Letter to Prospective Students and Parents
Dear Prospective Student (and Parents!):
Thank you for your interest in Mississippi State University and the Department of Communication. I hope that you are seriously considering attending MSU very soon. We would love to assist you in registering for classes and helping you in any way possible.
Our department offers concentrations in each of the following areas: Broadcasting, Communication Studies, Journalism, Public Relations, and Theatre. Many of our students choose more than one area as a concentration or a second area in the department as an unofficial minor. We also offer an extensive internship program that continues to grow as our faculty, graduates, and students expand their networks.
As a graduate of the department, I am very confident about the quality of education we provide for our students. Keep in mind that many of our students are transfers from community/junior colleges or from other departments on campus.
Throughout most of our courses we emphasize the importance of writing, speaking and presenting, and/or problem solving and strategic planning. Over recent years our department has grown in numbers of students, classes, and instructors. We are very pleased with the current course offerings, but we are in the process of enhancing our curriculum to stay current with ever-changing communication fields. Additionally, we offer student organizations in all of our concentration areas to further enhance your educational experiences. Communication fields are very competitive, but the work is very rewarding. The vast majority of our practitioner colleagues truly enjoy their work. This includes many of our graduates who are now successful professionals.
Our graduates continue to earn positions throughout the country, including such diverse locations as Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Orlando, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis. Additionally, we have graduates branching out internationally, including alumni in Egypt and Ghana! Many live in cities, but others have chosen to live and work in relatively small towns (including Starkville). They are employed by public relations and marketing firms, corporations, banks, nonprofit organizations, political and government entities, medical centers, colleges and schools, economic development associations, television and radio stations, production houses, newspapers, magazines, theatre companies, and many other organizations. In addition, our alumni who choose to attend graduate and professional schools typically receive very positive feedback from colleagues, both at MSU and other universities.
We have numerous scholarships available through the department that are typically awarded early in the spring semester for the next year. (These are in addition to scholarships offered at the university and college levels.) This includes some scholarships for incoming freshmen or transfer students.
Please contact me at any time if you would like to come and meet or if you have any questions. I hope you can visit us soon when you're on campus and become part of our department. Please call me at (662) 325-8033 in my office or (662) 324-0168 at home if you have any questions or need further information. Thanks again for your interest in MSU, and we'll hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Dr. John E. Forde, APR
Associate Professor and Head
jforde@comm.msstate.edu
