Communication

Program Advisor: Dr. Clifford Bieberly, Dr. Margaret Friedman, Tom Galli, Carolyn Kuriyama, Dr. Eva Washburn-Repollo
Mass Communication Sequence Advisors: Dr. Clifford Bieberly
Marketing Communication Sequence Advisors: Dr. Clifford Bieberly, Dr. Margaret Friedman

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). The department also offers a minor option. In completing a major in communication, a graduating student will be able to competently demonstrate:

• An understanding of and the ability to apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances

• An understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communication

• An understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relationship to communication to target

  audiences

• An understanding of concepts, theories and applications in the use and presentation of images and information

• An understanding of professional ethical principles and the ability to work ethically in the pursuit of truth, accuracy,

  fairness and diversity

• An understanding of the processes of client and media relations

• The ability to evaluate research by methods appropriate to the communication professions for which they are

  preparing

• The ability to write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the various communication professions,

  audiences and purposes they serve

• The ability to critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style

  and grammatical correctness

• The ability to apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professors in which they work

• An understanding of the connections between academic work and real-life situations as a result of the Service-Learning experiences

Students who have completed the mass media track will be also be able to demonstrate:

• Technical skill in video production and group collaboration in a television studio environment

• The ability to understand and apply advanced camera theory and operation

• The ability to critique and analyze use of media

Students who have completed the integrated marketing track will be able to demonstrate:

• An understanding of how to use and evaluate research methods employed for understanding diverse consumer

  groups in a global society

• An understanding of the concepts, theories, and tools of marketing and strategic marketing decision making

• An understanding of the tools of integrated marketing communication and the ability to use them to address

  specified marketing objectives

  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 petitioning for graduation.

Major Requirements

A total of at least 40 semester hours in upper division course work 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 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: AN/SO 317, MA 331, PH 310, PH 405, PH 415, PSY 315, PSY 316, PSY 322, PSY 411, PSY 434 and PSY 436.

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: EN 362, HI 407, HI/POL 475 and/or PH 310.

For mass media students interested in print journalism, the following courses offer additional background in various writing styles, online publishing and the legal and philosophical framework of mass communication: CJ 430, EN 302, EN 303, EN 362, EN 402, EN 403, HI/POL 401, HI/POL 402, HI 407, PH 310, PH 405 and PH 415.

For mass Integrated Marketing students, the following courses provide additional background in integrated media and corporate communication: BU 200, BU 224, BU 308, BU 362, BU 402, MKT 301, and EN 362.