2022-2023 Course Catalog

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Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Communication Major

Program Curriculum

The Communication Major requires 120 credits for graduation. The curriculum includes the following elements: Core Degree Requirements, Major Requirements, Major Electives, Pathways to General Education, Minor, and Electives.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Degree Core Requirements
COMM 1004	First-Semester Experience in Communication	1
COMM 1014	Introduction to Communication	3
COMM 2024	Media Writing	3
COMM 2034	Visual Media	3
COMM 2084	Media and Society	3
COMM 2094	Communication and Issues of Diversity	3
COMM 2124	Introduction to Communication Research	3
COMM 4024	Communication Law	3
Subtotal		22
Major Requirements
COMM 1015 & COMM 1016	Communication Skills and Communication Skills ¹	6
CMST 2064	The Tradition of Rhetoric and Societal Change	3
CMST 3214	Professional Communication	3
CMST 4714	Senior Seminar in Communication	3
Subtotal		15
Major Electives
Select nine credits, including at least three credits at the 4000-level:		9
ADV 2134	Introduction to Health Communication
ADV 4324	Issues in Health Communication
CMST 3024	Digital Publishing
CMST 3064	Persuasion
CMST 3074	Persuasive Public Speaking
CMST 3124	Interpersonal Communication
CMST 3134	Public Advocacy
CMST 4174	Digital Advocacy Campaigns
CMST 4214	Web Content Management Strategies
CMST 4224	Topics in Media Criticism
CMST 4244	Topics in Communication
COMM 4974	Independent Study
JMC 1114	Introduction to Media Production Technology
JMC 3254	Media and Politics
JMC 4014	Media Effects
JMC 4264	Social Media Theory and Practice
JMC 4334	Communication Ethics
JMC 4374	New Communications Technology
PR 3324	Corporate Communication
PR 4074	Organizational Communication
Subtotal		9
Pathways to General Education
Pathways Concept 1 - Discourse
Select two 1F course		6
Select one 1A course		3
Pathways Concept 2 - Critical Thinking in the Humanities
Select two Pathway 2 courses		6
Pathways Concept 3 - Reasoning in the Social Sciences
Select two Pathway 3 courses		6
Pathways Concept 4 - Reasoning in the Natural Sciences
Select two Pathway 4 courses		6
Pathways Concept 5 - Quantitative and Computational Thinking
Select two 5F courses		6
Select one 5A courses		3
Pathways Concept 6 - Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts
Select one 6A course		3
Select one 6D course		3
Pathways Concept 7 - Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States
Select one Pathway 7 course		3
Subtotal		45
Minor and Electives
Select 29 credits ²		29
Subtotal		29
Total Credits		120

¹

Note: COMM 2004 Public Speaking and COMM 2014 Speech Communication are an alternative to COMM 1015-COMM 1016 for transfer students entering the major after freshman year.

²

Minor + Electives

In addition to Major and Pathways requirements, students must complete the following to reach 120 credits for graduation:

Minor, cognate, or double major—Beyond studies in Communication, students must build content knowledge in another area of focus by completing a minor or cognate (minimum 18 credits) or double major (credits vary by major). Students should NOT take COMM, CMST, JMC, or PR courses as part of this requirement.
Electives—Once students complete a minor or cognate, they still need credits for graduation. Students might consider education abroad, an internship, a field study, undergraduate research, independent study, or other non-required Pathways or foreign language courses. Students should NOT include COMM, CMST, JMC, or PR courses among these electives.

Major Requirements

Communication Majors take 22 credits in Core Degree Requirements and 24 credits in courses specific to the major. See reverse for other requirements and “progress to degree” criteria. Only COMM, CMST, JMC, and PR courses can meet degree and major requirements.

Pathways to General Education

Communication Majors are encouraged to broaden their education by sampling courses from many disciplines. Courses taken to meet Core Degree Requirements (see reverse) cannot double-count in Pathways.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum of 120 credits from the following categories: Core Degree Requirements, Major Requirements, Major Electives, Pathways to General Education, Minor and Electives.
Minimum of 46 credits in COMM, CMST, JMC, or PR; maximum 48 credits in COMM, CMST, JMC, or PR.
Overall GPA of 2.0; major GPA 2.0, based on all COMM, CMST, JMC, and PR courses the student has completed.
Courses taken in major to fulfill graduation requirements must be graded A-F (not pass/fail).
COMM, CMST, JMC, or PR courses taken for a minor may NOT be counted toward major requirements.
Foreign Language—Requirement can be met in one of three ways:
1. 3 years of single foreign language in high school OR
2. 2 years of a single language in high school plus 1106 or equivalent in college OR
3. 1105-1106 or equivalent in college (This credit must be in addition to the 120 credits required for graduation.)

Progress toward Degree

A student will be certified as making satisfactory progress toward a degree by meeting these requirements:

Completion of COMM 1004 First-Semester Experience in Communication within the first 3 classes (9 credits) in the major.
Completion of COMM 1014 Introduction to Communication within the first 6 classes (18 credits) in the major. Minimum grade of C- required.
Completion of COMM 2124 Introduction to Communication Research within the first 8 classes (24 credits) in the major.
Overall GPA—Students who fall below 2.0 will follow university policies for probation and subsequent suspension if the GPA is not raised during the probation period.
Major GPA—Students who fall below 2.0 in their major coursework will have one semester to regain the required GPA standards. All COMM, CMST, JMC, and PR courses are included in this calculation. A student who fails to make satisfactory progress toward degree after that semester will be blocked from continuing in COMM or another School of Communication major.

2022-2023 Academic Catalog