Six questions an aspiring student of media communication should ask

SHASHIDHAR NANJUNDAIAH  JUNE 6, 2014 | UPDATED 15:37 IST

Media CommunicationJournalismEducation

Students and parents have rightly become sceptical of higher education, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For candidates who hunt for the right institute and programme, the reasons are not hard to list. Here are a few, especially for those seeking education in mass communication, journalism and the media:

1. Too many institutes have sprung up offering a variety of traditional and new courses, all claiming to be the best. This can be both confusing and sometimes misleading. Such claims are not always true, so that adds to the complexity of the problem.

2. Too many courses to choose from even within the focused sphere of communication. Most colleges, universities and institutes split up their offerings, confusing you more: Journalism, Electronic Journalism, TV Journalism, Mass Communication, Journalism & Mass Communication, Media & Communication, Communication Management, Media Management, etc.

3. Most institutes offer "100% placement assistance" (a term I personally find puzzling!) but refrain from spelling out the process, success rate and criteria that are involved in your absorption in the industry.

Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to ensuring that you enrol in the right institute. Fortunately, though, there are clear methods through which you can identify the institute that suits your aspirations the best.

So here is a check list of what you should inquire when you're shopping for the right communication programme. (All questions are compulsory!)

Question #1: What exactly do the courses include and entail?

What are the options within the broad gamut of Communication? When you enter the institute, you may be unaware about the possibilities. Go in-depth into learning outcomes in the courses. For example, what will you gain from a module on, say, Geopolitics?

Question #2: What skills will I develop?

Skill sets are critical to a career in communication. What skills will you develop during your tenure in the institute? Will some skills be taken for granted? What kinds of exposure will you gain to simulated and live projects, hands-on experience with technology, and above all, will you learn what to do with all those skills?

Question #3: What is the placement process?

It is perfectly legitimate these days to look for an institute that will further your career goals, and not merely act as teaching platforms. Does the institute provide systematic processes in internship hunt and job hunt? If so, what is that process-how do you go about ensuring you have the right internship(s) and the right job? (If you're about to pursue a bachelor's degree, though, look at how it can be a platform for further studies. Jobs after a bachelor's degree in communication are fewer, harder to get, and pay less.)

Question #4: Is there career guidance?

This is different from a placement process. Does the institute provide systematic mentoring, counselling and guidance to help you choose the right specialization and, thereby, career path? A good professional institute should devote special time to understand your professional interests, assess your capabilities and talent, and evaluate availability of professional opportunities in that domain-thereby matching the aspiration with aptitude and availability. It should be perfectly OK to be a "blank slate" and start learning about the options after you enter the institute, but unfortunately, only a handful among competitive institutes will provide that opportunity.

Question #5: How academic is it?

Some institutes claim to be so industry-driven you may end up learning less concepts than you would have liked to. This could be how institutes differentiate between themselves. Because of the nature of the communication industries, hands-on experience is highly valued. Yet because of the role of communication in our society, the concepts and values governing the domains are equally important to know and practise.

Question #6: Will I become a good communicator?

It's funny that you should ask this question at all. It should be something one would assume. Alas, many communication graduates cannot communicate effectively, much less know their world well enough. Many end up not understanding the fundamentals. A prospective student should understand what processes the institute has put in place to make you a good communicator.

The author, Prof Shashidhar Nanjundaiah, is Dean, India Today Media Institute , and was Director at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune, and Whistling Woods International, Mumbai. He was Founding Director, Indira School of Communication, Pune.

India Today Media Institute provides postgraduate programmes in journalism, audiovisual communication, ad, PR, experiential marketing, brand communication, and media management.

For more on the choices of careers in communication, visit the pages "Why Choose Communication?" and "Media Careers" on http://aajtak.intoday.in/itmi.

First published by India Today online: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/six-questions-an-student-of-media-communication-should-ask/1/365566.html