Communication Arts @ UIW

Welcome to the

Communication Arts Department

Dr. Steve Liu, Professor, meets with a student during the Communication Arts Advising Day. This is a day for students to meet with their academic advisor to prepare for their upcoming semester and seek guidance.

Interview — Dr. Trey Guinn, Communication Arts Program Director, is performing a mock-interview with one of his students. Dr. Guinn’s teaching, research, and professional work is focused primarily on communication effectiveness and human relationships. To learn more about the Communication Arts degree plans, see below.

The Communication Arts program at UIW uses a unique blend of theory-driven and experienced-based classes where students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary. Communication Arts offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Arts (MA) as well as an accelerated bachelor’s to master’s degree program. With seemingly infinite career opportunities, graduates work as writers, producers, directors, editors, public relations specialists, videographers, filmmakers, broadcast journalists, advertising specialists, event planners, social media specialists, teachers, web specialists, bilingual journalists, convergent media specialists, among others. The goals of the program are to cultivate students’ imagination and creativity through mastery of technical skills needed to become effective professionals in the field of communications; to create an environment fostering the exploration of diverse perspectives and encourages students to use their skills and resources to serve their community and society, so that they are prepared to participate confidently, ethically, and competently as concerned and enlightened citizens.

The SPRING semester begins:
January 9, 2023

Communication Arts combines theory and hands-on classes working towards a bachelor’s degree in one of three concentrations: Media Studies, Multimedia (select a track to pursue: Production, Journalism, or Creative Publishing), and Strategic and Corporate Communication. The program also offers a master’s degree. The program seeks to cultivate a student’s imagination and creativity through mastery of the technical skills needed to become effective professionals, to create an environment that fosters the exploration of diverse perspectives and to encourage students to use skills and resources to serve society.

Want to learn more? Contact us!

The Communication Arts Department wants to hear from you.

If you experience any issues with this form, please call the office at (210) 283-5044.

degrees we offer

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts

Our program is a unique blend of theory-driven and experienced-based classes where students acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in infinite career opportunities. Many of our students go on to work as writers, producers, directors, editors, public relations specialists, videographers, filmmakers, broadcast journalists, on-screen talent, event planners, social media specialists, teachers, web specialists, bilingual journalists, among others.

Undergraduate Degree Plans

Film

Film Degree Plan

Media & Culture

Multimedia

Strategic & Corporate Communication

ABM Degree Plans

ABM

Master of Arts in Communication Arts

Students in our graduate program complete four core courses, as well as a sequence of elective courses that are designed around individual student’s intellectual and professional goals. As a culminating project, students opt to complete either a capstone project or master’s thesis. Our graduate students gain knowledge and skills to become professional communicators, enter the media industry, and some even go on to teach at the secondary or college level.

Graduate Degree Plans

Master of Arts

Master of Arts Degree Plan

Meet the Faculty

Dr. Trey Guinn | Associate Professor & Program Director
Dr. Guinn is Associate Professor and Program Director of Communication Arts. His teaching, research, and professional work is primarily focused on enhancing presentational effectiveness and human relationships. His work has been published in numerous journals, including: Communication Quarterly, Communication Research, Health Communication, Personal Relationships, and more. His recently published books are Adventures in Adulting and Enhancing Presentational Effectiveness. Guinn is president of the San Antonio Fulbright Association and an active board member for the national organization. He writes for and serves on the editorial board of The Department Chair.
Dr. Raymond Blanton | Assistant Professor
His research interests include the mythology of the road in twentieth-century American culture, the Delta blues, the American civil rights movement and the parabolic discourse of Martin Luther King, Jr., working class experience, millennial culture, loyalty and leadership, public memory, and the cinema. He has been recognized with a Top Paper award for research as well as numerous teaching awards.
Dr. Darlene Carbajal | Assistant Professor
Dr. Darlene Carbajal is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Arts Department at the University of the Incarnate Word. She teaches courses in the multimedia concentration where she facilitates creative collaboration among students. Her research interests include learning about the role of spirituality in higher education and about the pedagogical and mentoring approaches that faculty use to facilitate the spiritual development of students. Dr. Carbajal’s teaching methods include helping students make connections between their interest in communications to their role and responsibility to enhance human connectedness. Dr. Carbajal has ten years of teaching experience in K-12 public education. Her personal interests include searching for new ways to engage in contemplative practices, going on staycations with her boyfriend, and going to rock concerts with family. Dr. Carbajal is a proud El Paso, Texas native.
Dr. Dora Fitzgerald | Associate Professor
Dora Fitzgerald teaches film study in the Communication Arts department. Fitzgerald earned a B.A. degree in Art History from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a Master of Fine Arts in Film (History, Theory, Criticism) from Columbia University in the City of New York. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Culture, Literacy and Language with a Film dissertation. Her scholarly interests include Film language, construction and grammar, International Cinema, and the representation of underrepresented and minority groups in media.
Dr. Hsin-I (Steve) Liu | Professor
Hsin-I’s research interests are critical cultural/media studies, philosophy of communication and social theories. He has made conference presentations at Academia Sinica, the Association for Cultural Studies, Beijing Forum, International Association for Media and Communication Research, International Communication Association, International Congress for Aesthetics, International Symposium on Bilingualism, National Communication Association, World Congress of Philosophy, and other national and international conferences.
Michael Mercer | Senior Instructor
A native of Jackson, Tennessee, began his professional career in 1974 with The Jackson Sun, a daily newspaper, and remained there until 1994, serving in a variety of roles during that tenure including reporter, copy editor, assistant news editor, assistant city editor, reader services editor and a columnist.
Theresa Coronado | Instructor/Advisor
Theresa Coronado is an award-winning producer and director with over 15 years of video production experience. She serves as the faculty advisor for UIWtv, (internet television station), and KUIW, the internet radio station. Theresa has produced local and national television segments including PBS' investigative journalism series, Frontline. Her students impact her life and she strives to impact theirs.
Dr. Zazil Reyes García | Associate Professor
As a native Yucatecan living in Texas, Dr. Zazil Reyes García recognizes the importance of working across borders and cultures. Her research interests are broadly located at the intersection of Latina/o/x studies, women’s and gender studies, and media and popular culture. Dr. Reyes García’s work in political cartoons and visual rhetoric has been featured in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Communication and in the edited volumes Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, and Latina/o/x Communication Studies: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Her research has received several Top Paper awards at the National Communication Association (NCA) Convention. Before joining UIW, Dr. Reyes García taught Spanish at UT-Austin, and communication courses at Tec de Monterrey in Guadalajara, Mexico.