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Communication Program Requirements

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Faculty

  • Matt Baker
  • Erin Coleman Serrano
  • Christine Seifert
  • Tamara Stevenson
  • Kim Zarkin (Chair)

View Communication Courses

Program Goals

  • To develop writing and editing skills applicable to various communication professions.
  • To learn basic layout and design principles and to use a broad range of industry-standard software applications in applying those principles to the production of quality communication pieces for print and electronic media.
  • To learn to effectively present skills, interests, accomplishments, and abilities to audiences, including prospective employers or clients.
  • To demonstrate appropriate attitudes, skills, and techniques essential to working in a team as a member and a leader.
  • To analyze and evaluate the historical, legal, and ethical contexts within which communication professionals operate.

Objectives

The Communication program offers an academic major leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as an academic minor. The Communication program teaches students theoretical principles and practical skills in the context of humanistic inquiry.

Working with electronic and traditional media, students acquire skills needed for careers in corporate and government communication, nonprofit organizations, public affairs, advertising, public relations, technical writing, and journalism, as well as for graduate studies. By selecting courses across the entire communication curriculum, students can develop a program that has breadth, while students who are interested in a more focused major may wish to choose classes from one of the suggested concentrations that follow.

Program Requirements

Students must maintain a minimum 2.3 GPA in all courses required for the Communication major.

Students must meet the university-wide graduation requirements in addition to the Communication major:

  • 124 total hours
  • 30 upper division hours
  • WCore or Honors College requirements

Communication Major

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. World Language Requirement 8  
Communication majors must complete eight credit hours in a single world language.  
II. Lower Division Courses 20  
COMM 101 Disinformation in the USA 4  
COMM 210 Media Writing I 4  
COMM 211 Media Writing II 4 COMM 210
COMM 240 Media and Society 4  
COMM 250 Introduction to Human Communication 4  
III. Upper Division Courses 32  
COMM 302 Forum Student Media 4 COMM 211
COMM 310 Business and Professional Communication 4  
COMM 350 Leadership & Decision Making 4  
COMM 370 Design Foundations 4  
COMM 371 Multimedia Tools and Production 4 COMM 370
COMM 372 Design and the User Experience 4 COMM 371
COMM 425 Communication Law and Ethics 4 Junior Status
COMM 440 Internship* 2 Junior Status
COMM 490 Portfolio Workshop 2 Senior Status
IV. Electives 12  
Complete twelve hours of coursework from the following courses:
ART 320 Digital Imaging 4 ART 180
ART 322 Digital Drawing 4 ART 106
ART 380 Advanced Photography 4 ART 320 or ART 379
COMM 300 Special Topics in Communication 1-4  
COMM 325 Designing Dynamic Images 4  
COMM 326 Introduction to Web Writing and Design 4  
COMM 336 Principles of Public Relations 4  
COMM 345 Video Production 4  
COMM 360 Race, Gender, Class and the Media 4  
COMM 365 Intercultural & Global Communication 4  
COMM 380 Communication & Nonprofit Organizations 4  
COMM 440 Internship* 1-6 Junior Status
Any 300-level FILM course   1-4  
LMW 300E Fiction and Nonfiction Narratives 4 Instructor Permission
LMW 375 Lit in MS, Print & New Media 4  
MKTG 300 Principles of Marketing 3 BUSI 101 or Instructor Permission
MKTG 303 Professional Selling 4 MKTG 300 or Instructor Permission
MKTG 428 Advertising 4 MKTG 303 or Instructor Permission
NOTE: Students may only count four credits from Special Topics classes toward their communication electives.
Total Hours for the Communication Major 72  

* If a student is a double major where both majors require an internship, a single internship may count towards both majors, contingent on faculty approval.

Recommended Plan of Study for Communication

Fall Semester Spring Semester
Year 1 COMM 101
COMM 210		 COMM 211
Year 2 COMM 250 COMM 240
COMM 370
Year 3 COMM 302
COMM 371
Elective		 COMM 350
COMM 372
Elective
Year 4 COMM 310
COMM 425
Elective		 COMM 440
COMM 490
Elective

Communication Minor

Requirement Description Credit Hours Prerequisites
I. Required Courses: Pick 3 12  
COMM 101 Disinformation in the USA 4  
COMM 210 Media Writing I 4  
COMM 240 Media and Society 4  
COMM 250 Introduction to Human Communication 4  
II. Elective Courses 12  
Choose any twelve credit hours of upper division Communication courses    
Total Hours for the Communications Minor 24