COM205 Speech and Argumentation
Prerequisite: None
This course is meant to develop and strengthen skills in constructing and delivering speeches and presentations. The goal is to achieve oral proficiency through a combination of critical analysis and practice. By examining communication strategies, students will see what does and does not work in a given speech or presentation situation. Students will learn persuasive elements, principles of argumentation, speech writing, research and content development, oral delivery and critique.

COM206 Visual Literacy and Communication
Prerequisite: None
Through screenings, lectures, readings, workshops and classroom discussion, this course examines the concepts and theories of visual literacy that are applicable to a broad range of media including fine art, advertising, photography, comics, motion picture, and television. Histories and issues of visual media will also be covered to provide students a holistic view of the field of study. Students will also explore form, meaning and impact of images through structural analyses, and the production and presentation of projects under supervision.

COM207 Communication History and Theories
Prerequisite: COM201 Foundations of Communication Studies
The course examines both the development of communication technologies and the intellectual history of the study of communication (the evolution of ideas). We will investigate the foundations of communication inquiry by reviewing relevant social science and critical social theory, thereby gaining a better understanding of the discipline. Students will learn about many of the milestones in communication research and their significance. In addition to examining the evolution of communication technologies, the course will track the intellectual, institutional, and socio-political influences that helped to foster the emergence and shape the growth of the communication discipline in the twentieth century.

COM208 Fundamentals of Research
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces the understanding of various research perspectives and methods. The emphasis is on providing students with the knowledge to be a critical research consumer and buyer. Students will learn about quantitative, qualitative, and interpretative perspectives in research, and the advantages and disadvantages of different research methods, such as historical method, in-depth interview, focus group, survey, and content analysis. Students will gain some hands-on experience in implementing studies, analysing quantitative and qualitative data, and presenting findings to different types of audience.

COM221 News Reporting and Writing
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
This practical course develops the reporting skills, writing ability, and editorial judgment required of journalists working in printed news media. The basics of accuracy, fairness, balance, and professional ethics are emphasised. Students will learn to approach stories with readers in mind, asking relevant and meaningful questions, critically assessing information they obtain, and writing with clarity and credibility. Students will have regular hands-on exercises to sharpen their reporting and writing skills, and engage in discussion and critique of on-going news coverage in and beyond Singapore to develop their news judgment.

COM222 Basic Media Writing in Chinese
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of media writing in Chinese. It introduces students to skills of clear, concise and effective writing, as well as principles of accuracy, honesty and integrity in communication. Students will learn basic forms of writing for public relations, advertising and news industries. Students will gain some hands-on experience in Chinese writing for print, broadcast and the Internet. They will appreciate styles of Chinese writing and sharpen media writing skills.

COM223 Publication Design
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
This course covers the fundamentals of newspaper/magazine design, and provides hands-on training in computer applications for page layout and image editing. In addition to catering to students interested in specialising in publication design, the course is geared to would-be writers and photographers, who need to appreciate effective visual presentation and tap the power of thinking visually in their journalism. Practical exercises are grounded in theories pertaining to typography, colour, space, and other design elements. Students will also be familiarised with design trends in the newspaper and magazine publishing industries, including the impact of technological change.

COM224 Web Design and Technologies
Prerequisite: None
The course covers a brief history of hypertext and the World Wide Web, and gives a broad overview of technologies used in Web design. Students will be taught how to design, implement and maintain Web-based sites using authoring and scripting languages, content creation, management and digital media tools. Students will learn how to implement the latest strategies to develop third generation Websites, evaluate design tools, discuss future technology standards and explore the incompatibility issues surrounding current browsers.

COM225 Image and Sound Production
Prerequisite: Coreq COM206 Visual Literacy and Communication
This course introduces the core components of motion picture production: idea, image, sound, and sequence. In lecture, students will view movies and/or television programmes while considering a variety of questions. What do we want to express? Who is our audience? How do we talk about images? What compositional elements can we control or manipulate? How do we sequence images in order to evoke specific responses? What happens when particular sounds and images are juxtaposed? In related tutorials, students will explore these concepts with digital video cameras and nonlinear editing.

COM226 Media Presentation and Performance
Prerequisite: None
This hands-on course aims to equip students with some of the basic skills and knowledge in two areas: one, effective on-air presentation and performance, and two, in directing presenters and performers. The course will focus mainly on the “factual” genres in television and video productions, such as broadcast journalism, documentary, talk shows, and interview programmes. Students are encouraged to develop their own styles and personae, insofar as it is appropriate for the programmes in question.

COM227 Genre and Narrative Strategies
Prerequisite: None
This course surveys and examines the various narrative strategies that are commonly used in drama television programmes and/or motion pictures, through screenings, lectures and readings. The concepts of narratology will be introduced for the purpose of analysing genres in television – such as soap opera, sitcom, drama series, advertisement, and news – and motion picture – such as science fiction, film noir, horror, epic and documentary. Foreign as well as local programmes will be analysed and students are expected to create and present stories of their own.

COM228 Production Management for TV and Cinema
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the art and business of organising and executing a video project through all stages of production. Students will learn how to manage both dramatic and documentary productions, including script breakdown for budgeting and scheduling, managing location shoots, and overseeing post-production personnel and facilities. The course also covers the management, budgeting, and scheduling of workflow, acquisition of permits and licenses, and ensuring adherence to legal and delivery requirements as specified by the distribution.

COM229 Broadcast Journalism: Concepts and Applications
Prerequisite: Coreq/Prereq COM206
The course will introduce students to the basic techniques and processes of story selection, research, writing, interviewing, recording and packaging in broadcast journalism. In addition to hands-on training in how to produce news and current affairs stories for broadcast, students are expected to develop a critical and theoretically informed appreciation of broadcast journalistic practices, conventions, and institutions.

COM230 Audio in Media
Prerequisite: None
This course would be a professionally oriented seminar focusing on contemporary audio-production techniques for radio, broadcast and cable television, motion pictures, the theater, and the music-recording industry. Advanced recording and production techniques are covered. Assignments might include, but would not be limited to, the production of radio programming (magazine, documentaries), spot announcements, film foley work, and television voice-overs. Students will learn about the informational, perceptual, and aesthetic aspects of sound as applied to each stage of the production process -- from planning to post-production. The course would also benefit students looking to work in industrial video/audio positions within the corporate business world, where audio/visual technology plays an important role.

COM231 Creative Strategies
Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on the development and execution of creative and motivating communication. The emphasis is on providing students with an understanding of creative and strategic message development and applying these underlying principles to the media. Students will learn how to use marketing information to develop practical creative strategies. Both visual and written creativity will be emphasised. Students will also learn the requirements for developing advertising messages in different media. Course work includes lectures, discussions, creative assignments, critiques and a final project.

COM232 Graphic Communication
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the basic visual elements of communication. It teaches students about art direction, design, creative strategy, typography, artwork, illustration, layout, colour, photography, and moving images. Students will integrate the various visual elements for the creation of effective and professional messages in traditional and non-traditional media.

COM251 Comparative Press Systems
Prerequisite: None
This course provides a comparative analysis of press systems in selected countries including Singapore, with an emphasis how news media forms and practices relate to historical, social and political factors. The international distribution of news media and globalisation as a technological, economic and cultural phenomenon are also discussed, with a focus on their implications for media policy and management. Key issues to be addressed include ownership and control of media, press freedom and censorship, culture and values, professional norms and ethics, and global news flows.

COM252 Cultural Studies
Prerequisite: None
Fundamental to culture are the processes of media and communication. This course provides a framework for understanding the complexity of culture and its social and political uses. It focuses on how the aspects of daily life, including entertainment, sport, business, fashion, and media and other taken-for-granted phenomena both reflect and perpetuate deeper social, cultural, economic, and political values.

COM253 Cinema Studies
Prerequisite: None
This course provides a general introduction to the discipline of cinema studies. Students will learn basic film terminology, and formal and critical analyses. They will be equipped with the basic skills necessary to read a film critically. Students will also be introduced to cinema history and theory to prepare them to understand how cinema cultures and criticisms have developed globally. To that end, students will study feature films and the cinema industries of various locales including the former Soviet Union, United States, Britain, France, Italy, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.

COM254 Interpersonal Communication
Prerequisite: None
This course examines major theoretical perspectives and concepts relevant to interpersonal communication in personal relationships. These relationships include the everyday associations we have with others as a result of the positions we occupy in various situations, as well as the more intimate relationships we form with select others (friendships, family relationships, and sexual relationships). The knowledge gained from this class will help students better understand themselves and their relationships with people around them.

COM255 Organisational Communication
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the dynamics of communication in organisational settings through case study, role-play, and other interactive and analytical approaches. Students will learn about effective communication in various work settings, such as meetings, teamwork, negotiation, conflict management, image building, and employee relations. Students will be exposed to communication and cultural diversity, and organisational change and continuity. Finally, students will learn about the applications of communication technologies, and communication etiquettes and ethics in modern, global organisations.

COM256 Psychology and Communication
Prerequisite: None
To better understand how and why communication occurs and what effects it has, it is necessary to get inside the “black box” of the human mind. Therefore, this course will concentrate on studying cognitive processes and their relationship to media and communication. While some attention will be paid to the psychological aspects of interpersonal communication, the primary the goal of the course is to develop an understanding of media from a psychological perspective. That is, the course will examine how perception, attention, memory, attitudes and emotion are related to the experience of mediated communication. These psychological responses will be examined in a range of contexts and communication functions including news and information, advertising and persuasion, and entertainment. This will help students become both better producers of media and more critical users.

COM257 Media Effects
Prerequisite: None
This course is intended to provide an informed and critical evaluation of media’s influence and effects by systematically investigating the content of media messages, the nature of individuals and audiences, and the mechanisms involved in various types of media effects. It will introduce students to basic concepts in social science research and communication study, briefly review the history of media research, and examine some of the most common types of media effects. In its survey of media effects, the course will cover many prominent communication theories that help to explain the who, what, where, and why of media influence. The goal is for students to have deeper understanding of the extensiveness and limitations of media effects and to be able to critically assess claims of media impact.

COM258 Integrated Marketing Communication
Prerequisite: None
Introduction to the principles and practices of advertising, public relations and associated forms of marketing communication. Covers the origins and scope of each, including identifying research problems, setting objectives, analysing audiences, designing messages, choosing media vehicles and evaluating promotional outcomes. Discussion groups are formed to identify and examine broad industry-wide trend towards integration of various aspects of the field. Selected case studies are used. Account teams are formed to execute a written campaign plan followed by a formal presentation.

COM261/A Newspaper Practicum
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
By actively participating in the Nanyang Chronicle, students will learn how a newspaper is put together from start to finish, from news meetings to layout and production. Students will write and publish their works in the Chronicle. This subject will benefit not only reporters-to-be, but also any students who want to challenge themselves and improve their writing, designing, and interviewing skills.

COM262/A Magazine Practicum
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
The course aims to provide students the chance to conceptualise, create, market, and publish a colour magazine. Students will gain an understanding of the role of magazines in the community, of readers’ needs and advertisers’ requirements. They will also sharpen their project-management, story-angling, writing, design, photography, and creative and interviewing skills.

COM263 Overseas Journalism Practicum
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
The Short Overseas Journalism (SOJOURN) practicum exposes students to the challenge of reporting in an overseas setting. In pre-departure meetings, students will learn about the destination, plan their stories and assist in making arrangements for their trip. The field trip, of four to seven days, will involve intensive reporting, briefings and site visits. Students are expected to produce a journalistic work of professional quality soon after they return. The class size is limited and admission is by application.

COM264/A Television Practicum
Prerequisite: Coreq COM229 Broadcast Journalism: Concepts & Applications
The purpose of this practicum is to give students practical experience in broadcast production work. This practicum serves as a training ground for future broadcast journalists, television producers, and programme makers. Students will work individually and as part of news and studio teams to produce a magazine-style programme called the Nanyang Spectrum, which is broadcast over the campus cable network, Channel NTU.

COM265/A Radio Practicum
Prerequisite: None
This practicum provides students with practical experience in radio production work. It serves as a training ground for future radio journalists, radio producers, and programme makers. Students will work individually and as part of news and studio teams to produce a weekly half-hour programme called the Radio Fusion, which is broadcast over the NTU intranet and/or broadcast on campus.

COM266/A Film Festival Practicum
Prerequisite: COM203 Media Professional and Practices
This subject is designed to expose students to the organising of a film festival in Singapore. Students will work individually and as part of a team to organise a two-week long film festival. Students will learn about the various aspects of a film festival, including programming, ticketing, promotion and marketing, fundraising, budgeting and financial fiscal management, and screening.

COM267/A Communication Research Practicum
Prerequisite: COM208 Fundamentals of Research
Students will work in teams to conceptualise and carry out research projects for client organisations that may be within or outside of the University. Students will learn about budgeting, negotiating with clients, research design, training and management of coders and interviewers, analyses of data, and presentation of findings to clients. This practicum provides students with an opportunity to network with orgnanisations outside of the University, and to build up a research portfolio.

COM268/A Newsletter Practicum
Prerequisite: None
In this practicum, students will work as a team to produce an SCI newsletter, Connexscions, which is targeted at alumni and the general public. Students will learn to about the different functions of a newsletter, as compared to magazines and newspapers; and they will understand how a newsletter is put together from conceptualisation to publication. This practicum will benefit students who are interested in a career in corporate communications, and who are keen to develop a portfolio.

COM269 Radio Production Workshop
Prerequisite: None
This hands-on course introduces students to the basic skills and knowledge for professional radio and audio production. It familiarises students to basic studio operations, audio recording, the creative use of voice, sound and music, mixing, and digital editing. Students will be challenged to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills creatively.

COM270 Single-Camera Workshop
Prerequisite: None
This is the foundation and prerequisite for all television production subjects. It introduces students to the basic skills and knowledge for professional production. It familiarises students to basic camera and audio operations, lighting setup, and a nonlinear editing system.

COM271 Multi-Camera Production Workshop
Prerequisite: COM270 Single-Camera Workshop
This subject introduces students to the basic skills and knowledge for professional multi-camera studio production. It familiarises students to studio operations, including the various roles, equipment, and techniques in a multi-camera setup. Students will learn how to plan and organise a studio production, and write and mark studio scripts. Students will also involve in studio directing, vision mixing, lighting operations, and floor management.

COM401 Media Management
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces the basic understanding, mindset, and skills which are critical to managing media organisations. It reviews the operations and processes of various media firms and discusses general aspects and factors that affect media managers’ performances and goals. The course intends to prepare for effective management problem-solving techniques and presentation capability and also to shape analytical skills in assessing problems, evaluating tradeoffs between alternative proposals, and arriving at a final decision. The goal is to give students some early insights into the management and ownership aspects of running a media operation.

COM402 Media Law, Ethics and Policy
Prerequisite: None
An introduction to and critical examination of major areas of media law and regulatory policy. Singapore’s law and its rationales are emphasised, with some international comparisons. Areas include censorship, defamation and intellectual property. Students also examine philosophical foundations of competing approaches. Challenges of regulating new media are analysed.

COM403 Professional Internship
Prerequisite: Must accumulate at least 55 AUs of core and prescribed electives
This 24-week professional internship aims at extending students’ knowledge beyond the academic curriculum. During the internship period, students will gain first-hand industry experience by working closely with professionals. This also provides the students an opportunity to develop interpersonal network with professionals, hone their social and management skills. For students who choose to complete their internship abroad, they will also gain experience in a cross-cultural context.

COM404 Final Year Project
Prerequisite: Must accumulate at least 90 AUs
The purpose of the final-year project is to allow students to showcase their abilities and competencies. Students can choose to execute a variety of projects, including feature writing, photojournalism, public and promotional campaigns, quantitative or qualitative research, scriptwriting, video documentary, video drama, audio production, and multimedia production. Students are responsible to conceptualise and design the project; solicit and negotiate with clients and sponsors; and manage, implement, and evaluate the project.

COM411 Newspaper Sub-Editing
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This course helps students to think like editors. It treats good journalism as the product of sound editorial decision-making across a spectrum of professional newspapering skills, from headline writing and picture selection, to page layout. The course is geared for future editors and sub-editors, as well as for reporters and photographers who need to be sensitised to the editing principles and practices that affect their work. Students will receive practical training in all the functions of sub-editors, including copy processing, and develop their skills at conceptualising the presentation of major news and feature packages.

COM412 Advanced Writing Workshop
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This course goes beyond the basic news story and introduces one or more of the following journalistic genres: commentary, essay, review, analysis, and feature. Students will be sensitised to standards of excellence in the chosen genre, through the critiquing of their own and other writers’ work. Building on journalism fundamentals such as accuracy and news judgment, students will learn how to add substance and style to their writing when using the selected genre. This is a hands-on workshop with regular writing and re-writing, and close critiquing.

COM413 Advanced Reporting Methods
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This course explores one or more selected reporting techniques used in journalism. Examples include the in-depth interview, conducting and interpreting polls, and computer-assisted research. The emphasis is on using these advanced techniques for investigative projects, to gather information that is not readily available from newsmakers. Students will apply the chosen methods to news and/or feature assignments.

COM414 Advanced Editing Workshop
Prerequisite: COM411 Newspaper Sub-Editing
This workshop exposes journalism students of advanced standing to the thinking of highly experienced and skilled practitioners, such as senior editors of successful newspapers and magazines. Students will be sensitised to the astute editorial judgments required in angling and presenting stories. Building on the News Editing and Layout course, project work will require students to practice the total set of back-end journalistic skills. Discussions and case studies will highlight the changing landscape of journalism, and new challenges facing editors.

COM415 News Reporting and Writing in Chinese
Prerequisite: COM222
This intermediate course offers students further chances to improve their skills in newswriting and reporting in Chinese for newspapers and news magazines. Emphasis is placed on in-depth reporting, good use of quotes and background information, and accurate interpretation of facts and figures in news stories. Students will obtain more hands-on experiences in newswriting and reporting in Chinese for print media.

COM416 Advanced Chinese Writing Workshop
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing OR COM222 Basic Media Writing in Chinese OR COM415 News Reporting and Writing in Chinese
The workshop offers students further training in various areas of advanced reporting and writing in Chinese. It covers public affairs reporting, feature writing, economic and financial reporting, sports reporting, and international affairs reporting. Students will gain more hands-on experience in advanced news reporting and writing in Chinese.

COM417 Specialised Journalism: Public Affairs
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
The course provides students with the principles of and hands-on training in reporting public affairs – issues relating to public servants operating in government, society and the law. The course will cover Parliament and government; police and law courts; statutory boards and grassroots organisations. It will look at the relationship between the media and the authorities from both sides, and examine how that relationship can work to everyone’s best advantage.

COM418 Specialised Journalism: Business and Economics
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This course introduces the business and economic beat, preparing students for entry-level reporting jobs on the business desks of newspapers, magazines and wires. It is partly a conceptual course, covering the macro-economy, markets, and companies, and providing a grounding in the concepts and tools required to understand, analyse and interpret the kinds of information that business/economic journalists deal with. It is also a practical course, with discussions focusing on current events, and assignments requiring students to report and write news stories and features within the business/economics beat.

COM419 Specialised Journalism: Contemporary Topics
Prerequisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This course introduces a selected beat, preparing students to engage in in-depth reporting in a selected specialised field of contemporary relevance, such as arts and culture, science and technology, the environment, and sports. The conceptual content of the course will provide the grounding required to understand, analyse and interpret events, processes and trends within the selected topic area. It is also a practical course, with discussions focusing on current events, and assignments requiring students to report and write news stories and features within the chosen beat.

COM420 Magazine Publishing
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
The course is about the different forces at work in a magazine. It will give students an understanding of magazine writing, projection, editing, production and distribution; the skills to take up an entry-level job in an editorial department; insights into the industry and the wide variety of titles; and will show them the creative process involved. It will take them from the initial conceptualisation of a title, through the business side of generating income, to the creative hothouse that produces lively, inventive, relevant publications on a regular basis.
It will put magazines in a social and cultural perspective, both in Singapore and overseas, and invite students to consider potential new titles.

COM421 Online Journalism
Prerequisites: COM224 Web Design and Technologies
This course introduces students to basic principles and practices of online journalism. It covers fundamental features of online journalism such as interactivity, hypertextuality, multimediality, and customisation, as well as ethical and legal considerations in online journalism. Students will sharpen skills in identifying sources and collecting information online. They will know how to use links strategically and how to present news online in a non-linear and integrated multimedia fashion. They will also learn how to engage and empower online audiences. Students will gain some hands-on experience in reporting, writing, editing, and designing online news.
.

COM422 Photojournalism
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces the basics of still photography for use in mass communications. The latest digital photographic techniques will be employed throughout, including digital still cameras and digital darkroom software on computers. In this course, we will look at how journalism professionals can take their own photographs, as well as work with professional photographers. The work output should be suitable for publication in newspapers, magazines, company publications, brochures, and digital slide-show presentations. By providing a basic appreciation of photojournalism, this course should be of value to aspiring photojournalists as well as writers and editors seeking a broader visual awareness.

COM423 Advanced Photojournalism
Prerequisite: COM422 Photojournalism
The course is intended as a continuation of CSU422 (Basic Photojournalism) and is an extended study of the theory and practice of making photographs and using the picture essay and picture story. Development of basic skills introduced in CSU422 to produce work of publishable standard. Advanced techniques including electronic fill-flash and studio lighting, will be covered, as will the history of documentary photojournalism. Emphasis will be on photographing news, feature and sports events, with the goal of completing a photojournalism portfolio.

COM424 Writing for Cinema and TV
Prerequisite: None
This course develops the scriptwriting skills for film and television. It focuses on the research and creative processes and the technical considerations involved in developing both fiction and non-fiction scripts. There are three approaches to the course –first, the development of ideas, creativity, and developing writing skills; second an introduction to genre requirements and appropriate research skills; and third the stages of cinema and television writing.

COM425 Creative Practices and New Technologies
Prerequisite: None
This subject introduces students to a range of fundamental issues in the area of creative practices and new technologies. Students will examine various creative practices – advertising, drama and documentary production, and media campaigns – and their challenges and opportunities in developing content as well as activity using new technologies. Students will learn about specific technologies and the general technological trends which continue to shape the creative industries. Through hands-on experience with the various technologies, the course will focus on the role of technology in the creation of more effective and persuasive communications.

COM426 Documentary Film and TV: Concepts and Applications
Prerequisite: COM225 Image and Sound Production
This course explores the different styles of documentary films with special emphasis on the role of the producer/director in documentary videos. Review documentary concepts and theories and put them into practice by producing their own short video. Through screenings and readings, students develop a critical understanding of the different techniques and approaches to documentary production. Students are encouraged to engage with contemporary debates which concern the documentary sector of the media industries.

COM427 Narrative Film and TV: Concepts and Applications
Prerequisite: COM225 Image and Sound Production
This course further explores the different narrative structures and strategies covered in CSL227 Genre and Narrative Strategies as well as other film/TV theory with special emphasis on the role of the director in dramatic videos. Explore dramatic concepts and theories and in producing short videos independently. With a focus on visual storytelling, performance and script analysis, the course explores techniques to elicit performance and determine visual style and coverage relevant to dramatic scenes. Screenings and discussions, lectures, tutorials and assignments are designed to develop students' skills as dramatic directors.

COM428 Public Relations Writing
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students into the various aspects and styles of public relations writing to gain visibility in the crowded media arena. Students will be exposed to the world of public relations and the need for fast and accurate information processing ability to create and develop a story or a series of stories to capture the media’s attention for higher visibility. Develop skills in various types of PR tools as well as produce several types of PR writing materials. Students will be put in organisational or consultancy settings to prepare them for real-life situations and experience the problems and excitement of what practitioners have to put up with.

COM429 Advertising Creativity and Copywriting
Coreq COM232 Graphic Communication
This course is an introduction to the creative processes and the process used in creating advertisements for print, broadcast and other media with attention to creative thinking skills, creative problem solving, copywriting, design and production. Students learn what advertising creative personnel do in their professions. This course has practical exercises during the classes and tutorials related to the creative aspects of advertising and how they relate to other areas such as consumer behaviour and social learning.

COM430 Crisis Management
Prerequisite: COM258 Integrated Marketing Communication
The course examines contemporary theories and practice in preventing and managing issues and crises. It introduces the definition and scope of issues and crisis management. This course explores the dynamics of identification, planning, management and communication of issues and crises and their multifaceted consequences to organisations in public and private sectors. Strategies for conducting strategic crisis communication will also be included by evaluating real-life practices and case studies.

COM431 Media Planning & Strategies
Prerequisite: None
The course introduces students to the quantitative aspects of media planning. Topics covered will include brand analysis, audience analysis, market segmentation, and media analysis. Case studies and real-life practices will be included in this class. During the first half of the semester, students will conduct a brand audit and develop and administer a survey to determine target audience media usage. The information from the brand audit and market survey will then be used to compile a strategic media plan. Strategies and recommendations will form the basis of the media plan.

The course will be taught in an active learning fashion. It strives for a balanced coverage of theoretical and practical issues, industry norms and ideals, and facts and thoughts. The ultimate goal is for students to form their own perspectives, sharpen their strategic thinking, and advance their planning skills. To this end, students should become critical thinkers who move beyond a view of learning as information gathering to a view of learning as knowledge building. All students are expected to be active and proactive in course activities.

COM432 Communication Campaigns
Prerequisite: COM203 Media Professions and Practices
The focus of this course is on the creation, production, performance, and dissemination of various forms of publicity to support a range of comprehensive communication campaigns. It covers print and audiovisual media and the activities of government and non-profit organisations as well as private corporations. The course is organised around a client project. The proposed campaign will require that students to do some basic consumer research, develop a positioning strategy, create original advertising and other marketing communication materials, develop a media plan, and put all of these elements into a written plan and presentation for the client as if they were “pitching” for an account.

COM433 Corporate Communications Management
Prerequisite: None
The course covers the nature and theoretical foundation of corporate communication as a management function. Topics include planning, decision-making, organization of resources, leadership principles, small and large group dynamics, creating and sustaining relationships among stakeholders such as media, employees, consumers, investors, and the general public. Processes and structures of communication patterns in corporate settings, evaluating best practices and case studies.


COM434 Brand Management
Prerequisite: COM258 Integrated Marketing Communication
This course will introduce retail marketing concepts covering both the mechanics and management of retailing from a brand management perspective. Role and concepts of brand equity creation, store and non-store retailing, location and site selection, retail communication mix components such as merchandising, pricing and margin planning, store management, layout and visual merchandising, as well as internal and external promotions will be covered. While the subject will cover theories in retail marketing discipline, it is generally approached with a practical and applied orientation. Learning will include evaluating retail brands and developing strategies for real-life businesses through hands-on projects.

COM435 Strategic Marketing Communication Management
Prerequisite: COM208 Fundamentals of Research and COM258 Integrated Marketing Communication
This is an advanced course on strategy development which will hone the skills necessary for utilizing the entire array of integrated marketing communications. The course will emphasize on developing the knowledge necessary to assess and analyze marketing communication campaigns. A range of topics, including target segmentation, the advertising management process, the role and tasks of agencies, setting ad objectives, managing creativity, media planning, strategic use of direct and retail marketing and sales promotions will be covered.

COM436 Statistics and Data Analysis
Prerequisite: COM208 Fundamentals of Research
This course is designed to provide students with the conceptual and practical skills needed to plan and analyse quantitative data. The emphasis will be on the general concepts of dataset construction, selection of appropriate statistical tests, interpretation of outputs, and the presentation of findings in graphs and tables. Students will learn how to use statistical software to conduct their analyses. Derivations of formulae will be covered, but not emphasised.

COM437 Audience Research Methods
Prerequisite: COM208 Fundamentals of Research
This course is designed to provide students with tools to study audience characteristics and the impact of communication on receivers. The course centers around two research methods that are widely used by academics and practitioners: survey research and focus group study. Students will learn how to design, plan and implement these two types of studies. They will also learn how to analyse data and present the findings in both oral and written formats.

COM438 Critical Research Methods
Prerequisite: COM252 Cultural Studies
Critical research in media and culture seek to interrogate the forms and processes of power, identity and community in our society. In this course, students will learn how to analyse and interpret different types of texts including media texts such as television programmes, films, advertisements, magazines etc, as well as forms of everyday life by drawing on theoretical perspectives in critical theory, cultural studies, structuralism, poststructuralism and feminism. The course also introduces the advantages and disadvantages of structuralist approaches and poststructuralist approaches in studying media and culture.

COM439 Advanced Qualitative Research
Prerequisite: COM437 Audience Research Methods OR COM438 Critical Research Methods
The course is designed to open up a range of approaches to qualitative research in media and communication studies. Students are expected to learn both the how to and why of qualitative research. They will be introduced to the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings; two or three specific methods; the skills of negotiating through research situations as they may arise; and the importance of reflection throughout the process, from design to writing up. Students are expected to conduct their own qualitative research projects so that they can experience first hand the theoretical and practical issues raised in the classroom.

COM440 Advanced Quantitative Research
Prerequisite: COM437 Audience Research Methods
This course is designed to advance students’ knowledge of and experience with quantitative research methods. Its prime aim is to provide students with tools to systematically analyse media messages and investigate their impact on people. The course will focus on two research methods that are widely used by academics and practitioners: experiments and content analysis. Students will gain experience in designing, planning and executing experiments. They will also learn how to conduct quantitative content analyses of media messages. For both methods students will be introduced to appropriate data analysis procedures, and will learn how to derive and interpret statistical results.

COM451 Power, Culture and Media
Prerequisite: COM252 Cultural Studies
Power and culture are two central concepts in media and cultural studies. They draw our attention to the different ways in which power relationships in society are inflected through the media. This course examines how power, culture and media mediate our experience and understanding of the contemporary world. The course investigates the workings of power in everyday life, the control and regulation of media and cultural institutions, and the forms of power/knowledge generated, or resisted.

COM452 Media Studies in Asia
Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on the relationship between mass communication and society in Asia in an era of globalisation. The course will provide a comprehensive look at the media in Asian countries in context of contemporary debates about the impact of globalisation on regionalisation Issues covered include democracy, media ownership, culture uniformity, and the diversity of media voices. The course will cover the study of the media in Asia through three approaches: media industries, media institutions and audiences, media research and theory.

COM453 Popular Cinema
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the different genres of contemporary popular global cinemas. In addition to Hollywood feature films, students will study non-Hollywood contemporary films that have proven successfully at the box offices either internationally and/or in their countries of production in order to study the critical elements that have contributed to the success of these films. Students will be exposed to box office hits from a wide variety of countries such as Spain, the UK, Japan, Korea, India and Australia. The analysis of these popular films will be contextualised in relation to relevant film theories such as genre theory, audience reception theories, studies of the economic development of new cinematic industries and the impact of global film distribution.

COM454 Asian Cinema
Prerequisite: None
The course will survey and examine the various cultural determinants and industry development of Asian film forms through screenings, lectures and readings. It allows students to become acquainted with the wider institutional, historical and cultural contexts of the films in their respective countries while simultaneously exposing students to important Asian film directors and their works. Students will also be introduced to critical film scholarship about Asian cinema in order to partake in academic debates such as the differences and similarities between mainstream cinema and independent film forms from East, Southeast and South Asia.

COM455 TV Studies: Critical Approaches
Prerequisite: None
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the major themes, topics and theoretical perspectives that constitute television studies. Attention will be focused on the producer-text-audience relationships which are central to the understanding of the meanings that are created and the impact of the medium. The course will cover audience and reception analysis, television genres and their characteristics, television and gender, as well as television and ethnicity.

COM456 Popular Culture
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces students to the key concepts of popular culture and important theories of popular culture. The students will study popular culture in terms of content and audiences, as well as the social, political, economic, historical and institutional contexts in which various forms of popular culture are produced, practised and consumed. The course will discuss how popular culture may reinforce social stratification and how it may constitute a form of resistance towards the established social order. Examples of popular culture in this course will be drawn from a wide range of media and activities, including advertising, television, movies, sports, pop music, fashion, carnivals and so on.

COM457 Strategic Planning and Policy for Television and Film
Prerequisite: None
This course is concerned with how programmes and content are selected for the media, how the programmes are arranged in schedules of various kinds, how the programmes are measured and evaluated by the industry and how they are promoted to audiences and advertisers. In addition, the course will explore the limitations and possibilities arising from technology, regulations, policies and marketing requirements. Media covered include broadcast television, film, cable and satellite, online media, and radio programming.

COM458 Intercultural Communication
Prerequisite: None
This course examines current theories and research regarding communication between people from different minority, ethnic and cultural backgrounds in domestic and international contexts. The course exposes students to culture and its relationship to communication. It offers opportunities for students to develop skills, understand cultural attitudes, and theoretical and methodological concerns of intercultural communication.

COM459 Public Opinion
Prerequisite: None
This course focuses on contemporary concepts of public opinion, theories of public opinion, ways of measuring public opinion, and the impact of public opinion, with special reference to media-related issues. It examines relationships between public opinion and communication, and at exploring the role of media use in the formation and change of public opinion. The course will also address the influence of public opinion on individuals’ attitudes and behaviours.

COM460 Persuasion and Social Influence
Prerequisites: None
This course emphasises the social and psychological approaches to attitudinal and behavioural change. It identifies the characteristics and behaviours of effective persuaders, analyse their target audience, design and package their messages, and select the right delivery channels to optimise persuasive efforts in various contexts, such as health, politics, and business. Students will learn about persuasion in interpersonal, small group, as well as in mass-mediated settings. Students will learn about resistance to persuasion, and the strengthening of desired attitudes and behaviours.

COM461 Global Media Issues and Policy
Pre-requisite: None
This course addresses selected issues surrounding the emergence of global media--media that reach international audiences or are owned by multinational corporations—in multiple media industries, such as newspaper, publishing, television, motion picture, new media, radio, recording and advertising. Global market strategies of selected media organisations are introduced. Critiques of globalisation of media, including allegations of “cultural imperialism,” as well as resistance to globalisation, are discussed. Regulation, within and across borders, is analysed, as well as regulatory policy.

COM462 Information Society and Policy
Prerequisite: None
This course will critically examine both the common conceptions of what lies at the heart of the information society, as well as the scholarly foundations on which current conceptions of the information society rest. The term “information society” has attained the status of commonsense over much of the world. Despite its widespread acceptance, however, the term is subject to much debate and analysis, which the course will explore. The course covers key policy issues and debates of the information age, including the digital divide, intellectual property protection, security and cyber-crime, Internet governance, surveillance and privacy, among others. The course will also examine Asian perspectives and policies regarding the development of an information society.

COM463 Economics of Media and Communication
Prerequisite: None
This course examines the economic structure, operation, and performance of media markets and industries. Economic frameworks are introduced to understand and analyse factors and forces influencing the behaviours and the evolution of media segments including free-to-air and cable television, motion pictures, Internet, newspaper, magazine and telecommunications. This course examines economic considerations, the impact of regulation and policy and social goals.

COM464 International Public Relations
Prerequisite: COM428 Public Relations Writing
Globalisation is the primary reason for the increased importance of international public relations because it has spurred increased the outreach of organisations beyond national and cultural borders. This course seeks to provide students with insights on the issues pertaining to effective international public relations and the way public relations is practiced beyond national and cultural borders. Students will develop the ability to link specific environmental variables with the generic principles of public relations practice.

COM465 Conflict Management and Negotiation
Prerequisite: None
This course provides students with an understanding of conflict processes and how to successfully manage conflict and to conduct negotiations. Advantages and disadvantages of different strategies, such as compromise, collaboration, avoidance, dominance and accommodation. Students will gain hands-on experience in analysing conflict and negotiation situations. Students will design conflict management and negotiation strategies and develop appropriate recommendations for particular situations and cultural contexts.

COM466 Issues in Public Relations
Prerequisite: None
This course covers issues that are related to public relations but are not covered by existing courses. It is an opportunity for students to benefit from the special interests and expert knowledge of faculty members or visiting professors. The course may draw upon multidisciplinary perspectives in examining public relations issues; address emerging and contemporary concerns; or introduce students to cutting-edge professional practices. Some topics that can be examined are issues and crisis management, investor relations, or use of new technologies for public relations.

COM467 Issues in Broadcast Media
Prerequisite: None
This course covers issues that are related to broadcast media but are not covered by existing courses. It is an opportunity for students to benefit from the special interests and expert knowledge of faculty members or visiting professors. The course may draw upon multidisciplinary perspectives in examining broadcasting issues; address emerging and contemporary concerns; or introduce students to cutting-edge professional practices. Some topics that can be examined are broadcasting and digital media, the impact of international broadcasting, and international co-production and practices, emerging technology’s impact on media practice, and specific production areas.

COM468 Issues in Cinema Studies
Prerequisite: None
This course covers issues that are related to cinema studies which have not been covered in existing courses offered by the school. It provides an opportunity for students to benefit from the special interests and expert knowledge of faculty members and/or visiting professors. Thus, this course may draw upon multidisciplinary perspectives in examining special issues in cinema studies; address emerging academic concerns; or introduce students to cutting-edge professional practices. Some topics that can be examined include the relationship between cinema studies and other creative industries, transformation of cinema in the digital age, issues of representation in contemporary screen studies, and national and transnational cinemas.

COM469 Issues in Journalism
Prerequisite: None
This course covers issues that are related to journalism but are not covered by existing courses. Students will learn to identify, observe, and examine the special issues that are covered by the class.

COM470 Issues in Advertising
Prerequisite: COM258 Integrated Marketing Communication
This course examines the role and impact of advertising in society. In this class we will wear a different hat than often worn in other advertising classes. The emphasis is on examining advertising from a broader perspective to help us consider the economic, legal and regulatory, ethical, and social issues that surround advertising. This course will focus on helping students become aware of the cumulative effects of advertising on society.

COM471-475 Special Topic I-V
Prerequisite: None
This course expands beyond the regular SCI curriculum, and will be offered occasionally according to the special interests of faculty members and visiting professors. The course may focus on selected themes and concepts; draw upon multidisciplinary perspectives in examining communication issues; address emerging and contemporary concerns; or introduce students to cutting-edge research methods and hands-on applications.

CO475B Selected Topics in PR : Evaluating & Producing Campaign Results
Prerequisite: COM 208 (Fundamentals of Research)
Conducting a campaign is one of the most common types of final year projects (FYP) for students in the Public and Promotional Communication (PPC) Division. Students are required to conduct formative research to guide their campaign programming, as well as producing facts and figures on the outcome of the campaign. This course aims to teach students the ways of judging the merits or effectiveness of a campaign, as well as the research skills needed in producing facts and figures of campaign outcomes. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate various campaigns and conduct the type of research that will be useful for their FYP.

COM481/A Newspaper Practicum
Prerequisites: COM204 Basic Media Writing
By actively participating in the Nanyang Chronicle, students will learn how to manage the newsgathering process. Senior students will mentor less experienced students on how a newspaper is put together from start to finish. They will manage reporters, illustrators, editors, photographers, and advertising sales and marketing. In addition, students will have a chance to elevate their interviewing and writing skills, and see their works published in the Chronicle.

COM482/A Magazine Practicum
Prerequisite: COM204 Basic Media Writing
This course provides students with the opportunity to manage the publication of a colour magazine. Senior students will mentor less experienced students to conceptualise, create, market, and publish a colour magazine. Students are expected to write features, take photographs, edit, commission, design and layout and manage advertising sales. They will learn to make executive decisions based on the role of magazines in the community, readers’ needs, and advertisers’ requirements.

COM483/A Television Practicum
Prerequisite: Coreq COM229 Broadcast Journalism: Concepts and Applications
The purpose of this practicum is to give students practical experience in advanced broadcast production work. This practicum serves as a training ground for students interested in managerial roles in broadcast journalism, television production, and programming. Students will work individually and as part of news and studio teams to produce magazine-style programmes for the Nanyang Spectrum, which is broadcast over the campus cable network, Channel NTU.

COM484/A Radio Practicum
Prerequisite: None
The purpose of this practicum is to give students practical experience in advanced radio production work. This practicum serves as a training ground for students interested in managerial roles in the radio industry. Students will work individually and as part of news and studio teams to produce programmes for the Radio Fusion, which is broadcast over the NTU intranet and/or broadcast on campus.

COM485/A Film Festival Practicum
Prerequisite: COM266/A Film Festival Practicum
This subject is designed to give students the opportunity to conceptualise and organise a film festival in Singapore. Students will work individually and as part of a team to implement a two-week long film festival. Students are required to manage various aspects of a film festival, including programming, ticketing, promotion and marketing, fundraising, budgeting and financial management, and screening.

COM486/A Communication Research Practicum
Prerequisite: COM208 Fundamentals of Research
Students will work in teams to conceptualise and carry out research projects for client organisations that may be within or outside of the University. Students will take the lead in identifying potential client organisations, budgeting, negotiating with clients. Planning the research design, training and management of coders and interviewers, analyses of data, and presentation of findings to clients. In addition to the opportunity to network with organisations outside of the University and to build up a research portfolio, students will learn how to manage an entire research project.

COM487/A Newsletter Practicum
Prerequisite: None
In this practicum, students will work as a team to produce an SCI newsletter, Connexcions, which is targeted at alumni and the general public. This practicum provides an opportunity for students to continue honing their writing, photography, editing, design, and layout skills. In addition, students will learn to manage the newsletter production and distribution. This practicum will benefit students who are interested in a career in corporate communications, and who are keen to develop a portfolio.

COM488/A Advertising Portfolio Practicum
Prerequisite: COM429 Advertising Creativity and Copywriting
This course prepares students who wish to break into the creative advertising industry, especially in copywriting and advertising planning. This course includes an advanced, intensive study of copywriting and art direction for advertising. It emphasises the strategic and creative development of advertising campaigns where students are required to conceptualise advertising campaigns, and to digitally produce comprehensive advertising campaign materials. At the end of the semester, the students will assemble a portfolio, which will be reviewed by both the faculty members and advertising professionals.

COM489/A Public Relations Portfolio Practicum
Prerequisite: COM428 Public Relations Writing
This subject aims at helping students prepare a portfolio in public relations, which will facilitate entry into the industry. It includes an advanced, intensive study of public relations campaigns, and emphasises the development, planning, management, and execution of campaigns. At the end of the semester, the students will assemble a portfolio, which will be reviewed by both the faculty members and public relations professionals.

COM490 Going Overseas for Advanced Reporting
Pre-requisite: COM221 News Reporting and Writing
This hands-on course exposes journalism students to the challenges of operating in another country and culture. Students work on stories that require a stint in the overseas location. They are expected to deliver stories of publishable/broadcastable quality. They will prepare for their field trips by attending seminars and doing independent research into the chosen location and identifying workable story ideas. They are also expected to help organise the logistics of the programme. While overseas, they are expected to function as working journalists, developing their story ideas within the practical constraints of operating in the field. They will complete their assignments back in Singapore. Admission to this course is by application and on merit.

COM491 Advanced Single-Camera Workshop
Prerequisite: COM270 Single-Camera Workshop
This is an advanced subject in single-camera production, designed to prepare upper-division students to operate effectively the higher-end cameras and nonlinear editing facilities. Students will learn advanced camera operations and setup, camerawork, sound recording, and lighting. Students will also acquire advanced techniques in editing, special effects, and professional finishing.