Department of Communications
Our mission is to provide intellectually rigorous paths of study in communications including Journalism, Design, Integrated Media, Public Relations and Marketing Communications, Web Design and Development, Social Media, and Cinema and Media Studies. The program emphasizes the development of critical thinking, critical making, superior writing, visual intelligence, technical competence, and effective oral communication.
Studying Communications at Simmons University
By blending integrative learning with a deep understanding of communications and media theory, the department provides in-depth professional preparation for various fields in communications. Students actively engage with the challenge of communication across media for the screen, the page, and the web while gaining an understanding of the impact of the media on society and the individual. The department faculty is committed to standards of excellence and to the creation of a climate where students strive to make a difference in the community.
These objectives are accomplished in a supportive environment of collaboration, creativity, and active engagement with experiential learning led by a faculty of professionals and scholars.
Learning Outcomes
Communication Skills
- Written: Graduates write clear, coherent, and audience-appropriate texts.
- Visual: Graduates employ appropriate techniques and technologies to create visual media that conveys complex ideas and messages.
- Spoken: Graduates use speech to articulate ideas and engage audiences, and are able to adapt to various speaking contexts.
- Multimodal: Graduates integrate written, visual, and spoken communication to create multimedia content that enhances message clarity, impact, and reach.
Making Meaning
- Critical Inquiry: Graduates draw on critical thinking and critical making skills to analyze and evaluate media representation and messaging.
- Intersectional Framework: Graduates use intersectional frameworks attentive to cultural and historical contexts to interpret and create media in ways that foster inclusivity and cultural literacy.
- Audience: Graduates identify, understand, and effectively communicate across diverse target audiences, adapting strategies to engage and resonate with specific groups.
Professional Engagement
- Responsibility: Graduates will learn, apply, and critically evaluate best practices within their respective professions using the appropriate ethical codes and/or legal considerations.
- Strategy: Graduates will apply communication strategies across various professional contexts with an emphasis on application, evaluation, iteration, and reflection.
- Adaptation: Graduates will demonstrate currency with evolving technologies and industry trends, adapting their communication skills and strategies accordingly.
Learn More About The Department of Communications
Technology
The Communications Department has integrated the effective use of technology in our curriculum at every level.
Internships
We offer juniors and seniors a variety of exciting internships. Because we're located in Boston, we can provide students opportunities at leading organizations.
CommTracks
CommTracks is the annual magazine produced by seniors from the Communications Department at Simmons University.
Studio 5
Studio 5 is a renowned faculty-facilitated, professional communications studio: students doing real work for real clients.
Simmons Radio
The Simmons University Radio studio streams live programming - known as The Shark - onto the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Professor of Communications Bob White Featured in Oral History Collection of Artists During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 lockdown (2020–2021), local photographer and filmmaker Jerry Russo interviewed hundreds of artists about their experiences of isolation, including Professor of Communications Bob White. The University of Massachusetts Amherst has since archived this oral history collection.
Securing a Legacy: Carolyn Shute ’88 ’91MA Establishes Endowed Scholarship for Professor Emeritus James Corcoran
Jim Corcoran, Associate Professor Emeritus, left a 35-year legacy of teaching students in Communications at Simmons. Thanks to the support of many donors and the work of his wife, Carolyn Shute ’88 ’91MA, the James P. Corcoran Scholarship has been established to honor that legacy, in perpetuity.
Professor Bob White Receives 2022 Alden Poole Faculty Mentor Award
Bob White, Professor of Communications in the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities, is the 2022 recipient of the Alden Poole Faculty Mentor Award. This award recognizes a faculty member in the Ifill College who has had a...
Remembering Jim Corcoran, Associate Professor Emeritus
President Lynn Perry Wooten shares the news of the passing of Associate Professor Emeritus Jim Corcoran, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and longtime chair of the Simmons Department of Communications.
Simmons Faculty Recognized for Innovative Teaching During the Pandemic
Simmons University received a $10,000 Presidential Grant through the Davis Education Foundation to fund a Post-Pandemic Innovative Teaching Award.
Simmons University’s Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities Welcomes Six New Faculty Members
Cohort of talented faculty helps fulfill commitments to student success and faculty diversity.
Meet Your Professor: Erica Moura
Erica Moura '10, the new Faculty Director of Student-Driven Media, has dedicated her career to sharing stories. From covering the Boston Marathon bombings to the White Bulger trial, learn more about Erica's impressive journalism career.
Assistant Professor of Practice Rachel Gans-Boriskin: Look for the Experts
How do we know what news is real? Assistant Professor of Practice Rachel Gans-Boriskin offers practical tips to combat the sea of misinformation surrounding COVID-19.
Communications Faculty and Staff
Chair
Briana Martino
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Full-time Faculty
Kat Lombard-Cook
Assistant Professor & the Design Track Director and the Integrated Media Track Director
Erica Moura
Associate Professor of Practice
Bob White
Professor
Part-time Faculty
Dannie Annecston
Assistant Professor of Practice
Julia Barber
Assistant Teaching Professor
Contact Us
Department of Communications
The Department of Communications provides an intellectually rigorous path of study of communications media. The program emphasizes the development of critical thinking, superior writing capabilities, a contemporary visual intelligence, technical competence, and effective oral communication.