The Communication Major with a Media Studies concentration helps students engage and contribute to the media environment—the world of symbols and meanings, texts and contexts, form and content—from a critical and cultural perspective. Coursework is divided between theory and practice, with an emphasis on how theory informs and shapes practice and on how medium shapes message.
Requirements for the major are 32 hours: 14 hours in the Communication Core, 16 hours in a Concentration, and 2 elective hours of any Communication course. The Core consists of 4 courses in performance, theory, research, and a senior capstone (in which each student submits a portfolio and has a senior assessment interview). These four core courses should be completed in sequence.
To complement core courses, students select a concentration in Interpersonal Communication, Media Studies, Rhetoric and Culture, or Theater. Within each concentration, there are requirements and electives with course work progressing from introductory to advanced levels of study.
General Education Requirement. The following courses fulfill the oral communication competency requirement:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 101 | Public Speaking | 2 |
| COMM 201 | Fundamentals of Oral Communication (Communication majors and minors only) | 4 |
| COMM 252 | Argumentation and Debate | 4 |
This requirement should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Communication Core | 14 | |
| COMM 201 | Fundamentals of Oral Communication | 4 |
| COMM 301 | Communication Theory 1 | 4 |
| COMM 312 | Communication Criticism 2 | 4 |
| COMM 494 | Senior Seminar | 2 |
| Concentration Courses (Required and Elective) | 16 | |
| Required Concentration Courses | ||
| COMM 241 | Media Studies | 4 |
| COMM 246 | Media Production (ARTS 241 may be taken as substitution. ) | 4 |
| Elective Concentration Courses | ||
| Select 8 credits of the following: 3 | 8 | |
| Journalism | ||
| Digital Society | ||
| Strategic Communication | ||
| Screenwriting | ||
| Visual Symbolism: Icons, Brands, Logos | ||
| Narrative Media | ||
| Media, Religion, and Culture | ||
| Special Topics in Media and Culture | ||
| Media Constructions | ||
| Internship | ||
| AIS: Propaganda and Image in Everyday Life 4 | ||
| Communication Elective | ||
| Select two or more credits of any offered COMM course | 2 | |
| Total Credits | 32 | |