The Vision, The Value, The Difference

THE VISION

Our mission is to study and to teach about the mass media: their impact, their uses by everyday people, their management by political and economic elites, their history, and their regulation and institutional structures. The mass media have become some of the most powerful institutions in American society and, indeed, the world. They affect every aspect of our lives, and thus, at Michigan, we emphasize four reasons for studying the mass media:

• their centrality to everyday life
• their enormous influence on culture
• their role in shaping our identifies
• their impact on democracy

Through our research and writing, we also seek to advance public understanding of the impact of the mass media on our country and the world.

UM Communication Studies has been expanding since a major reorganization in 1995. Since then, our national reputation has increased dramatically as we have:

• hired top faculty
• recruited gifted graduate students
• made our undergraduate program rigorous and highly sought after

Our goal is to build on this momentum to have our department ranked as one of the top five in the United States.

THE VALUE

Our undergraduate program provides a broad-based liberal arts education in which we cultivate strong media literacy among our students. They learn about:

• the evolution of the mass media
• how people gain knowledge from and are persuaded by the media
• the structure of media industries
• politics and the media
• how the media influence our attitudes toward gender roles, race relations, and social and political behavior

Our courses emphasize critical thinking to develop a portfolio of analytical skills that will benefit students throughout their lives in whatever careers they choose, including journalism, publishing, market research, public relations, television production, and advertising. In addition, the program prepares our students for graduate work in law, business, public policy and Ph.D. programs.

THE DIFFERENCE

We are especially interested in building research and teaching initiatives in international/global media and in the media and public health. To attain these goals, the Department must:

• attract and retain superb senior faculty
• provide competitive support packages for outstanding students
• create and sustain international forums and exchange programs that promote the sharing of research and information among different countries and cultures
• generate a source of flexible, undesignated funding

Donors play a key role in these efforts and can participate in a variety of Giving Opportunities.

To Make A Gift

To make a cash gift to the Department of Communication Studies by check or credit card, please use the Gift Form. Please print this form, complete it and send it to the following address:

Department of Communication Studies
1225 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-2523

For additional information on giving to the University of Michigan or the Department in the form of securities, matching gifts, or gifts in kind, or for information on estate or planned gifts, please visit Giving to the University of Michigan. 

The Chair of the department or the staff of LSA Development would be happy to discuss any of these options with you. The liaison officer for the Department of Communication Studies in LSA Development is David Cave. His contact information is as follows:

David Cave
LSA Development, Marketing & Communications
734 615 6456

LSA Development, Marketing & Communications
College of LSA
524 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-2921
P.734 998 6255
F.734 998 6250