Communications - Major Information

Portfolio Requirement for Communications Majors California State University, Bakersfield

Effective with Senior Seminars starting in Winter 1999, each student will prepare a portfolio that displays what has been gained from the major in communications.  The portfolio is a collection of materials that addresses each of four goals that the program faculty expects students to achieve, and it also includes a personal statement and a brief analysis of each course taken for the major in communications.  The portfolio will be submitted to the student’s Senior Seminar instructor by the end of the third week of that class, and it will be graded by a committee of communications faculty.  It will represent 20% of the Senior Seminar grade.
 
To create the portfolio, each student should maintain evidence from all communications courses and from other experiences that provide support for the student’s accomplishments as a communications major.  Questions about the portfolio may be directed to the student’s advisor or to any communications faculty member.

The four goals are:

1/ competency in communications processes
2/ competency in theoretical and critical perspectives
3/ competency in the creation and practical application of communications
4/ competency in the ethical practices and knowledge of the laws governing communications 

Contents of the Portfolio (Presented in Senior Seminar) 

•Title Page (Your name and date of submission)
•Table of Contents
•Personal Statement
A 5-10 page self-analysis of your accomplishments as a communications major, to include the following sections:
A.        Summary.  Summarize how you satisfied (or did not satisfy) the program’s list of goals and objectives.  Specify what evidence is provided for each goal and objective and what the evidence shows about the satisfaction of each goal and objective.  In addition, we encourage you to show how the major helped you achieve other objectives that are important to you, but that are not listed in the program.  Provide the actual evidence in the Appended evidence section below.  If you did not achieve a specific goal or objective, make a good-faith effort to discuss why that goal or objective was not achieved and the extent to which this gap may affect your attainment of post-baccalaureate goals.
B.        Critique of the Communications Major.  State what you found to be of greatest value in the communications major and make suggestions for changes in the curriculum.  You may wish to refer to the Course Analysis (see below) to support your conclusions.
C.        Future Goals and Plans.  Describe your future goals and plans and how the communications major relates to those plans.
 
•Appended Evidence
A.        Resume.  Include a list of communications courses taken and other relevant courses, extracurricular activities, work and volunteer experiences, etc.
B.        Course Analyses.  Provide a one-page analysis of what you learned from each communications course you took, especially learning related to the department’s goals and objectives.  We recommend that you write this analysis immediately after each course is completed.
C.        Evidence for the Satisfaction of Goals and Objectives.  Present evidence for the satisfaction of each goal and objective in the department’s list organized by category.  Evidence may include term papers, newspaper articles, press releases, media kit, reports, assignments, tests, videos, graphic designs, copies of your home page or other technological projects, self-report statements about your learning, and letters from faculty, peers, internship/employers, or community supervisors.  If you identified other goals in your summary, include evidence for these goals here.

Internships, Job Postings, and Volunteer Opportunities

There are multiple ways to locate internships, volunteer opportunities, and local jobs. The Center for Career Education and Community Engagement provides students with CECE offers comprehensive career counseling services, job postings, and community service opportunities for CSUB students. Members of PRSSA have access to public relations internships and jobs world-wide and gain professional growth through Chapter activities. Journalism students have an opportunity to gain experience with the student-run newspaper The Runner by producing both print and online media. Digital Media students have access to media internships across the state through the CSU Entertainment Initiative.

Check out the Internship and Job Opportunities page for more information.

Academic Internships

All academic internships begin now with a visit to the Center for Community Engagement and Career Education in CAFETERIA 102B (661-654-3033) to complete an academic internship application. Once the academic internship application is complete, a step-by-step guide will be forwarded to you via email. You must follow the entire process because of the risk management issues associated with an academic internship. You will not receive credit unless you follow the guidelines and fill out the paperwork from the Center.

For more information, please visit the Internship Requirements page.

Alumni Success

CSUB Communications Alumni have pursued successful careers that they love. 

Preparing for Career Success

Whether you are seeking furthering your education by attaining a Master's degree, or applying for a job, recommendation letters are important. But how do you go about attaining a recommendation letter? Visit Preparing for Career Success for information.

Public Relations for a large company. Do you like working in large teams? Interested in working for large firms and agencies? PR positions in large regional, national or even an international organization can be an exciting experience because of the size of the PR team.

Public Relations for a small company. Looking for something a little closer to home? Working for a small local company can give you more experience in more areas while helping a company grow.

Public Relations for a nonprofit. There are numerous nonprofits that always need help promoting their missions. Whether it’s focusing on helping the environment or helping kids, working for nonprofit organizations is an interesting job you’ll always feel good about at the end of the day.

Freelance Public Relations. Do public relations for small organizations that outsource public relations and marketing.

Marketing for a company that parallels with your interests. Not quite interested in doing PR work, look for marketing positions with organizations that has a mission and/or values you are interested in.

Social Media. Already an active social media user? Use your skills and take advantage of positions with companies that are new to the social media platforms.

Website Content Writer. Online communication requires a specific skill set. If you have that skill set, consider applying for writing/marketing/PR position for an online company or website.

Government/Public Affairs. Many organizations hire communication specialists to represent their organizations at the local, state, and federal levels of government.

Fundraising. Working in fundraising is a great way to meet lots of interesting people while doing important in a challenging job.

Work at a college or university. Colleges and universities require a lot of communication jobs: admissions materials, community relations, marketing, PR. Find a place you think you'd like to work and see what options are available.

Work at a start-up. Start-ups can be a fun place to work because everything is starting from scratch. Working for a start-up gives you a great opportunity to learn and grow with a new company.

Work as a journalist at a paper or magazine. Although traditional print press is going through a rough time, there can still be some interesting jobs out there where you can put your communications skills and training to use.

Work on the radio. Working for a radio station -- either a music-based local station or something different, like National Public Radio -- is a unique job where you can meet lots of interesting people.

Work for a sports team. Love sports? Consider working for a local sports team or stadium. You'll get to learn the ins-and-outs of a cool organization while helping with their communications needs.

Work for a crisis PR company. Nobody needs good PR help like a company (or person) in crisis. While working for this kind of company can be a bit stressful, it can also be an exciting job where you learn something new every day.

Work for a public relations/marketing agency or firm.