Programs in digital communication and media prepare people to publish information using computer technologies. Students learn how to develop, use, and manage digital media. They study emerging trends and issues in communications.

Do you want to read the latest news? Turn on your computer and surf the Internet. Do you want to send your best friend photos of your wedding? Use the Internet. Do you want to find a recipe for a quick dinner, get a doctor's advice on your stomach ache, or listen to your favorite politician's most recent speech? All, of course, are available through the Internet. And all are accessed through digital communication.

Digital media uses microchips for speed in transmission. Thus, digital media may refer to all forms of traditional communication and media that use digital processes. It popularly refers to Internet journalism, embracing all aspects of technical production and principles of journalism and media studies.

This program includes multimedia and digital photography, all forms of Internet publishing, digitally driven animation, television broadcasting, videotape production, and electronic newspapers and magazines. Programs in digital communication and media overlap with programs in mass communication, telecommunications, and journalism.

With a degree in this field, you can work for all the traditional communication organizations - newspapers, TV stations, public relations firms, and businesses and nonprofits. Because of the prevalence of the Internet, most employers need people to produce both traditional, published forms of communication as well as digital and online forms.

Several colleges and universities offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in journalism and mass communications. Most two-year colleges offer the first two years in journalism or mass communications. Students can often transfer these credits to a four-year school. Master's degrees typically take five or six years of full-time study after high school. Doctoral degree programs typically take three to five years after the master's degree. Most people with doctorate degrees become professors.

Depending on your school, you may be able to focus your studies on digital design, media criticism, or technical production.