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Catalog 2021-2022

Communication Major with a Media Studies Concentration

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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:

Course List
Code Title Credits
COMM 101Public Speaking2
COMM 201Fundamentals of Oral Communication (Communication majors and minors only)4
COMM 252Argumentation and Debate4

This requirement should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Along with specific requirements for any major, all students in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs must meet all general education and graduation requirements under a single catalog.

Course List
Code Title Credits
Communication Core14
COMM 201Fundamentals of Oral Communication4
COMM 301Communication Theory 14
COMM 312Communication Criticism 14
COMM 494Senior Seminar2
Concentration Courses (Required and Elective)16
Required Concentration Courses
COMM 241Media Studies4
COMM 246Media Production4
Elective Concentration Courses
Select 8 credits of the following: 28
COMM 215
Journalism
COMM 243
Digital Society
COMM 343
Screenwriting
COMM 344
Visual Symbolism: Icons, Brands, Logos
COMM 345
Narrative Media
COMM 441
Media, Religion, and Culture
COMM 444
Special Topics in Media and Culture
COMM 445
Media Constructions
COMM 496
Internship
Communication Elective
Select two or more credits of any offered COMM course2
Total Credits32
1

COMM 302 Rhetorical Theory and COMM 311 Human Communication Research are acceptable substitutions with department chair approval.

2

At least one of the elective courses must be upper-division.

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