The official name of the Caribbean Institute of Media
and Communication at UWI Mona changed to Caribbean
School of Media and Communication, effective August 1,
2017. The popular brand name – CARIMAC –will remain the
short title for the School.
The name change was effected through a series of
approvals by the appropriate structures at UWI Mona. It
is based on a recommendation by the UWI 's quality
assurance review panel, and endorsed by internal faculty
as well as by external industry stakeholders.
The imminent change comes against the background of a
progression of institutional reforms and substantial
growth at CARIMAC over many years. There has been a
doubling of the number of both undergraduate
and graduate programmes offered at CARIMAC in the last 5
years. The student population at both the Mona and
Western Jamaica campuses has also expanded to close to
600 students.
Currently, CARIMAC offers first degrees in Integrated
Marketing Communication, Digital Media Production, Film
Production, Animation and Journalism. Masters degrees
are offered in Communications Studies, Communication for
Social and Behaviour Change, advanced Integrated
Marketing Communication and shortly, in Media
Management.
Students also wishing to pursue MPhil's and PhDs in any
aspect of Communication may do so at CARIMAC, which is
widely regarded as the Caribbean region's leading
institution for all levels of communication training,
research, teaching and production.
Established forty-three years ago in 1974, the Institute
was initially known as 'Mass Comm'. In the early 1980s,
its designation was altered from'Mass Communication'
to'Media and Communication' and it acquired the short
name CARIMAC.
Externally, the recommendation for the latest name
change was endorsed by the General Assembly of the
Caribbean Broadcasting Union and by CARIMAC's current
Advisory Board of industry leaders.