In studying communication, students learn to express themselves, to develop critical thinking skills and to explore ethical issues. Students become articulate and intentional communicators, respecting the power of the spoken and written word. Communication Studies is a strong stand-alone major, and is also common as a double-major or minor. The skills learned when studying communication are some of those most sought after by employers. Careers available to the Communication Studies major include diverse professions such as public relations, event planning, graduate school, teaching, sales, or law, just to name a few.

Major in Communication Studies

A minimum of 39 semester hours, including:
COM101 Interpersonal Communication
COM102 Public Speaking
COM240 Rhetoric of Western Thought
COM250 Small Group Communication
COM260 Debating Contemporary Issues
COM306 Organizational Communication
COM310 Communication Theory
COM355 Mass Media
COM402 Interviewing

Choose one rhetoric course at the 300 or 400 level, COM490, and two out of the following four: COM308, ENG325, ENG365, or any three credit COM special topics course at the 300 or 400 level. A maximum of three semester hours of internship may be applied toward the major.

Minor in Communication Studies

A minimum of 24 semester hours, including
COM101 Interpersonal Communication
COM102 Public Speaking
COM250 Small Group Communication
COM260 Debating Contemporary Issues
COM306 Organizational Communication
COM310 Communication Theory
COM402 Interviewing

Choose one course from the following:
COM308 Intercultural Communication
COM355 Mass Media
OR
Another 300- or 400-level course, chosen in consultation with a faculty member in Communication Studies, in Theatre, English, or Communication Studies. A maximum of three semester hours of internship may be applied toward the minor.

COM101 - Interpersonal Communication

Semester: Fall; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
This course examines how intimate, personal, and professional relationships are created and maintained. Students develop an increased awareness of and sensitivity to behaviors, which facilitate effective interpersonal communication as well as to those behaviors, which serve as obstacles. The course addresses topics such as perception, self-concept, listening, and interpersonal conflict.

COM102 - Public Speaking

Semester: Fall and Spring
Semester hours: 3
In this skills-based course, students deliver informative and persuasive speeches. The course examines audience analysis, speech organization and delivery, developing support materials, and persuasive appeals. By the end of the course, students are able to speak competently and confidently to many types of audiences.

COM240 - Rhetoric of Western Thought

Semester: Fall; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
Language is a series of symbols that allows us to communicate with other people. Language symbols also enable the comprehension of feelings, intentions, persuasion, and meaning. The study of rhetoric explores how communication shapes our culture, our leaders, our ethics and our society. The course investigates the evolution of rhetorical theories from ancient Greece to contemporary models of communication. Additionally, the course will focus on the application of theories to contemporary communication events.

COM247 - Communication Projects

Semester: On Demand
Semester hours: 1
Students pursue special research in communication studies.
Prerequisite: permission of professor

COM250 - Small Group Communication

Semester: Fall and Spring
Semester hours: 3
This course explores how and why people come together in groups, how groups develop norms for acceptable behavior, and how individuals can help groups work efficiently. Students examine group processes, learning the reasons why groups succeed or fail. Students learn how to run meetings fairly and efficiently.

COM257 - Intercollegiate Forensics

Semester: Fall and Spring
Semester hours: 1
This course is designed for students actively preparing for, and/or participating in, individual intercollegiate events or debate. Pass/no pass grading.

COM260 - Debating Contemporary Issues

Semester: Fall and Spring
Semester hours: 3
The course explores how people reason and what makes a good persuasive speaking style. After choosing topics on current events, students prepare their arguments and then debate. Students learn to develop effective persuasive speaking skills and to constructively analyze the arguments of others.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM306 - Organizational Communication

Semester: Fall; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
Organizational communication is the study of how communication occurs in large cooperative networks, especially in work settings. Students learn how to supervise people, attract customers and clients, and understand the values and cultures of the organization within which they work. Knowledge of organizational communication is especially useful for future employees of corporate and non-profit organizations, since effective communication is a critical skill for success.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM308 - Intercultural Communication

Semester: Fall; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
Language, thought, and a particular way of viewing the world are all conveyed through culture, which can refer to people bound together by a shared language or to a sub-set of people contained within a larger society. Intercultural communication examines the way in which culture influences communicative practices behaviorally, affectively, and cognitively. Students who expect to participate in an international work place will better understand the importance of intercultural communication.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM310 - Communication Theory

Semester: Fall; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
This course explores theories that explain communication behavior in relationships, in group decision-making, in work organizations, and in the media. Communication theory explains how and why people construct meaning, how theories explain fact patterns, and what constitutes an appropriate test of a theory. Students will appreciate some of the strange and wonderful things humans do as we create and interpret symbols.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM355 - Mass Media

Semester: Spring; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
This course explores how communication media, whether smoke signals, newspapers, television or the Internet, influence human communication. We are different people than in the past because we can instantaneously reach people around the globe. With each change in technology, communication changes. These changes alter what it means to be human. Students must be able to understand the power of media to better manage its influence in their personal and professional lives.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM402 - Interviewing

Semester: Spring; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
Interviewing is a skill with both theoretical and practical applications. This course prepares students to be excellent interviewers and interviewees in employment, informational, survey, and performance appraisal interviewing. Students also learn resume writing and how to write recommendations, as well as how to create and sustain supportive networks in the work-world.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM404 - Rhetoric of Protest and Dissent

Semester: Spring; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
Throughout history, people have protested injustice, prejudice, inhumanity, and colonialism. They have tried, and even sometimes succeeded, in protesting without violence. Persuasion is an alternative to physical aggression. This course examines why and how protest occurs, the challenges protesters face rhetorically, and the available options from which protesters can choose. Students will emerge with an appreciation of how difficult protest is and how important it is for a vital society.
Prerequisite: COM102, COM240

COM447 - Communication Projects

Semester: On Demand
Semester hours: 1
Students pursue special research in communication studies.
Prerequisite: permission of professor

COM450 - Internship

Semester: On Demand
Semester hours: 1-12
This course is a guided work experience in an established institution such as a non-profit or for-profit organization or a governmental institution. The student must arrange the internship in agreement with the instructor and with the office of career services, and the internship must be a learning experience that is connected with the professional communication degree. A contract is required. A maximum of three semester hours can be counted toward the major in communication.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing

COM457 - Intercollegiate Forensics

Semester: Fall and Spring
Semester hours: 1
This course is designed for students actively preparing for, and/or participating in, individual intercollegiate events or debate. Pass/no pass grading.

COM490 - Seminar in Communication

Semester: Spring; Alternate Years
Semester hours: 3
At the basis of communication is the creation of community. Through writing and speaking, students in this capstone course explores why and how people create communities and what kind of communities they create. Each seminar will focus upon a special theme, such as the implications of free speech or postmodern organizational ethics. For example, in the free speech seminar, students analyze the origins and controversies surrounding free speech, and the consequences free speech, or the lack of it, has upon self-government.
Prerequisite: COM102

COM499 - Independent Study

Semester: On Demand
Semester hours: 1-3
This course allows a superior student to devise and pursue independent study in an area agreed upon in consultation with, and supervised by, a faculty member. Students should be either a major or minor and have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing