The mission of the Radio program is to provide comprehensive training and education in the art and business of radio broadcasting. We want our graduates to do more than get entry-level jobs – we want them to have careers. The curriculum is designed around a core group of courses required for all Radio students. These courses provide skills and knowledge in the fundamentals of on-air broadcasting: voice and speech training, studio operations, production, and programming. Other required courses prepare students for the realities of the business side of radio and include ethics in broadcasting, marketing and promotion, and an overview of FCC rules and corporate business practices. This allows students to experience both the creative and business aspects of radio before pursuing specialty courses in sports, talk, music, news, or creative imaging and production.

Courses are sequenced to allow students to build skills each semester. Once the core courses are completed, students may choose from a wide variety of electives so they can pursue interest areas in depth. For example, once a student has learned basic digital production, voice training, and writing, he or she can choose advanced courses in talk radio, voice-over, radio theater, documentary, or radio station imaging, all of which require students to combine all the skills they have learned in previous courses. All Radio majors are required to complete at least one semester working in the College radio station, WCRX 88.1 FM, so they can apply skills and knowledge learned in the classroom. Students can be on the air as early as their sophomore year if they have mastered the ability and prerequisite courses. Students receive individual guidance from faculty while learning to be on-air music or talk show hosts, programmers, promotion managers, sportscasters, newscasters, or production directors. WCRX students have won numerous national awards during the past five years. WCRX also streams on the Web at wcrx.net, giving students the opportunity to have their programs heard all over the world. Our students regularly receive e-mails from listeners in all parts of the United States as well as in Europe and Japan.

Our internship program, one of the oldest and largest in the country, places approximately 60 students per year in commercial and public radio, as well as in production and voice-over companies. A full-time staff member provides individual advising to assess student interest and help secure an internship placement. Our most successful students have followed the recommended sequence of courses, taken two or more advanced courses, worked at WCRX, and completed at least one internship. These are the students who are working full time in radio in both creative and business positions.

The Radio Department offers a post-baccalaureate certificate of major.

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