COMMUNICATION

Program Advisor: Dr. Clifford Bieberly, Dr. Pam Estell, Tom Galli, Dr. Eva Washburn-Repollo
Mass Communication Sequence Advisors: Dr. Clifford Bieberly
Marketing Communication Sequence Advisors: Dr. Clifford Bieberly, Dr. Pam Estell

Communication Department offers a well-balanced, multifaceted, liberal arts-based curriculum to help students achieve their personal and professional goals. The department’s mission is to prepare students to be effective in social, cultural, and interpersonal settings as well as for work in media professions or for further study. Service-Learning opportunities are built into the communication curriculum, giving students multiple opportunities to apply classroom topics to real-world situations. This includes structured means for reflection on the service experience while helping foster civic and corporate responsibility. Two areas of focus are offered: mass media (broadcasting or print journalism) and integrated marketing (advertising and public relations).

• Majors can finish the program with internships and participation in a communication practicum.

Requirements

Program Prerequisites

Prerequisites for declaring a major or minor in communication are EN 101, COM 101, and COM 190. Additionally, faculty will conduct entrance interviews with each student and give guidance for program planning given the student’s career interests.

Pre-major Requirements

Pre-major requirements must be fulfilled with grades of “C” or better. Moreover, majors must submit to the program advisor a portfolio of their work in the major to petition for graduation.

Major Requirements

A total of at least 40 semester hours in upper-division coursework is required for communication majors. The following are required courses in the major.

In addition, students add focused competencies in Integrated Marketing or Mass Media by taking the following courses:

Mass Media (Broadcast and Journalism)

Integrated Marketing Communication

Communication minor requirements: 12 semester hours of upper-division courses as directed by the faculty advisor.

Academic Advising for Post-Baccalaureate Work or Study

Students will be advised to take various courses to fulfill the remaining upper-division credits required for graduation, depending on their interests and plans after earning their bachelor’s degree. They may take other communication courses not included in their concentration, or opt to declare a minor in another discipline of their choice.

Students planning to attend graduate school for thesis/dissertation-type post-baccalaureate studies are advised to take the following courses to be introduced to research methodologies and theories related to communication:

Communication students are advised to select from the following courses to provide additional background in their concentration.

For mass-media students interested in broadcasting, the following courses will provide them with additional background in media and technology:

For mass-media students interested in print journalism, the following courses offer an additional background in various writing styles, online publishing, and the legal and philosophical framework of mass communication:

For mass Integrated Marketing students, the following courses provide additional background in integrated media and corporate communication: