Communication Studies Major - Communication Studies

Communication Studies meets the shifting demands of the workplace and the world.

The Communication Studies concentration in the major focuses on building the essential career competencies that employers want. Study after study finds that across industries employers want to hire college graduates who can listen to clients and customers, lead and manage teams, and connect with both expert and non-expert audiences.

Our graduates have found success after graduation in a variety of fields: law school, pharmaceutical sales, university admissions, and graduate school for counseling, just to name a few.

Our goal is to prepare students with the skills of learders who stand out as professinally agile, socially skilled, and critically reflective by:

- Providing - the professional skills necessary to meet the changing needs of a variety of job fields
- Equipping - them to partner with and work across divers communities and populations
- Advocating - on behalf of personal needs and social justice
- Improving - students' competence in personal and public communication

Communication Studies Major Requirements:

36 credits dispersed across the following categories:

Core Requirements: 15 Credits
Core: (take all three - 9 credits)
- COMM 2330 - Communication Theory
- COMM 2090 - Interpersonal Communication
- COMM 4346 - Business and Professional Communication
Primary Skills Elective (choose at least one - 3 credits)
- COMM 2025 - Fundamentals of Communication
- COMM 2045 - Public Speaking
- COMM 2055 - Argumentation and Debate
Professional Development Elective (choose at least one - 3 credits)
- COMM 2700 - Professional Communication & Technology
- COMM 3045 - Advanced Public Speaking
- COMM 3380 - Communicating in Groups
- COMM 3346 - Speaking for Social Change
- COMM 4350 - Organizational Communication
Concentration Requirements: 9 Credits
Communication & Culture Elective (choose at least one - 3 credits)
- COMM 4200 - Gender and Communication
- COMM 4317 - Rhetoric of Diversity & Identity
- COMM 4327 - Popular Communication
- COMM 4356 - Intercultural Communication
Communication Research Elective (choose at least one - 3 credits)
- COMM 3300 - Qualitative Communication Research
- COMM 3330 - Quantitative Communication Research
- COMM 3340 - Rhetorical Criticism
Communication in Relationships (choose at least one - 3 credits)
- COMM 3350 - Relational Communication
- COMM 4210 - Family Communication
- COMM 4450 - Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication
Communication Electives: 12 Credits
(minimum of six at the 3/4000 level) (Includes any courses listed in an elective block [above] after taking the required course for the block)
- COMM 2325 - Speech and Debate Team (1-3)
- COMM 3390 - Persuasion
- COMM 4018 - Honors Thesis (3-6)
- COMM 4366 - Communication Ethics
- COMM 4377 - Health Communication
- COMM 4380 - Communication Studies Internship
- COMM 4900 - Independent Studies (1-3)
- COMM 4957 - Special Topics (1-6)