Communication Studies Major Program
The communication studies major involves students in critical inquiry and informed practice. Because communication pervades all human enterprise, communication professionals have a special responsibility to create and analyze messages with critical attention to the processes that shape them, the information that supports them, the arguments they make, and the effects they produce. Communication is central to our personal and social lives, enables us to participate meaningfully in civic life, and is valued highly by employers. Whether the messages are verbal or nonverbal, face-to- face or mediated, private or public, as a communication studies student you will be challenged to create, describe, analyze, explain, and evaluate them as a knowledgeable communicator. Your goal will be to understand:
- the character of communication interaction processes,
- the interaction of diversity and communication,
- the impact of communication once enacted,
- what constitutes effective communication in different contexts,
and
- how to develop your own communicative competence.
The communication studies major is composed of several required core courses and additional courses chosen in conjunction with the program advisor. Students choose additional courses depending upon their individual interests and the direction they wish to pursue in the field. The tracks indicated below are intended to direct students into the coursework that will be most beneficial to them, given their academic and career interests.
The core communication studies major is appropriate for students pursuing a general liberal arts degree who desire a flexible preparation applicable to many contexts. It is a strong major for those who intend to go to law school, who want to go into teaching (particularly elementary education), and who are interested in sales, management training, social work, broadcasting, journalism, public relations, advertising, media analysis, graduate school in communication studies and related areas, and other careers.
For those with specialized interests, we have identified courses to support a media production emphasis, a journalism emphasis, and an emphasis in communication in organizational contexts.
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