NEW DELHI - Considering the growing attraction among youngsters for the media, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is offering a variety of media-related courses in face-to-face mode from the current academic session.

The university, which has always fascinated students for the wide range of courses that are available, is especially looking forward to students who have some media experience, as the course material has been developed with inputs from many international universities renowned for their communication departments.

Compared to the other universities, IGNOU has kept the course fees much lower (except for courses that are in collaboration with Maya Academy) considering university’s social development goal.

The IGNOU programs on offer include Ph.D in Journalism and Mass Communication, M.A. (Journalism and Mass Communication), M.A (Electronic media production and Management), B.A. (3D Animation and Visual effects), Diploma in Computer Generated Imagery, Certificate Programme in Digital Film Making, PG Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication, Post Graduate Diploma in Audio Programme Production, Post Graduate Diploma in Radio Prasaran and a Certificate Programme In Community Radio.

IGNOU has considerably expanded its activities in its last academic year.

From 170 academic programmes; all in the open learning system, the university now offers around 310 programmes a number of which are also in the face-to-face system of learning.

These programmes range from academic to professional, vocational to awareness generating and also non-accredited extension and skill-oriented programmes that offer students many options-Short term certificates, year long programmes leading to diploma and degrees (bachelors, masters, and doctoral).

Programmes have been designed to meet academic and employment needs of those who wish to study while pursuing other activities and professions or are not in a position to attend regular classes.

The recent introduction of face-to-face teaching in the campus or in collaboration with well-known private professional institutes is yet another step forward to making IGNOU courses available to a wider section of students.

With the present academic year, 10 new schools come into operation in IGNOU, all focussed on professional courses like media studies, tourism, sustainable development, vocational studies…each school offers a bouquet of short and long term courses that are essentially intended to enable a student acquire professional expertise and interaction with the relevant industry. The School of Journalism and New Media Studies (SJNMS) is one of them.

The School of Journalism and New Media Studies (SOJNMS) in IGNOU is the first post-graduate institution in the country, offering the entire range of media professional courses-from print to electronic media studies, technical education in animation and new media, and media production and management course.

The programmes on offer from the school collectively represent the requirements of the present-day market place and the academia.

The School of Journalism and New Media also offers from this academic year select courses in the face-to-face system. The courses on Animation Studies are on offer in Delhi and Mumbai in collaboration with the Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics.

The M.A. in Electronic Media -Production and Management and the M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication will be on offer in the face-to-face system from the IGNOU Campus.

The IGNOU Electronic Media Production Centre, which also runs the Gyan Vani educational radio channel and Gyan Darshan television channel, will be the practical hub for these programmes.

The courses are also likely to offer students opportunities for internship at well-known media houses during the course.

Most of the academic programmes of SJNMS also offer exist points for students who wish to discontinue and option to switch between distance learning and face-to-face systems so that the student can pursue the programmes while being engaged in other activities or profession.

The last date for the issue of admission forms is June 20. (ANI)