quality.  Students select a Communication professor whom they wish to direct their thesis.   Strongly recommended for students planning for graduate school.

DEPT 385H-389H - Honors Tutorial

DEPT 487H-489H - Honors Project

E/CE 240 - Introduction to Computer Engineering

E/CE 340 - Digital Systems

3 cr.

Analysis and design of advanced digital circuits, implementation of combinational and sequential digital logic, interdependence of hardware and software on computer design, memory and I/O concepts.  Three hours lecture.

EC 251 - Introduction to Electronic Business

EC 261 - Introduction to Business Programming

EC 362 - Database Management Systems for Electronic Business

3 cr.

This course deals with the use of database management systems to support electronic business.  Topics include: data modeling; database design and normalization; structured query language (SQL); database application development; integration of web server and database server; distributed data-bases; data warehousing; and data mining.  (Credit cannot be earned for EC 362 and ACC 374 )

EC 372 - Accounting for Electronic Business

3 cr.

Introduces students to the role accounting is playing in today’s business environment and how technology has impacted the techniques of accounting and reporting.  Computerized models of accounting are used to explore the software tools available for decisions and reporting. Internet business and traditional business transactions will be evaluated.  Students will see the effects of control features built into software systems.

EC 461 - Internet Applications Development

3 cr.

An introduction to existing and evolving Internet technologies needed for web site development and management.  Client and server-side scripts will be utilized to explore their role in interacting with customers, customizing web pages, processing forms, maintaining state, and connecting to data-bases.  Course delivery will be primarily conducted through hands-on assignments and projects.

EC 462 - Projects in Electronic Business

3 cr.

In this course, students will integrate their knowledge and skill in business and technology to acquire the big picture of electronic business.  The purpose of this course is to synthesize knowledge acquired in different courses to develop a secure working electronic commerce site.  Students will work in a team-oriented environment under the guidance of the instructor.

EC 463 - Data Mining

3 cr.

Data mining refers to an analytic process designed to explore data (usually large amounts of data - typically business or market related - also known as “big data”) in search of consistent patterns and/or systematic relationships between variables, and then to validate the findings by applying the detected patterns to new subsets of data.  Hands-on applications of various data mining techniques (e.g. classification, association analysis, clustering, text mining, anomaly detection, feature selections) using data mining software tools will be used.  Credits may not be earned for EC 463 and OIM 463 .

EC 470 - (W) Supply Chain Management

3 cr.

Many companies view Supply Chain Management as the core of their business strategy.  Students will learn how principles of Supply Chain Management integrate into the management of the enterprise and the business processes.  Students will examine the use of information technologies in Supply Chain Management. Computer software will be used to gain hands-on experience.  (Credit cannot be earned for EC 470 and OIM 366 .)

EC 471 - Information Systems Security

3 cr.

The course provides students with a basic understanding of the technical, managerial, legal and ethical issues of information security.  Topics include cryptographic systems, IP concepts and behavior, Internet and systems threat assessment, secure transactions and payments, antivirus tools, password management and cracking, and system auditing. Students will largely utilize Microsoft Windows platforms, but other operating systems will be discussed.  (Credits cannot be earned for EC 471 and ACC 476 )

EC 472 - Electronic Business and Entrepreneurship

3 cr.

The course examines the issues related to the starting of new technology-based businesses.  It focuses on entrepreneurial traits, idea generation, entry strategies, marketing plans and development of business plans.  Venture capital and other forms of financing will also be covered.  In addition there will be a discussion on legal and intellectual properties issues.  (Credit cannot be earned in EC 472 and OIM 472 .)

EC 473 - Business Applications of Communication Networks

3 cr.

Use of computer and telecommunication net-works to achieve organizational goals.  Topics include data communications; planning and design of communication networks; data integrity, independence and security; client-server computing; global communication; the Internet; applications of telecommunication networks and current issues and future trends.  (Credit cannot be earned for EC 473, and ACC 479  or OIM 473 .)

ECO 101 - (S) Current Economic Issues

ECO 153 - (S) Principles of Microeconomics

ECO 153K - (S) Principles of Microeconomics

ECO 154 - (S,) Principles of Macroeconomics

ECO 154K - (S) Principles of Macroeconomics

ECO 303 - (S) The Economics of Environmental Issues

3 cr.

This course provides students with a framework for viewing environmental issues as economic issues.  Alternative methods for addressing environmental problems are examined, including “command and control” regulatory policies and “market-based” policies.  The evolution of public policies toward the environment is discussed.

ECO 361 - Intermediate Microeconomics

3 cr.

This course centers on the analysis of production and cost theories.  The topics studied are pure competition, monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition and factor pricing.  Economics majors take the course in their sophomore year; Finance majors in their junior year.

ECO 362 - Intermediate Macroeconomics

3 cr.

This course centers on the study of national income accounting, price level fluctuations, issues of unemployment, inflation, full employment, and the impact of monetary and fiscal policy on income level and distribution.  Economics majors take the course in their sophomore year; Finance majors in their junior year.

ECO 363 - (W,EPW) Applied Econometrics

3 cr.

This course deals with the modeling and estimation of relationships as applied to economics.  The topics covered include single-equation structural modeling and time-series modeling; estimation methods and problems; testing of economic hypotheses; and forecasting.  The emphasis of the course is on applications involving the use of actual data.

ECO 364 - Labor Economics and Labor Regulations

3 cr.

Analysis of labor supply and demand; measurement and theory of unemployment; occupational choice; wage differentials; labor-market issues and policies; labor legislation.

ECO 365 - Mathematical Economics

3 cr.

This course studies the methodology of modern economic analysis.  Emphasis is placed on developing the rigorous theoretical foundations of micro and macroeconomics using tools of calculus and linear algebra.  Topics such as comparative static analysis, general -equilibrium analysis, consumer and firm behavior, intertemporal decision making, decision-making under uncertainty, theory of growth and rational-expectation hypothesis are covered.

ECO 366 - Economic Geography

Examines the broad areas of the spatial organization of economic systems and the location of economic activity. The discussion encompasses spatial decision-making for manufacturing, service sector, and agricultural enterprises. The role of transportation in determining optimal locations and optimal flow of goods, information, and people will be emphasized. The spatial organization of the growth & development of cities and regions will also be discussed, as will the related topic of the development of nations within the global economy. 

ECO 405 - Introduction to Behavioral Economics

3 cr.

This course compares the novel insights offered by the discipline of Behavioral Economics with some salient results of classical economic theory. It considers whether the new behavioral models improved our ability to predict and understand choice under certainty and uncertainty, probabilistic judgment, and intertemporal choice. Topics include various behavioral paradoxes, heuristics and biases, loss aversion, and prospect theory.

ECO 410 - Economic Concepts and Applications

ECO 460 - Monetary and Financial Economics

3 cr.

This course emphasizes the interrelations between financial markets, financial institutions and aggregate economic activity.  Topics include: an overview of financial institutions, introduction to money and capital markets, fundamentals of interest rates, the money supply process, the conduct of monetary policy, and other topics that occupy the subject matter of money and financial markets.

ECO 461 - Managerial Economics

ECO 462 - Urban and Regional Economics

ECO 463 - Public Finance and Taxation

ECO 464 - Environmental Economics and Policy

ECO 465 - Development Economics

3 cr.

This course introduces students to contemporary development economics.  Topics include: the concept and measurement of economic development, the problems and prospects of the less developed countries, and the alternative theories and processes of economic development.

ECO 470 - Law and Economics

3 cr.

This course focuses on the public-policy implications of law and economics.  It is based on the notion that legal rules establish implicit prices for different types of behavior and that consequences of these rules can be analyzed using microeconomics.  In particular, microeconomic theory is used to analyze economic aspects of property, contracts, torts, and crime.

ECO 471 - Advanced Macroeconomics

3 cr.

This course centers on the study of recent advances in macroeconomic analysis.  Topics include empirical macroeconomic analysis, open-economy macroeconomics, the role of expectations, economic policy and economic growth.

ECO 490 - Economics Seminar

ECO/IB 351 - (D) Environment of International Business

3 cr.

This course introduces the student to the growing field of international business, touching on the economic, social and political environments of international trade and multinational corporations.  International institutions and agencies that impact on international business are discussed and practical aspects of these topics are emphasized.

ECO/IB 375 - International Economics

EDUC 102 - (FYOC, FYDT) Educational Skills in a Global Society

EDUC 113 - Reading-Research

EDUC 120 - (Q,W) Applied Statistics

3 cr.

This course is designed to enable students to use statistics to solve problems and to communicate clearly the procedures employed and the results obtained.  Students will be required to perform statistical computations and to write as a means of learning the course material.  Topics covered include hypothesis testing, correlation, t-test and Chi-square test.

EDUC 142 - (D,S) Exceptional Lives

EDUC 144 - Foundations of American Education

EDUC 220 - Middle School Concept and Curriculum

EDUC 222 - (S,W,EPW) Educational Psychology, PreK-4

EDUC 223 - (W,EPW) Educational Psychology, GR 4-12

3 cr.

This course examines the psychological basis of teaching strategies, classroom environment, learning, motivation, behavior, reinforcement, developmental theory and assessment for students, grades 4-12.   It includes an overview of the diagnostic categories of special needs students as well as cognitive skill development to ensure achievement of students with disabilities.  A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 240 - Early Language and Literacy - Birth to Age 5

3 cr.

This introductory course to language and literacy development in children, birth through age five is based on theory and research.  The course not only explores the characteristics of early language and literacy development within different social and cultural environments but also explores early childhood language arts instructional strategies.  A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 241 - Foundations of Literacy Development I

3 cr.

This course will provide students with the knowledge necessary to teach reading and writing to typically developing students as well as students with reading disabilities in grades K-4. The content focus is on Language, Phonology, Phonics, Spelling, and Handwriting.  Students will also develop proficiency in the application of research-based methods.  A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 242 - Math for PreK-1

3 cr.

This course will help teachers analyze and become knowledgeable of the range and sequence of mathematical concepts, content and skills related to PreK-1 school mathematical topics and learning outcomes.  Teaching techniques will emphasize problem solving, discovery learning, hands-on math manipulatives, and real life experiences for young learners.

EDUC 246 - Interdisciplinary Assessment, Grades 4-12

3 cr.

This course focuses on strategies, methods, and instruments for assessing all students in grades 4-12.  Theory to best practice linkages will be stressed for all student populations.  A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 250 - Early Development and Intervention

3 cr.

This course focuses on typical and atypical development (ages birth to 9): cognitive, motor, social-emotional, self-help, and language.  A twenty hour field experience in the PreK-4 special education environment will allow students the opportunity to design interventions for children who are demonstrating a developmental delay. A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 252 - Assessment & Evaluation in Early & Primary Education

3 cr.

This course will focus on observational and informal strategies, methods, and instruments for assessing the early learner’s development in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains.  A field component of 20 hours of observation and exploration is part of the course expectations.  A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 256 - (D) Family, School & Community Relations in a Diverse Society

3 cr.

This course informs the PreK-4 teacher about family systems and the role of families in children’s development, and about strategies for becoming cross-culturally competent in work with young children and their families.

EDUC 280 - Field Experience II

1 cr.

Students are introduced to types of planning and instruction.  Projects are carried out in local schools and agencies through observation, assisted instruction, and oral/written reports.  Required clearances:  PA criminal record, PA child abuse, FBI fingerprint, and TB test results. A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 310 - Special Topics in Education

EDUC 311 - Planning and Instruction, Grades 7-12

3 cr.

This course introduces students to unit planning, lesson planning, and methods of instruction applied in middle level and secondary education classrooms. It addresses the integration of technology to support learning, as well as theories and practices of classroom management. A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 312 - The Secondary School Mathematics Curriculum

EDUC 313 - General Methods and Planning

3 cr.

Methodology for setting direction in the classroom, creating a learning situation, developing the content, reinforcing and evaluating will be covered.  Students will be involved with developing plans for teaching.

EDUC 314 - Specific Subject Methods: World Languages

EDUC 315 - Subject Methods: Citizenship/Communication/English

1 cr.

Utilizing knowledge of planning and teaching, students are guided in the analysis of instruction and assessment in specific content areas of English, communication, and social studies. A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 316 - Subject Methods: Mathematics/Science

1 cr.

Utilizing knowledge of planning and teaching, students are guided in the analysis of instruction and assessment in specific content areas of mathematics and science. A field component is part of the course requirements.

EDUC 339 - Math for Grades 2-4

3 cr.

This course helps teachers analyze and become knowledgeable of the range and sequence of mathematical concepts, content and skills related to Grades 2-4.  A variety of teaching techniques explored includes problem solving, an integration of hands-on math manipulatives, interdisciplinary planning, cooperative grouping, and the inductive teaching model.  This course requires 35 hours in the field.

EDUC 344 - Integrated Science and Technology, Pre K-4

EDUC 346 - (D,W) Social Studies for PreK-4

EDUC 351 - Methods Across the Integrated Curriculum I

3 cr.

Best practices in pedagogy for PreK-2 classrooms, including developmentally appropriate practices, play, authentic performance, and technology, informs part of this course.  Another part of the course allows students to engage in a classroom-teacher-mentored and university-supervised practical experience in a PreK-2 classroom.