WAYNE – Earlier this month Wayne State College released information about their newly created Agriculture Communication and Leadership Concentration program.
Within agriculture comes the skill sets needed to advocate for a field that provides approximately one in three jobs across Nebraska.
According to a press release from WSC, the program will tap a growing profession that brings together agricultural, food and life sciences with a practical understanding of all forms of marketing as well as public relations communication. Wayne State College will be the only institution in Nebraska to offer a concentration in Agricultural Communication through the Communication Arts Department.
The Agricultural Communication and Leadership Concentration will be included under the Mass Communication Major. The concentration will include the Mass Communication Core Courses (15 credit hours) plus 21 credit hours in radio and video production courses, public relations, social media marketing, organizational leadership, intercultural communication and agricultural communication. In addition, students may choose a 48-hour concentration by choosing 12 more hours of elective credit from areas such as public relations writing, advertising copywriting, electronic journalism and other communications areas.
This concentration will provide students an opportunity to apply their communication skills in yet another area of employment that is particularly relevant to our state. Internships are readily available for communication students to serve on agricultural boards, associations and councils. The program of study in Agricultural Communication and Leadership would pair well with other programs of study at Wayne State College. For example, students could be encouraged to minor in biology choosing 21 hours of courses that might include zoology, environmental studies, conservation biology, Great Plains flora, experimental plant science, ecology and wildlife management.
By studying Agricultural Communication and Leadership, students will learn the complexity of communicating the science of agriculture in our media-rich world through writing, photography, video and radio production. As such, students will learn how to promote an ag business, popularize a new agricultural method, and/or advocate for issues embedded in this industry, which addresses the workforce needs of business and industry and makes Wayne State College students more marketable upon graduation.
Learn more about the Communication Arts Department at https://www.wsc.edu/commarts.
