Major in Communications
The major in communications focuses on "how people use messages to generate meaning within and across all kinds of contexts, cultures, channels, and media." Meaning generation is central to the work we do in the Department of Communications, convergence is the focus that binds together the concentration areas within the major and the core courses required of all majors. This emphasis on media convergence — that is the intersection and interaction of the multiple media disciplines — is at the center of what is going on in the real world.
The major of communications includes advanced coursework and capstone experiences like internships, independent study, and Studio Five — the department's student-run, professional communications workplace. Each student majoring in communications is required to take 40 semester hours of study in the Department of Communications.
The Communications Core Requirements
The major requires three core courses that explore the areas of media and society, writing and editing, visual communication and the technology currently driving emerging media. A blend of theory and hands-on, practical projects prepare students for further developmental work in one of the department's areas of concentration.
- COMM 121 Visual Communication
- COMM 122 Media Writing Bootcamp
- COMM 124 Media, Messages, & Society
Students should complete the three core courses by the end of the second year of study in a four-year program. A student should declare their major at the end of the sophomore year. In this recommended sequence, the student would complete the core and then declare an area of concentration.
Concentration Requirements
Each concentration has three or four required courses, normally taken in sequence. These courses can be taken during the first two years of a student's program, concurrently with core requirements, provided the student takes the necessary prerequisite core courses first.
Students may choose between two and three electives from a list of courses relevant to each area of concentration. This allows students optimum flexibility and an opportunity to build competencies across areas of the discipline.
Senior Seminar/Storytelling (Capstone Experience)
This required capstone course extends the theoretical underpinnings offered while providing students with an opportunity to develop a senior project that reflects and synthesizes all they have learned in the department. The course explores the many roles stories play in the shaping of human experience, the elements that comprise successful narratives, and the ways that digital technologies may disrupt our conventional understanding of how stories are shared.
Independent Learning Options (Capstone Experiences)
Students majoring in communications have four opportunities to complete the departmental requirement of 8 credits of independent learning. Students may take a maximum of 20 credits of independent learning.
- COMM 350 Independent Study
- COMM 370 Internship
- COMM 380 Field Experience
- COMM 390 Studio Five: A Communications Workplace
Departmental Honors
The Department of Communications offers the opportunity for majors to receive departmental honors. Students in Comm 344, Senior Seminar, which is the required capstone for the major, who have a superior record in the major and who receive an A on their senior project and an A in the seminar will receive departmental honors. Student projects will be reviewed and graded by both the faculty member teaching the seminar and at least one additional faculty member in the student's concentration area. The designation of departmental honors will appear on the student's transcript.
Departmental Recognition
The Department of Communication does not offer the designation "departmental recognition." Instead, outstanding students may be named to Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communications Association's honor society for students in communications.