VISION

The vision and guiding principles of the Department of Pastoral/Communication Studies at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA) are encapsulated in the words of St. Augustine, a co-patron of CIWA (St. Thomas Aquinas is the other patron), which the Institute has adopted as its motto: Semper Agents, Semper Quietus. This represents a synthesis of action and contemplation, of study and prayer, as a general landmark of intellectual work and scholarship in a Christian context.

MISSION

To provide its students with an integral academic and professional training with physical, moral, spiritual, social, and cultural formation together with the formation of Christian religious principles and the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church.

JUSTIFICATION

The Department is a global center of communication studies and research that educates both Nigerian and international students. Its viability and relevance remain evident in the quality of the purpose-oriented academic space that it fosters, which stands it out from communication departments in other universities. The approval of this revised program repositions the Department to be more competitive nationally and globally as well as opens it up for research and networking collaborations with national and international agencies. Graduates of this program go on to respond to the ever-expanding journalism and communication needs of the Nigerian media industry and other segments of the economy or those of their respective countries.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Catholic Institute of West Africa Port Harcourt started in 1981 with three departments (biblical, pastoral and dogmatic) for the study of theology and related disciplines in the socio-cultural context of West Africa. Other departments were later added as the need arose. These include moral theology in 1986 and canon law in 1991.

In the 2003/2004 academic session, the Centre for the Study of African Culture and Communication (CESACC) was established in the Faculty of Theology of CIWA to provide a communication education with a cultural, religious and social orientation not readily available in most universities and higher institutes of learning in Nigeria and other countries of West Africa. It started with nineteen master’s students and three full-time and three part-time lecturers. The full time lecturers included Prof. Robert White, SJ (Project Director), Rev. Fr. Dr. Joseph Oladejo Faniran (Director), and Rev. Fr. Dr. Walter Ihejirika (Assistant Director). Mr. Bankole Laotan and Mr. Titus Ogunwale were part-time lecturers and Miss Esther Ogbozor, administrative secretary.

In the 2005/2006 academic session, the University of Calabar approved its MA program in Pastoral Communication. In this light, the Centre was renamed the Department of Pastoral Communication. From further interaction with the University of Calabar, it is today known as the Department of Communication Studies.

The Department admitted the first set of students for the BA program in Pastoral Communication in the 2007/2008 academic year. In its meeting of January 8, 2009, the Senate of the University of Calabar approved the BA program, subject to the National Universities Council (NUC) ratification. 

In 2016, the Governing Council of CIWA created the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, comprising the Department of Communication Studies in addition to those of Religious Studies and Philosophy. At the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year, the Council relocated the Faculty to CIWA’s Obehie Campus in Abia State.

Today, in addition to its Diploma, BA, and MA programs, the Department also runs PGD and PhD programs in Pastoral/Communication Studies. It boasts of 18 permanent members of academic staff and three part-time lecturer. These include Rev. Fr. Dr. Chijioke Azuawusiefe, SJ (Head of Department), Rev. Fr. Prof. Inaku K. Egere, Rev. Fr. Prof. Robert White, SJ, Rev. Fr. Prof. Jude A. Asanbe, Rev. Fr. Dr. Cosmas Ebebe, Rev. Sr. Dr. Elizabeth Aduloju, SSMA, Rev. Fr. Dr. Evaristus Nnamene, Rev. Fr. Dr. Amos Okhueleigbe, and Rev. Sr. Maureen Dike, DCPB.

Former lecturers in the Department include Most Rev. Prof. Gerard Musa (Bishop of Kastina Diocese), late Rt. Rev. Msgr. Prof. Joseph Oládèjo Fáníran, Rev. Fr. Prof. Walter Ihejirika, Rev. Fr. Prof. Innocent Uwah, Rev. Sr. Prof. Teresa Okure, SHCJ, Rev. Fr. Prof. Anozie Onyema, and late Rev. Fr. Prof. John Gangwuari. 

HEADSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Prof. Joseph Oládèjo Fáníran                                                2003 – 2016

Rev. Fr. Prof. Inaku K. Egere                                                                         2016 – 2022

Most Rev. Prof. Gerard M. Musa                                                                   2022 – 2023 

Rev. Fr. Dr. Evaristus C. Nnamene                                                               2023 – 2024 

Rev. Fr. Dr. Chijioke Azuawusiefe, SJ                                                           2024 till date

PHILOSOPHY OF THE PROGRAMME

The Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies is designed to prepare persons wishing to pursue academic, professional, and research careers in the professional world of communication (mass media, public relations, advertising, media studies, etc.), with an orientation of public service and from a Christian and African perspective.

The communication-related activities of pastoral action include the diocesan offices of communication; religious radio, television, and newspaper or other forms of print journalism; websites, online, and social media; religious education and the use of audiovisuals for catechesis; teaching critical appreciation of the media in primary and secondary schools; working in the activities of Justice, Development and Peace, in rural development, and in other specialized areas of ministry like the youth, family, human, and social development of women.

The world of professional communication, on the other hand, covers journalists engaged in radio, television, video, newspaper, or other print media or online journalism; specialists in communication and development, especially rural development, communication for peace management, youth and family ministries as well as women studies. 

OBJECTIVES

1.         To prepare graduates who are able to recognize and analyze the pastoral and social communication problems of their institutions, design a combination of communication and media strategies that will provide effective solutions to these problems, and present a plan of action that meets the expectations of the authorities and the personnel of the institution.

2.         To train graduates who are imbued with the Church’s understanding of communication and are well grounded in the science of communication, with particular reference to the African vision of the Church and how to apply this in the concrete life situations of the people.

3.         To prepare candidates for further studies in the Church and communication-related fields.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1.         The admission requirements into the undergraduate program are as follows: Applicants for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies program must have five credits, including English language and literature in English, in the WASC/GCE/NECO/NABTEC or SSCE examinations in one sitting; or six credits and above, including English language, mathematics, and literature in English, in not more than two sittings of WASC/GCE/NECO/SSCE or NABTEC examinations.

2.         Direct Entry: An applicant with a diploma in communication studies, Christian religious studies, or an NCE (religious major or any related discipline) from a recognized institution may be allowed to complete the programme in three years instead of four.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE 

The program structure includes periods of formal studies within the Institute, an Industrial Training, as well as planned visits and a project. The period of formal studies for all students in the Department is four (4) years. For each session, there are two semesters: First Semester and Second Semester. Each Semester is made up of between thirteen (13) and fourteen (14) weeks.

In each of the semesters, continuous assessment of the students are carried out by lecturers and two weeks to the end of each semester, examinations are administered to them. In the fourth year of the program, each student at that level is required to carry out a research tagged Research Project. The students during this time are assigned supervisors who give them the necessary academic advice and guidelines to enable them produce quality work and excel.