Communication

Faculty

Matthew M. Reavy, Ph.D., Chair
Jan W. Kelly, Ph.D.
Rebecca L. Mikesell, Ph.D.
Kimberly A. Pavlick, M.S.
Howard Fisher, M.A.
Sufyan Mohammed, Ph.D.
Stacy Smulowitz, M.S.

Overview

The Department of Communication embraces the fields of advertising, broadcasting (radio and television), cable, film, journalism, public relations and speech. The Communication degree program prepares students for professional careers as well as advanced studies. Students who major in Communication become knowledgeable about the subject matter from both humanistic and scientific perspectives. They also have opportunities to acquire on-the-job experiences through internships. In addition, courses are designed to serve students in other departments of the University by developing their oral and written communication skills.

Degree Program Requirements

A student wishing to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 credits from the department’s course offerings. Included among these 36 credits are five core courses required for all Communication majors:

COMM 115	Writing for Communication
COMM 210	Logical and Rhetorical Communication
COMM 215	Introduction to Communication Theory
COMM 316	Communication Ethics
COMM 415	Senior Seminar

Department Track Requirements

Although the media are interrelated, students should develop an in-depth knowledge of at least one specific field. To that end, students majoring in Communication must select a track, or area of study, within the department. Although the department expects students to enroll in multiple courses within their chosen track, each track has three required courses:

Minor in Communication

A student wishing to minor in Communication must satisfactorily complete 18 hours to be selected with the approval of the department chair. Nine of these hours must come from the following three options:

1. COMM 115: Writing for Communication
2. Either COMM 210: Logical and Rhetorical Analysis or
   COMM 215: Introduction to Communication Theory
3. COMM 316 Communication Ethics Note: COMM 100 and COMM 481 do not count toward the minor.

Communication Curriculum
Dept. and No.				Descriptive Title of Course	Credits
				FIRST YEAR	FALL	SPRING
MAJOR		COMM ELECT-COMM 115		COMM Elective - Writing for Communicaiton	3	3
COGNATE		COGNATE ELECT		Cognate Elective		3
GE WRTG/SPCH		WRTG 107 - COMM 100		Composition - Public Speaking	3	3
GE C/IL		C/IL 102		Computing & Information Literacy	3
GE HUMN		HUMN ELECT		Humanities Electives	3	3
GE PHIL-T/RS		PHIL 120-T/RS 121		Intro to Philosophy - Theology I	3	3
GE FSEM-PHED		INTD 100 - PHED ELECT		Freshman Seminar - Physical Education	1	1
					16	16
				SECOND YEAR
MAJOR		COMM 210		Logical and Rhetorical Analysis		3
MAJOR		COMM 215		Communication Theory	3
MAJOR		COMM ELECT		Communication Electives	3	3
COGNATE		COGNATE ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	3
GE PHIL - T/RS		PHIL 210 - T/RS 122		Ethics - Theology II	3	3
GE QUAN-S/BH		QUANT-S/BH ELECT		Quantitative - Social/Behavioral Elective	3	3
GE PHED		PHED ELECT		Physical Education	1	1
					16	16
				THIRD YEAR
MAJOR		COMM 316 - ELECT		Communication Ethics - COMM Elective	3	3
MAJOR		COMM ELECT		Communication Electives	3	3
COGNATE		COGNATE ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	3
GE PHIL-T/RS		PHIL - T/RS ELECT		Philosophy or T/RS Electives	3	3
GE NSCI		NSCI ELECT		Natural Science Electives	3	3
GE ELECT		ELECT		Free Electives	3	3
					18	18
				FOURTH YEAR
MAJOR		COMM 415		Senior Seminar	3
MAJOR		MAJOR ELECT		Communication Elective		3
COGNATE		ELECT		Cognate Electives	3	6
GE HUMN-S/BH		HUMN-S/BH ELECT		Humanities - Social/Behavioral Electives	3	3
GE ELECT		ELECT		Free Electives	6	3
					15	15
					Total: 130 Credits