Syllabus of Masters of Arts (Electronic Media)

Master in Arts - Electronic Media

Semester I
Communication and Media Theory (2 credits, 32 hours)
Global Electronic Media (2 credits, 32 hours)
Electronic Media Criticism (2 credits, 32 hours)
Contemporary media - Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising

Semester II
Computational Skills
Writing Skills
Electronic Media and Reporting
The Commerce of Electronic Media

Semester III
Web Technologies
Video Production and Programming
Audio Production and Programming
Multimedia Production

Semester IV
Project Work- The project will be a Convergence Project.

Detailed Syllabus

Semester I

Communication and Media Theory (2 credits, 32 hours)
Theories of communication, Media history, Media and society, Language and media, Technology and media, Media and politics, Issues and Ideas in contemporary media, Advertisement, Media in India, Media in Maharashtra, Media in Mumbai, Folk media, Cinema, Television, Theatre, Media Theories – Framing, Indexing, Social Responsibility, etc.

Global Electronic Media (2 credits, 32 hours)
Electronic Media and Global Journalism, Backpack Journalism, MacBride Report, New World Communication Order, Parachute and Immersion Journalism, Ethics and the Law in Global Reporting, Ethics and the Law with respect to Electronic Media, News Agencies, India and the world, Issues, ideas and challenges before India, What makes news?, News and newsmakers in India, Electronic Media in the Third World, Electronic Media in various countries.

Electronic Media Criticism (2 credits, 32 hours)
What is Criticism, The Essence of Criticism, Critical Functions, Criticism and the Communication Process, Knowledge Processing, Tonal and Talent Ingredients, Stage-Molding Ingredients, Busieness Gratifications, Audience Gratifications, Reality Programming, Depiction Analysis, Structural Analysis, Probing Ethics and Values, Aesthetics and Art, The Logic of Aesthetic Form, Composite Criticism

Contemporary media - Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising (2 credits, 32 hours)
An introduction to the history and evolution, the inter-relations and interdependency, ethics, challenges and opportunities of globalisation, civilization, tribalisation, corporatisation, commercialisation, privatization, opportunities of technological convergence, the changing face of ideology, politics, society and economics, modernization and evolving democracy, interrogation of development including the millennium development goals, urbanisation, the interrogation of the 'public space' and the definition of 'people', branding and identity, language, religion, caste, class and gender as a contested space, issues, ideas and challenges to function of policing the society, Public Relations and Electronic Media, Corporate Communication, Electronic Media relations and symbiotic relationship of public relations and electronic media professionals .

Semester II

Computational Skills (2 credits, 32 hours)
Computer Fundamentals, Computer Software and Hardware, Studio Hardware, Computer Operation Skills, Office Software, Databases, Introduction to Programming, Programming in C, JavaScript, HTML, Programming a Web page, Introduction to PHP, Introduction to ASP, Keywords and Internet Search, Search Engine Optimization, Designing Meta Tags, Using Unicode.

Writing Skills (2 credits, 32 hours)
Précis Writing, Comprehension, Tenses and Person, Writing for the Newspaper, Writing News for the Radio, Writing Skits for the Radio, Writing for Television, Writing for the Internet, Science Communication, Communication for the differently-abled, Low literacy media, Educational media, Interactive Communication, Environmental Science Communication, Multimedia Technologies

Electronic Media and Reporting (2 credits, 32 hours)
The Role of a Reporter, What makes news, Finding a story, The Importance of research, Developing and Maintaining Contacts, Dress Codes and Etiquettes, Interviewing Skills, The Grammar of Radio and Television, The Grammar of Internet Reporting, Defamation and Copyright, Using Modern Technology on the field, Gatekeeping, Research on the Internet, Co-opetition, Filing your story, Multi-tasking, Backpack Journalism, Convergence, The Right to Privacy, Freedom of speech and expression

The Commerce of Electronic Media (2 credits, 32 hours)
Internet and the flow of Ad revenues, The importance of search engines, advertising on the internet, Internet promotions, Importance of Blogs, the Business of blogs, Blogs as a tool for corporate promotions, blogs for social networking, blogs to build up contacts in the field, Social Networking sites, Facebook, MySpace and Linked In, Social networking sites and business, ad revenues from blogs and social networking sites, Internet as a Mass Medium, The Television Business, Television Programming, Production houses, Advertising on the Television, The reach of television, Television and Politics, HR policies in Electronic Media Organisations, Television as a Mass Medium, Mobiles as the new Mass Medium, Writing / Creating content for Mobiles, The business of mobile communication, advertising on mobile medium.

Semester III

Web Technologies (2 credits, 32 hours)
Web Designing – Frontpage and Dreamweaver, Designing a web page without the graphic user interface, Frames, Layers, Search Engine Optimization, WAP, HTML and DHTML, Using JavaScript, Do not reinvent the wheel, Embedding Java Applets, Using Activex Controls, Embedding Video and Audio into web pages, Embedding streaming media, Using YouTube, Creating Forms, Learning basic PHP and MYSQL, Creating Database and using it in the web design, Creating a website for Mobile phones, Creating a news site, creating a brochure site, designing a portal interface, using vernacular language in web sites, dynamic fonts, creating a vernacular medium website, creating a blog and a facebook site and promoting it.

Video Production and Programming (2 credits, 32 hours)
Film theory and history, Film and Video formats, Handling the Camera, Types of shots, Types of angles, Shot Breakup, Writing/adapting a story, Developing a Character, Writing a screenplay, Writing the shooting script, Framing a shot, thinking about a news story – what makes news, interviewing in a studio environment, interviewing on the field, framing a news story for television broadcast, shooting a story, editing a story, making feature and newsclip versions, capturing video, the Grammar of Edit, Fades, dissolves and transitions, Encode and Decode, Encoding the video for television, encoding the video for DVD and VCD, video compression technologies, encoding the video for i-pods and mobile devices, embedding the video on a web page, the politics of channels

Audio Production and Programming (2 credits, 32 hours)
The sound theory, sound formats, sound formats for the web, recording equipment, recording on the field, the importance of good sound quality, capturing sound on the computer, editing sound, applying noise filters, using multiple tracks, mixing different tracks, mono and stereo sound, left and right channels, Introduction to 5:1 sound track, SFX, changing the tone and pitch of the recorded voice, to reverb or not to reverb, encoding sound to different formats, creating an Audio CD, creating MP3, creating Real Audio, embedding sound in a web page, preventing download of embedded sound

Multimedia Production (2 credits, 32 hours)
The importance of Graphics in today's world, re-learning Power point, creating a Power point presentation, embedding sound and video in Power point, Using CorelDraw, Exporting graphics from CorelDraw, 2 D Animation, learning Flash, creating stand-alone flash applications and movies, creating flash banners, creating flash elements for the web page, creating banner ads, using flash for film making and special effects, making a high quality flash movie for importing into Film Editing softwares, Introduction to 3D animation, 3D Max, Special effects in Maya, Compositing, Using Adobe After Effects, using After Effects in Film Edits, Adobe director, creating an interactive presentation using Director and Flash, Flash and Direction for Social and Educational Communication, Creating an Interactive CD ROM

Semester IV

Project Work- The project will be a Media Convergence Project. (8 Credits, 32 Weeks)
The students shall be given a choice of three subjects out of which they shall choose one. The student shall research the subject thoroughly and produce the following on that subject:

1. Story in a skit format for Radio

2. Video documentary for the television in Beta format

3. Video for the internet – streaming formats

4. Video for mobile phones and devices

5. Create a DVD and VCD, both with menus for the same.

6. Create and Audio CD and an MP3 CD

7. Create a website for project and embed the video and audio.

8. Create a blog and a Facebook site for promoting the video.

9. Create promotional material in print to promote your product.

The project will be evaluated as per the following time line and the credits will be awarded accordingly.

32 weeks

1. First Week : The student shall within one week of choosing the subject, make a presentation on the theme of the project which shall include material by researching it on the internet. The presentation shall be in Powerpoint format.

2. Eighth Week: The student shall complete an exhaustive, comprehensive research on the subject and make the second presentation.

3. Sixteenth Week: The students shall present the complete story and the script along with a detailed story board and shooting script. The student shall also present a detailed production plan and budget.

4. Twenty-fourth week: The student shall present the first draft / cut of the project.

5. Thirtith Week: The student shall submit the second draft / cut of the project.

6. Thirty-second Week: The final project shall be submitted in all formats, including the website, blog, community sites, DVDs and VCDs, and portable formats.

Eligibility:

Students seeking admission to the Department of Communication and Journalism have to write an essay of not less than 500 words and not more than 800 words (typed in double spacing on a single sheet of paper and signed by the student) on their purpose for seeking admission to the course. This essay has to be submitted along with the application form. The essay has to be in the form of an argument justifying the purpose of taking the course. This essay may be written in English, Hindi or Marathi.

The student must produce testimonials from at least two teachers who have personally taught the student in school/college stating why the teachers feel that the student should do the course and how the course will benefit the student. The testimonials may not exceed 150 words each. The testimonial must mention the period that the teacher has been associated with the student, in which institution and how long has the teacher been with the said institution. The testimonials must accompany the admission form. The testimonials may be written in English, Hindi or Marathi.

The Department of Communication and Journalism shall conduct a test comprising of a written examination of 100 marks, a group discussion of 100 marks and a personal interview of 100 marks. Candidates who have passed their Bachelors Degree in any faculty from the University of Mumbai or any other University recognised by the University of Mumbai and those who have submitted the application forms of the Department of Communication and Journalism along with the statement of purpose and the two testimonials mentioned above, shall be eligible to appear for this examination.

The written test : The student shall be given four questions/statements to debate and discuss. Broadly the questions shall cover local, national, international issues and ideas. There will be a question on creative writing. There will be a word limit put to every question. The student, in this test, is being assessed for originality and quality of content (20 marks), language and grammar (10 marks), articulation (10 marks), historical context (20 marks), word management – whether the student stays within the word limit(20 marks) and conclusion (20 marks).

The Group Discussion : Students shall be given a subject to discuss and debate. The students are being assessed for language (25 marks), presentation (25 marks), articulation (25 marks) and content (25).

The Interview: Each student will be given three minutes to present herself/himself and clearly state her/his purpose and motivation of doing the course. The student is to present orally. No electronic devices such as laptops are allowed. The student can present in English, Hindi or Marathi. The student is being assessed for language (25 marks), presentation (25 marks), clarity of purpose (25 marks) and overall impression (25 marks).

The candidate taking the examination will have to score an aggregate 150 marks in the three tests to qualify for admission to the course.

Admission to the course shall be decided by merit in marks obtained in this examination.

For students other than University of Mumbai, the admission to the course is provisional subject to the student producing an eligibility certificate within the first month from the beginning of the course.

R… Duration:
The duration of the course is four semesters. Semester I, II and III are devoted to the course work whereas Semester IV is a full time project work. However, candidates can do preliminary background work such as experimental set-up, subject research etc during the first three semesters.

R... Intake Capacity: 20

R... FEE STRUCTURE

Number of students for MA-Electronic Media - 20

Tuition Fees (per semester) - Rs 20,000

Examination Fees (per semester) – Rs 1,000

Project Examination Fees (to be paid in the second year only) – Rs 1,000

Computer Lab Fees (per semester) – Rs 2,000

Library Fees (per semester) – Rs 1,000

R… Structure of the Course

R… A minimum of 8 credits of course work is required for passing Part I and become eligible to appear for Part II. A minimum of 8 credits of course work and thesis are required for passing Part II. Only if a student passes Part II will the award of the degree with GPA be awarded.

If a student opts to take more courses within the department the student shall be awarded additional credits as assigned to the specific course and these shall be mentioned in the degree certificate.

Those students in Part II who accept teaching assistance assignments in the Department for a minimum 114 hours shall get one credit in their Part II course. This additional credit will be separately mentioned in the degree certificate.

R… Grade Point Average
The University has introduced a 4-point grade scale for M.A. Commnication and Journalism. We shall be following the same system. The overall GPA includes institutional work. The students' performance will be monitored continuously through quiz/assignment/participation in class discussions/attendance and the end-term semester examination for all theory and practicals. The weightage will be 50 per cent for continuous evaluation and 50 per cent for the end-term examination.

For each of the grades below, the grade carries quality point weights.

Grade Point Averages are calculated at the end of each term after grades have been processed and after any grade has been updated or changed. Individual assignments/quiz/surprise tests are all based on the same criterion as given above. The instructor should convert his marking into the quality points.

R… How to Calculate a GPA
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated by dividing the number of hours scheduled in all subjects attempted in which a grade of A, B, C, D, F or WF has bee received into the number of quality points earned on those hours scheduled.

For example, a student had the following schedule. The tutor determines the total number of quality points and the GPA as given below:

Sum of Quality Points/Total Number of Hours = GPA

42/14=3.0

The student gets B Grade.

R… Repeated Subject Work
If a student repeats a subject, only the grade of the most recent attempt of the subject will be used for the purpose of calculating the GPA. This is true even if the second attempt is lower than previous attempts. On the student's transcript previous attempts are marked with an ‘E' to indicate the “Earlier” grades are included in the form GPA calculations.

R…Cumulative Grade Point Average
Each Semester Grade Point Average is calculated by dividing the total of product of grade point and subject credit by sum of all subject credits as given above. This gives the aggregate performance of student in each semester. A similar measure calculated cumulatively gives Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) giving the aggregate performance of student up to that semester.

n

CGPA= ?? C. GP

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N

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• N is the number of subjects

• Ci is credits of the ith subject,

• GPi is grade points for the ith subject, and,

• CGPA is the cumulative grade point average

In all case where selection is to be done award - of prizes/placement etc., selection is based on CGPA unless some other measure is advocated under the conditions of the award. A student gets rigorous academic input here over the curriculum. The University expects absolute academic honesty from all the students. In the exams/assignments/tutorials/project a student must report his/her own work/analysis and conclusions. Whenever he/she uses other's work he/she must give proper citation references. The Department of Communication and Journalism has zero-tolerance for plagiarism. If found, the student shall be barred from further studies in the Department and all previous credits that the student may have acquired in the Department shall also be withdrawn.

R… Every candidate registered for the Degree of MA – Electronic Media shall be required to pass a theory examination which will be held in three parts: Part I – to be hereinafter referred to as Semester I and Semester II examinations and Part II – to be hereinafter referred to as Semester III. The Semester I will be normally of 16 weeks classroom teaching/lectures duration and the examination for this semester will be held during/after 17 th week after the commencement of the Semester I. Semester II will also be normally of 16 weeks classroom teaching/lecturers duration and the examination for this semester will be held during/after 16 th week after the commencement of Semester II. Semester III will also be normally of 16 weeks classroom teaching/lecturers duration and the examination for this semester will be held during/after the 16 th week after the commencement of Semester III.

R… No candidate will be admitted to the Semester I examination unless he produces a satisfactory testimonial of having passed the qualifying examination referred to in O… and having kept one term to the satisfaction of the Head of the Department.

R… Failure to pass the Semester I examination of the MA - ELECTRONIC MEDIA Course will not disqualify the candidate from continuing his/her studies for Semester II. Failure to pass the Semester I examination will not disqualify the candidate for presenting herself/himself on a subsequent occasion on a new application being forwarded and a fresh examination fee paid. Such a candidate is also allowed to keep terms and appear for the Semester II examination, notwithstanding the fact that he may not have cleared the Semester I examination. A candidate who has kept two terms to the satisfaction of the Head will be eligible to take the Semester II examination.

R… A candidate who has failed to clear the Semester I and/or the Semester II examination will be disqualified from presenting herself/himself for the Semester III examination because Semester III is a specialised component. Thus, a candidate must have cleared both Semester I and Semester II to be able to keep terms for Semester III. Only a candidate who has cleared Semester I as well as Semester II and kept terms of Semester III to the satisfaction of the Head will be eligible to present herself/himself for the Semester III examination. A candidate who has cleared both Semester I and Semester II shall be given a Certificate that the candidate has successfully cleared Part I of the two-year MA - ELECTRONIC MEDIA course.

R… Failure to pass the Semester III examination of the MA - ELECTRONIC MEDIA Course will not disqualify the candidate from continuing his/her studies for Semester IV. Failure to pass the Semester III examination will not disqualify the candidate for presenting herself/himself on a subsequent occasion on a new application being forwarded and a fresh examination fee paid. However, the result of the project will not be declared until the student has cleared Semester III and kept terms to the satisfaction of the Head.

R… Notwithstanding the paper/s the candidate fails to clear in any Semester, she/he will have to present herself/himself for an examination of all the papers in that Semester on a subsequent occasion on a new application being forwarded and a fresh examination fee paid.

R… Every candidate registered for the Degree of MA - ELECTRONIC MEDIA shall be required to carry out project work under the supervision and guidance of a recognised University Teacher. The project shall be assigned within four weeks of the beginning of Semester III. Three typewritten copies of the textual material for the project, along with the other media together with a synopsis and a statement indicating to what extent the candidate's work is original and to what extent it is referred to other sources, shall be submitted by the candidate to the Controller of Examinations, through the candidate's guiding teacher. The project shall be candidate's own work carried out under the guidance of her/his teacher and shall be submitted to the Controller of Examinations at the end of the Semester IV of attendance. The time limit for the submission of the thesis can be extended maximum up to the fifth semester, upon payment of fresh fees of Rs.5000/-. Extension of the limit will be on the basis of recommendations from the Project Supervisor and approved by the Head.

R… At least two months before submitting his/her project, the candidate shall forward to the Controller of Examinations through the University Teacher under whom he has worked or by whom he has been guided, a statement giving the title and the synopsis of the project along with the form of application for admission to the examination and a fee of Rs 1,000 (Rupees One Thousand only). In the synopsis the candidate shall indicate the broad outlines of the work carried out. Before submission of the project every candidate should exhibit the project to an audience at least two weeks prior to the submission of the project. The project exhibition schedule should be formally announced at least ten days before the presentation and the show shall be open to all.

R... Every candidate shall submit a certificate signed by the guiding teacher under whom he has worked stating that there is a prima facie case for the consideration of the project. Such a certificate has to be submitted along with the synopsis of the project. Such a certificate shall be regarded as satisfying the Project Committee for the Ad Hoc Board of the Department of Communication and Journalism that the candidate has done sufficient work to enable him to appear for the examination.

R... The project shall be referred for examination and report to two referees, to be appointed by the Ad Hoc Board of the Department of Communication and Journalism; one of the referees being always the guiding teacher. If both the referees recommend the project for the award of the degree, viva-voce examination shall be conducted jointly and at the time of via-voce examination, written and electronic copy of the project should be in their possession. The referees to whom the project is refereed for examination, shall, after valuing the project and holding viva-voce examination, report to the Controller of Examinations whether the project should be accepted or rejected and their report shall be final.

If at the time of the viva-voce examination one of the referees rejects the project, while the other recommends it for the degree, Ad-Hoc Board of the Department of Communication and Journalsim shall appoint a third referee and shall decide whether the project be accepted or not for the award of degree, after considering the reports of all the three referees. In addition, viva-voce examination of the candidate should be conducted once again by the new referee, guiding teacher and one of the members or nominee of the Ad Hoc Board for the Department of Communication and Journalism. Majority decision as to whether the thesis should be accepted or rejected shall be final. This decision shall be circulated to the members of the Ad Hoc Board for the Department of Communication and Journalism and placed before the Board of Examinations for information.

In case the two referees differ in their opinion on accepting the project prior to holding the viva-voce examination, the Ad Hoc board will appoint the third referee and shall decide whether viva-voce examination should be conducted or not depending upon two of the referees accepting or rejecting the project. If the project is accepted, two of the referees accepting the thesis for the degree will conduct viva-voce examination in accordance with the procedure outlined below.

If two of the referees reject the project, the viva-voce examination will not be conducted. The candidate may resubmit the project within one year from the date he is informed about the project being rejected. The candidate has to pay fresh tuition and examination fees. If the candidate does not submit the project within this period or if the project is rejected again, he will not be granted re-admission for the MA - ELECTRONIC MEDIA Degree course.

Provided further that the project submitted and accepted for the degree shall be given a grade:

The grade to be awarded shall be decided by the referees valuing theproject depending on the quality and the presentation and performance at the viva-voce examination. If the project is already exhibited or accepted for exhibition in a recognized international film festival, the candidate shall provide a proof of the same. Only such a candidate should be considered for A+ grade. A mention of the grade so awarded shall be made in the results of the examination.

R... The successful candidate shall be awarded the combined GPA in the final degree certificate jointly on the basis of the results of the Semester I, II and II examinations and the project submitted by her/him.

O... A project that has been rejected may be submitted again after due revision and payment of fresh tuition and examination fees. The revised project has to be submitted within two semesters after rejection.

R... The scheme of papers for Semester I, Semester II and Semester III is laid down as follows: