UPOU offers new undergraduate program

The Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS), a new baccalaureate program of the UP Open University under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), will be offered starting June 2008.

The program will cover the following areas:

• multimedia information and communication technologies

• philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of developments in the field and their social implications;

• emerging trends, protocols procedures, and their implications on practice;

• hardware operation, software development, and applications use; and

• production of multimedia knowledge products, such as interactive CDs.

Graduates of BAMS will be qualified to assume any of the following positions:

• multimedia specialist (producer or director);

• information specialist;

• information manager;

• communication specialist/manager;

• knowledge specialist/manager;

• systems analyst/programmer;

• network/database administrator;

• strategic communication specialist; and

• web developer/designer or online gaming developer

BAMS is composed of fifteen GE courses (45 units), 18 major courses (54 units), six residential multimedia production courses (18 units), five electives (15 units), PI 100 (3 units), a three-unit special topics, and a six-unit special project for a total of 144 academic units. Aside from the academic courses, the student must also complete eight units of Physical Education and six units of courses offered in the National Service Training Program. These can be also taken in other UP campuses or in a non-UP school through cross-registration, subject to UP System guidelines and UPOU approval. Students may also opt to take the Proficiency Exam for Physical Education (PEPE) in another UP campus to gain advanced credits in PE.  It is expected that a full-time/regular BAMS student can finish the program at a minimum of four years.

The Office of the University Registrar announced that admissions to the program are now ongoing. Interested individuals with any of the following qualification can enroll in the program:

1. High school graduates with five-year work experience and pass the UPOU Distance Education Readiness Test and the UPOU Undergraduate Admission Test;

2. Associate in Arts graduates of UPOU;

3. Practitioners in media and related fields with five-year work experience and pass the UPOU Distance Education Readiness Test;

4. Transferees from other UP constituent units with a GWA of 2.5 and pass the UPOU Distance Education Readiness Test;

5. Transferees from any recognized institution who have completed two years of study, or 60 units, with a GWA of 2.0 or higher and pass the UPOU Distance Education Readiness Test

For more details regarding the program, inquire at the Office of the University Registrar, UP Open University, Los Baños, Laguna with telephone numbers (049) 536 6001 to 6006 loc 102, or send email to registrar@upou.net. (Luisa A. Gelisan, OC)

Brochure (.pdf)