Critical thinking and solid writing skills are at the top of the list of objectives within all of our courses within the Department of Mass Communication at UNC Asheville. Mass communication requires students to be lifelong learners, and courses led by Dr. Sonya DiPalma provide students with the opportunity to interact with community partners as they learn to:

  • Identify attributes of effective multimedia storytelling
  • Exhibit the requisite knowledge and skills a mass communication practitioner must possess in order to be a successful multimedia storyteller
  • Describe the foundational principles of successful storytelling such as strong characters, conflict, universal themes, relevance and significance, and narrative lines
  • Use effective information gathering techniques to research story elements and interview story sources
  • Produce a multimedia package that contain a still picture slideshow with, video narrative story, and a video interview
  • Strengthen student knowledge about academic research techniques
  • Strengthen applied research skills by conceptualizing and writing a research paper with an introduction, literature review, methodology, findings or results, discussion and implications
  • Use effective information gathering techniques to research story elements and interview story sources requiring IRB approval
  • Exhibit the requisite knowledge and skills a mass communication major must possess in order to become a successful practitioner or graduate student
Please visit the official UNC Asheville Department of Mass Communication website for additional information