Department of Media

Introduction:

The most significant features of the Department of Media in the College of Social Sciences in Umm Al-Qura University are represented in some facts and figures. We would like to shed light on these features as follows:

Firstly: This Department has the honor of being founded in Holy Makkah, Mother of Cities. Makkah is where the revelation started and where the first beam of goodness shone. From Makkah Islam spread to the rest of the world and all people knew what is good for them in this life and Hereafter.  

Secondly: The discussion of Academic issues in this Department is noted for including criticism, analysis and defending the verified Islamic creed.

Thirdly: Curricula are comprehensive and balanced among all subclasses.

Fourthly: The syllabus is in line with the media policy that has been announced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as agreed upon by the cabinet decision no. 169 on 20/10/1402 A.H.

According to the Decision:

First Article: All Saudi media productions shall adhere to the principles of Islam, follow the creed of our ancestors and avoid material that goes against the Shari'ah (Islamic Religious Law).

Second Article: The Saudi media shall oppose destructive views, atheistic tendencies, materialistic philosophies and the attempts at drawing Muslims away from their faith. It shall expose those false views and explain the danger it poses on individuals and societies. Moreover, it shall withstand media hardships in line with the general state policy.

Third Article: The media is committed to social work by consolidating the precious values of Islam, establishing the noble Arab traditions, retaining its benevolent customs and resisting any attempts of distorting Islam. The media is also concerned with boosting development and cooperation with the concerned establishments in this field.

The Department of Media applies this policy according to a carefully thought out plan which aims at training students, preparing well-cultured energetic ones and caring for young talented students. It is also devoted to enhancing the media productions in all fields and asserting that the media calls Muslims as well as non-Muslims to Allah.  

Fifthly- The Department of Media is committed to selecting students that are capable of carrying out the role of the media. Hence, students are only admitted to the Department after sitting for a written and an oral exam to decide whether a student is readily able to understand the message of the media. Furthermore, students that have obtained a "Very Good" grade in their secondary certificate are admitted to the Department.

Sixthly- The Department connects with the religious and media organizations such as The Islamic World Organization and awareness offices that belong to scientific research administrations, Iftaa', Da'wa and guidance, particularly The Awareness Office and The Radio and Television of Holy Makkah, The Radio and Television in Jeddah in addition to administrations of various newspapers and media establishments. The purpose of the Department is to reinforce the role of the media, intensify its efforts and increase its effectiveness in different work fields.

Seventhly- More students have applied to the Department of Media; from the academic year 1401/1402 A.H, the first year of study, until the year 1406/1407 A.H, the number of students in the Department ranged from 111 to 354. As from the first semester of the academic year 1426/1427 A.H, female students have been admitted to the Department for the first time in the history of the Kingdom.

The distinctive features of the Department of Media curricula:

The Department was founded in The College of Da'wa and Usul-ud-Din and has remained unchanged until the year 1421 A.H, when it was transferred to The College of Social Sciences following the example of the media departments in the universities of the kingdom and the world.

After the transference of the Department has been approved, the staff of the College of Social Sciences began specifying the curricula in accordance with comprehensive research that benefit from the media departments in various universities. The curricula had to have features that distinguish it from other curricula.

In order to achieve this, the curricula of the media departments in Saudi and Arab Universities have been reviewed.

In light of the results of this close study and as the Department examines the means to improvement, the syllabus and curricula have been specified to achieve the aims of establishing this department based on the objectives of The University of Umm Al-Qura.

Quick overview of the subjects in the Department of Media:

When the syllabus was specified, the Department ensured that it provides students with sufficient media subjects, which is considered the basis for the media worker.

Furthermore, the Department took into consideration that students must learn the most recent subjects in the specialized media career branches and the media methods. The Department develops the subjects along the lines of media today and maintains the Islamic perspective. To clarify, we must take a close look at the media subjects that are taught in the Department; they are grouped into:

First Group: General media subjects taught to students in all subclasses.

Second Group: Specialized media subjects that vary from subclass to another.