Postgraduate Opportunities. There is no ready-made or single career option for communication students because of the pervasive nature of communication. However, communication students often go on to work in careers such as public relations, personnel, counseling, human services, journalism, broadcasting, lobbying, speech writing, and teaching. Students in communication also go on to graduate school in communication or other disciplines, law school or even medical school.
Minor Program The department offers an eighteen-hour minor designed to supplement a variety of major fields of study across the liberal arts.
Minor Requirements: Communication. Eighteen semester hours of communication courses are required for a minor in communication, six semester hours of which will include: COM 103 Communication Theory 3 hours COM 202 Public Speaking 3 hours Of the remaining twelve hours of required communication study, at least six of those hours must be taken at the 300-level or above (exclusive of COM 199 and COM 452). A student may apply for a maximum of 3 credit hours of Directed Independent Study (COM 451) towards these remaining 12 hours.
Resources for Non-Majors. Most communication courses are open to all students. Communication courses provide an enriching theoretical, practical, and critical background to students with other majors. In our courses, non-majors should expect to develop critical thinking skills, and advance their oral and written communication abilities.
Communication (COM) Gen. Ed. Course Descriptions 103: Communication Theory Goal: To provide an overview of the major theories, methodologies, and schools of thought in the discipline of communication. Content: Study of communication theories and processes in fields such as interpersonal communication, group and organizational communication, rhetorical studies, media and cultural studies, intercultural communication, and gender communication. Taught: Annually Gen. Ed. Category: Critical Thinking Credit: 3 hours 202: Public Speaking Goal: To provide students with the theory and practice of public address through a wide variety of experiences. Content: Study of the principles of speaking from classical rhetoric to modern, cultural perspectives. Application of the principles and strategies for informative and persuasive processes and special-occasion events. Critical understandings and practice of evaluative analysis of presentations and ethics in speech situations. Taught: Fall, Spring. Gen. Ed. Category: Critical Thinking. Credit: 3 hours; S-course. 216: Intercultural Communication Goal: To understand the similarities and differences in cultures’ communication understandings, performances, and privileging. Content: Focus on the social construction of positionality, power dynamics, and expectations of cultural identity: sex, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, social economic status, (dis)ability, age, etc. Explore the transitioning, negotiating, and managing in the process of intercultural communication in relationships, groups, societies, media, and institutions. Taught: Alternate Years. Gen. Ed. Category: Critical Thinking. Credit: 3 hours; cross-cultural.
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