The highly-regarded Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University has announced one of the first U.S. online undergraduate degrees in mass communications, beginning with the fall 2013 semester.

“This innovative program provides a new option for students who want and need the flexibility offered by a fully online program,” says Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan in a press release. “It will enable students around the world to take advantage of the world-class education offered by the Cronkite School and ASU, giving a broad-based liberal arts education with a focus on mass communication and media studies.”

This new program will provide students with access to the school’s internationally recognized faculty, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Doig, the school’s Knight Chair in Journalism. In addition to the general education courses, ASU students in the new online program will be required to take a core class on media and society and choose from a wide range of program-specific electives, including International Mass Communication, Political Communication, Sports and Media and Visual Communication.