Communication is integral to development programmes. At a time when ideas about freedom of expression, democracy, human rights, governance, and access to natural and material resources guide development projects across the world, the role of media and communication for social change becomes ever more pertinent. The Department of Communication and Development Studies provides its students with an interdisciplinary approach and framework to the study of communications and their relationship to culture and society, with an emphasis on media processes, technologies, industries, and institutions that support community and national development endeavours. It fosters understanding and critical assessment of the role of communication for and in development projects. The programme blends theory and practice to prepare students for advanced studies or careers in communication and development, all within the context of a rigorous liberal arts education. In the short term, the Communication and Development programme is domiciled in the Faculty of Arts. In the mid-to-long term, the programme is expected to grow into a fully-fledged School of Communication and Development offering a range of degrees from the Bachelor of Science to a PhD, as well as diplomas in short term professional courses. The practice of professional communication in development requires a wide range of competencies including but not limited to the following: • competencies of general knowledge and intellectual ability. • professional techniques of research, writing (and other forms of presentation), editing, design and production. • use communication tools and to adapt to new technologies and innovative practices. • professional understandings, including ethics. • knowledge of communication’s role in society; and • Knowledge of best practices in communication. MISSION AND VISION The raison d’être of the Communication and Development Studies Programme (CADS) is to serve as a nationally and regionally relevant academic institution that promote sustainable development using communication as a catalyst for attaining the goals of empowerment, equity, entrepreneurship, and environmentalism in the pursuit of development. Development is herein taken to encompass efforts for advocating forms of participation, policy initiatives and training activities in media and communications sectors in different geographical regions. VALUES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES Communication and Development place a premium on empowerment, equity, and entrepreneurship, as operationalized below. • Empowerment: Facilitating the use of the communications community and individual problem-solving and decision-making, raising social and political consciousness, and mobilizing people towards critical action. • Equity: Boosting people's access to information and technology and hastening the redistribution of resources to the poor through communications. • Entrepreneurship: Promoting entrepreneurial spirit and communicating strategic information for development. Communication Development Studies/Career prospects • The experience of the past decades has demonstrated the crucial importance of communication in the field of development. Studies in Communication and Development stress the use of communication to promote and support positive social development. The curriculum includes interdisciplinary perspectives on national development, area studies, and training in applied research methods. The Communication and Development Studies programme seeks to contribute to UBa’s excellence in the fields of communication and development studies to the university's commitment to service to the community. Career prospects • A degree in communication and development studies cover a broad range of subjects from the highly practical to the theoretical and opens several career vistas in national, regional and municipal as well as international, national non-government or non-profit organisations as communicators, development consultants, project coordinators/managers, international aid/development workers, community development workers, health communicators, reporters, programme planning/monitoring specialists, etc. Academic Programmes In the short term, the Communication and Development programme will be domiciled in the Faculty of Arts. In the mid-to-long term, the programme is expected to grow into a fully-fledged School of Communication and Development offering a range of degrees from the Bachelor of Science to a Ph.D., as was well as diplomas in short term professional courses.
