Audio-visual communication degree conversion to the European Higher Education Area system in Catalonia

Spain is currently adapting its existing university system to European Higher Education Area guidelines for the 20092010 academic year. Against this background, we analyzed the development and transformation of the audio-visual communication degree currently offered in Catalan universities, consisting of a hybrid of theoretical and practical knowledge applied in the audio-visual field. We describe research results based on the following data: audio-visual curricular content for eight Catalan universities, nine in-depth interviews conducted with heads of audio-visual communication studies and a survey of 111 companies regarding labour market performance of audio-visual communication students on work experience programmes. On the basis of the results of our study we propose a solution to the problem of adapting audio-visual communication degrees to the European Higher Education Area system, based on developing specialisation pathways for different job roles, media platforms and genres. The pathway option equips the degree with professional specificity and enables flexible curricula to be developed in accordance with the capacities of individual universities and the demands of the private sector. The study also highlights the lack of definition in the job roles of audio-visual communication graduates and the difficulties in establishing differential skills for this course of studies.