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QTAC code (Australian and New Zealand applicants): Toowoomba campus: 909861; External: 909865

CRICOS code (International applicants): 069699A

Programs at USQ are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain professionally-relevant, in order to enhance the graduate outcomes of our students. This program is currently being re-accredited and is as a consequence likely to undergo some changes. Full details will be available when it is approved. If you have any questions, please directly.

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Professional accreditation

The Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) is accredited with the (PRIA).

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Program aims

This program aims to produce graduates who have a mastery of a range of communication industry skills, supported by extensive contextual studies in communication/media theory, and professional skills in preferred areas of journalism, public relations and, film, television and radio. Students can complement their major study with nominated majors/minors from other Faculties. The program allows specific emphasis on those skills of a mass communication nature that produce graduates who will:

• comprehend and evaluate various explanations of human behaviour

• understand the need for a high degree of accuracy in written and communication skills in their relevant communication-related industry specialisations

• demonstrate higher order thinking which will give students a professional edge in communication-related industries

• demonstrate technical skills that will enable them to be competitive in the work force

• demonstrate the capacity for ethics, which gives them a sound foundation for the way they conduct their professional lives.

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Program objectives

On successful completion of the program students should be able to demonstrate:

• the ability to express themselves with clarity and coherence

• the ability to understand the fundamental nature of the process of communication in a range of mass communication forms including journalism, creative production and public relations

• a knowledge and understanding of the theoretical issues, problems and methodologies of mass communication

• an awareness of the ethical and social responsibilities that are integral to the function of professional endeavours

• a discriminating application of methods, concepts, techniques and theories in the projects from different professional contexts.

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Admission requirements

Admission to the Bachelor of Communication is in accordance with for undergraduate programs.

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If you do not meet the English language requirements you may apply to study a ¾«¶«´«Ã½app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, you may be admitted to an award program.

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Program fees

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth supported place is where the Australian Government makes a contribution towards the cost of your higher education and you as a student pay a , which varies depending on the courses undertaken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .
Commonwealth Supported students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called .

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the
Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.
Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

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Program structure

The Bachelor of Communication consists of 24 courses. Students should study the four core courses to help make better informed decisions about their choice of major/s. The structure is:

• 4 x 1 credit point core courses, plus

• 1 x 12 credit point extended major study plus 1 x 8 credit point major study, or

• 1 x 12 credit point extended major study plus 2 x 4 credit point minor studies.

Please note that in either combination above, students can choose the first 12 credit point extended major from Journalism or Public Relations and the 8 credit point major from Film, Television and Radio, Communication and Media Studies and other 8 credit point majors within Arts undergraduate programs or other USQ programs. (Available majors are listed in the structure. Further details of these combinations can be obtained from the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts. In some instances, however, combinations preferred by individual students may not be available due to quota, timetable or enrolment pattern constraints).

Combination 1

Combination 2

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Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 9 years to complete this program.

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Core courses

All students must take the core courses:

The recommended pattern for enrolment in core courses by full-time on-campus students is:

This pattern should only be varied with the permission of the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts.

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Major studies

A Major ¾«¶«´«Ã½app in the Bachelor of Communication is a specified group of courses with a value of 12 unit courses and 8 unit courses. A major must have courses over three levels and contain at least two courses at third level. The following major studies are offered:

Majors in the Bachelor of Communication from outside Arts programs

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Communication may take one major or two minor studies from other USQ minors. Students should contact the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts for approval.

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Minor Studies

Minor studies are designed to enable students to widen their knowledge and perspectives. Courses must be taken over two levels and should be in the same discipline or recognised multi-disciplinary area. Bachelor of Communication students can elect to do two 4 unit minors to replace their 8 unit major.

Students can take one of the minors indicated in the section of this Handbook.

Students should take courses to the value of at least four units in the selected Minor ¾«¶«´«Ã½app. Choice of a minor will depend on the availability of the subject area, timetabling constraints, quotas and other restrictions such as auditions and interviews in certain areas of the Arts, as well as the approval of the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts.

Please note that Bachelor of Communication students can take a minor from Engineering. This minor has been structured to complement the 12 point extended major in this program. For further details, please contact the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts.

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Practical experience

In the Public relations and Journalism majors within this program, oncampus and external students will be required to work on practical, real world projects and in some cases, will be required to work in teams. Public relations students will work on at least two client projects during their study. Students undertaking the journalism major are able to undertake work experience and have this recognised as part of their course through or .

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IT requirements

Access to high-level computers is necessary. On-campus students will access appropriately equipped laboratories, but should consider acquisition of their own computer. External students should be able to access a computer with the following minimum standards:

• Pentium or equivalent, 128Mb Ram, 20Gb 7200 RPM Hard disk, SVGA with at least 32Mb video RAM, Windows 98/2000*, mouse, sound card, CD-RW drive, modem, or

• Apple Mac or equivalent, 12Mb Ram, 20Gb 7200 RPM Hard Disk, 15 inch Monitor, Mac RO 9.2 or later, CD-RW drive, modem

• Preferred browser standards are the latest versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape.

Note: Students with Windows 95 might be able to operate in this program for a short period until an upgrade is acquired.

External students should be able to access a computer with the following as advised by the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app. All students should have access to email and the Internet via a computer running the latest versions of Internet web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. The ¾«¶«´«Ã½app has a wireless network for on-campus students' computers. In order to take advantage of this facility and further enhance their on-campus learning environment, students should consider purchasing a notebook/laptop computer with wireless connectivity. A notebook/laptop may be required for some courses.

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Exit points

Students, who, for whatever reason, are unable to complete the Bachelor of Communication, but have completed 8 courses, can exit with a Diploma of Arts.

Credit and course transfers: Students who have studied elsewhere in courses that may be similar to courses offered within the program are encouraged to discuss the possibility of securing credit for some courses or transferring courses. See ¾«¶«´«Ã½app of Southern Queensland policy on credit and transfers.

Honours: Students can enter the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) to undertake the Communication and Media Studies major.

Enrolment: All students are urged to adhere to the recommended enrolment patterns as detailed in relevant Sections. Completion of enrolment requirements will be necessary before a student will be permitted to enrol in more advanced courses.

Recommended enrolment patterns

In this section:

• Recommended enrolment patterns
• Journalism recommended enrolment pattern (12 unit extended major)
• Public Relations recommended enrolment pattern (12 unit extended major)
• Communication and Media Studies recommended enrolment pattern
• Film, Television and Radio recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)
• Journalism recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)
• Public Relations recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)
• Education recommended enrolment pattern (8 units)
• Science recommended enrolment pattern

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Recommended enrolment patterns

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

On-campus students (full-time)

On-campus students should take courses offered in the on-campus mode and will only be permitted to take courses externally during Semesters 1 and 2 with the approval of the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts.

Commencing students

Commencing students are required to enrol in the three core courses in Semester 1: , and and should also enrol in . Then, commencing students must complete the fourth core course, in Semester 2. The core courses are from major disciplines and will help students to make final decisions about choice of major/s.

Students who wish to enrol in approved majors in the Bachelor of Communication (see Major Studies above, for which there is no recommended enrolment pattern listed above should refer to the .

Recommended general pattern for first year full-time students

First year enrolment (part-time/external)

• Students should take a maximum of two courses in each semester. Many commencing students find it advisable to enrol in only one course in each semester, or one in Semester 1 and two in Semester 2.

• As a minimum, students should complete the core course by the end of their first year of study. Students are advised to complete as many of the remaining core courses as possible in their first year of study.

Subsequent years of enrolment

• Students should take major courses in each year of study.

• Minor study courses are indicated in the Minor Studies section of this Handbook.

Recommended general pattern for external students, and part-time on-campus students

Residential schools

There are no residential school requirements for the Bachelor of Communication.

Semester 3

Some courses are offered in Semester 3. All students should check the Semester 3 availability of courses in their selected major in order to facilitate the completion of their program of study.

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Journalism recommended enrolment pattern (12 unit extended major)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Public Relations recommended enrolment pattern (12 unit extended major)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Communication and Media Studies recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Students wishing to enrol in a 12 unit extended major in Communication and Media Studies should contact the Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts for advice.

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Film, Television and Radio recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Students are able to enrol in any mode of a course (on-campus or online), regardless of the program mode of study enrolled in.

Students enrolling in the Film, Television and Radio Major must choose 8 courses from the table below.

NOTE: All oncampus offers are for Toowoomba and Springfield except for FTR2006 which has a Springfield offer only.

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Journalism recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Public Relations recommended enrolment pattern (8 unit major)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

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Education recommended enrolment pattern (8 units)

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

This major is only available to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Communication:

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Science recommended enrolment pattern

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Bachelor of Communication students can take an 8 unit major from the following Science courses. Students should refer to the enrolment patterns for these majors in the .
NOTE: Psychology cannot be taken as an 8 unit major, although, students can take a 4 credit Psychology minor.

• Biology

• Computing

• Human Physiology

• Mathematics

• Physical Sciences

• Environment and Sustainability