What is DMC?

Always know what you're getting. That's the advice that is closely followed by everyone.
Nobody likes to get something and then realise that it is not what they wanted.

 This is especially true when it comes to our education. So who better to ask about the Diploma in Media and Communication course than our very own lecturer Ms Trudy Lim? Before joining the School of Communication, Arts and Social Sciences, Ms Trudy has been working as a journalist in the New Paper.
Now, she is known as a caring lecturer who always ensures that her students are doing well in school and will not hesitate to offer advice.


Q: So Ms Trudy, Why is our course called ‘Media and Communication’ and not ‘Mass Communication’?

While I'm not quite sure where the term had its origins, I know that we don't just consider ourselves as a Mass Communication Course. Mass communication generally refers to the traditional media such as TV, newspapers and radio, wheras our course goes beyond that. We go into digital media, social media, and the disciplines of advertising, public relations and events management. While mass communication courses touch on these areas, our course is broader-based because we focus a lot more on all the different areas, rather than specifically TV, radio and newspaper. Our target is to expose them to all the different areas. Yes you can have a career in TV or radio. Yes, you can have a career in PR or advertising. But first you need to know what it's all about and we want to expose our students to what we call 360 degree communication, which is how all the areas work together.


Q: So, in DMC we offer 360 degrees communication (which integrates all the different aspects of PR, Advertising, Events Management, etc. together), and expose students to all these different areas. But, what if a student comes in only wanting to learn about a certain area, like journalism? Would he be forced to learn other things as well?

I prefer to look at it as the student getting exposed to things he hasn't been exposed to before and he may like it, and find a new passion. I think students who have a closed mind, a narrow view, will suffer in this course. Being able to learn what you enjoy, and being exposed to other areas that you may enjoy, I think that is the advantage of education. The point of education is to expose you to new things and open up your mind - not allow you to have a closed mind to new things.

Q: Do you feel that there are common traits DMC students share?

Yes, let me put it this way: we are looking for a certain type of student when we open up our doors to applicants. The type of student who would excel at this course would be a student who is vocal, very willing to speak up and very willing to write. They have strong views, are creative, willing to step out of their comfort zone, willing to step out and try new things.

Q: What kind of careers have graduates actually gone on to undertake?

 Generally, we'll be looking at the communications industry, which is very wide anyway. We have graduates in the field of public relations and advertising. You could also go into journalism, corporate communication, and events management. But we also had students who go into areas that are less directly related. Some go into teaching and social work. In fact, one of our graduates is in the Family Service Centre doing outreach for programs to families. There are other bits and pieces as well. From here you can go on to the faculty of arts and social sciences to study, say, social work or history or political science or any number of courses. We also have students who study business and end up more on the business side of the fence, so to speak. But a large majority would be in communication related industries. That means the production side or writing side or accounts management for PR, or advertising or other communication-based agencies.

Q: What are some of the internships that DMC students can look forward to?

Okay, first of all we have two ways that you can get an internship. One way is to look for a company that you really want to work for and apply directly, and then let us know and we will facilitate the necessary paperwork. Another way would be for you to let us assign the internships. So you fill in your preferences in a form (and we have a lot of large companies that come to us with a list of interns that they require) and then we do a matching. So we have interns at SPH, MediaCorp, at top PR companies like Edelmen, Hill and Knowlton, as well as at top advertising companies at Ogilvy and Mather, BBDH, and others. We also have interns at large companies doing corporate communications such as advertising or public relations. These companies actually include Capital Land and DBS bank. Far East organization has also accepted our students before. So, there is a very wide range of options available for our internships.

 Q: Which universities can DMC graduates study at, to further their studies?

Students who graduate from DMC can go on to local or overseas universities. The Diploma in Media and Communication course has been around for 13 years, so we have quite a lot of graduates. In terms of local universities, SMU, NUS and NTU do take in our students.

Q: Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to students who are thinking about joining DMC, but are sitting on the fence?

I would say you need to know yourself. You need to know if you have an ability to communicate and a desire to communicate. This course is basically about communication. But if you do have a passion for communication, and you want to learn as much as you can about all the different areas, we are definitely the best choice. That wraps up our interview with our very own lecturer Ms Trudy.

So if you do have a passion for communication, then all of us here at Singapore Polytechnic’s Diploma in Media and Commuication would hope to see you studying here with us soon!

 If you would like to know more about our course, please do follow our DMC twitter @CassyDMC or like our facebook page at www.facebook.com/spmediacomm.

Until then, see you!