MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment is once again in the national spotlight, gaining praise as one of the top 30 programs of its kind in the United States via a survey by a popular news industry trade publication.

Click on the graphic above to read the full story and top 30 list of university communication programs.

MTSU was the only Tennessee university included among the nation’s top mass communication and journalism colleges in a recent edition of Crain Communication’s NewsPro Magazine. The University of Missouri had the top-ranked program.

The MTSU College of Media and Entertainment also was included in the magazine’s 2013 list. You can see the new list and the accompanying story by clicking on the graphic at right.

“We’re always gratified when media professionals recognize the value of our program,” said Ken Paulson, media and entertainment dean.

“In an ever-changing media world, this honor affirms the expertise of our faculty and the commitment and professionalism of our graduates.”

Ken Paulson

The survey polled members of the Radio Television Digital News Association in November with four questions to determine the top communication schools. Participants also were invited to offer their views on “which schools do the best job of preparing students for working in the digital world.”

MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment, which is the fifth largest communication program in the nation, offers degree concentrations in 14 major areas — ranging from the recording industry to journalism to filmmaking and animation— and is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

The college also is home to three unique and nationally recognized operations:

• the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, which supports a variety of activities related to free speech, free press rights and other topics of concern for contemporary journalism.
• the Center for Popular Music, devoted to the study and scholarship of popular music in America and one of only 16 Centers of Excellence across the Tennessee Board of Regents system.
• the Center for Innovation in Media, which unites student-run media and the university’s National Public Radio affiliate, WMOT 89.5 FM, in a single site to facilitate convergence.

For more information about MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment and its departments and majors, visit www.mtsu.edu/media.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

Midstate high school students attending the MTSU Innovation J-Camp edit their video projects in the Center for Innovation in Media in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building in this July 2015 file photo. The inaugural camp welcomed young journalists to begin hands-on training for potential careers. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)