By Madelin Shelton —
The U of L Department of Communication has announced a new Strategic Communication and Social Media minor. The minor will be available to all students registering for Fall 2022 and will be composed of classes already offered in the Department of Communication.
Karen Freberg, a U of L professor of strategic communication, discussed why this minor was a welcome addition to the department.
“This minor will provide students with portfolio-building activities, client work and giving them skills that will make them marketable when they graduate,” she said.
Freberg said the creation of the minor was due in part to support from students and faculty. In particular, she described the experience of alumni who have gone on to work in social media after taking strategic communication and social media classes here at the university. They have often come back to the Department of Communication and said they were gaining work opportunities in part because of the collection of classes they took at U of L.
Freberg has also had industry professionals in the Louisville area reach out to her looking for soon-to-be graduates for employment opportunities. She said they are looking for talent and the experience these students have gained from their strategic communication and social media classes.
When asked how this minor contrasts specifically from a general minor in Communication, Freberg highlighted the desire of students to have employment opportunities after graduation. “I know with students I’ve been talking to, they want jobs obviously. They’ve spent a lot of money going to school, a lot of time, and they want to be able to have marketable skills that will help them achieve their goals in whatever career direction they want to go in. The goal of this minor is every class will have both theoretical and applicable perspectives.”
Overall, the minor will offer students industry level certifications and real-world projects to be featured in a portfolio. “It is more concentrated than the general communication minor,” Freberg said.
The Strategic Communication and Social Media minor will be made available on the U of L Department of Communication website in the near future.
File Graphic // The Louisville Cardinal
