Requirements for the Communication Major
The communication major requires the completion of 33 credits with a grade of C or better in each course (if the course is to count toward the major). The distribution of courses is as follows.
Core Courses
Three core courses (all required). Each is a prerequisite for a specific upper-level course.
- COMMRC 0300 (Communication Process)
- COMMRC 0310 (Rhetorical Process)
- COMMRC 0320 (Mass Communication Process)
Skills Courses
Two skills courses:
- COMMRC 0520 (Public Speaking) REQUIRED and one of the following:
- COMMRC 0500 (Argument), 0510 (Debate), 0530 (Interpersonal Communication), 0540 (Discussion), or 0550 (Speech Communication).
Upper-Level Courses
Six upper-level courses which focus on specific topics or contexts of communication. Because these courses require substantive research and writing components, completion of the composition requirement is a prerequisite.
- COMMRC 1101 (Evidence)
- COMMRC 1102 (Organizational Communication)
- COMMRC 1103 (Rhetoric and Culture)
- COMMRC 1104 (Political Communication)
- COMMRC 1105 (Television and Society)
- COMMRC 1106 (Small Group Communication)
- COMMRC 1109 (Nonverbal Communication)
- COMMRC 1110 (Interpersonal Communication)
- COMMRC 1111 (Theories of Persuasion)
- COMMRC 1112 (Theories of Rhetoric)
- COMMRC 1113 (African Americans and Mass Media)
- COMMRC 1114 (Freedom of Speech and Press)
- COMMRC 1115 (African American Rhetoric)
- COMMRC 1116 (The Rhetoric of Cynicism and the Counter-Culture)
- COMMRC 1117 (20th-Century Public Argument)
- COMMRC 1118 (Presidential Rhetoric 1)
- COMMRC 1119 (Presidential Rhetoric 2)
- COMMRC 1120 (Rhetoric of the Cold War)
- COMMRC 1121 (History of Mass Communication)
- COMMRC 1122 (Media Criticism)
- COMMRC 1123 (Rhetorical Criticism)
- COMMRC 1125 (Media Theory)
- COMMRC 1126 (Media and Consumer Culture)
- COMMRC 1142 (Theories of Modern Rhetoric)
- COMMRC 1143 (Knowledge, Power, and Desire)
- COMMRC 1145 (History of Rhetoric)
- COMMRC 1147 (Rhetoric of Science)
- COMMRC 1148 (Rhetoric of Human Rights)
- COMMRC 1730 (Special Topics in Communication)
- COMMRC 1731 (Special Topics in Rhetoric)
- COMMRC 1732 (Special Topics in Mass Communication)
Rules and Other Requirements
The major also has the following rules and requirements.
The Communication Department offers three special project courses (not required).
- COMMRC 1710 (Senior Thesis in Communication), requires a QPA of 3.00 for enrollment
- COMMRC 1900 (Communication Internship), requires a QPA of 2.75 and mandatory seminar attendance
- COMMRC 1901 (Independent Study), requires a QPA of 3.00
- Only COMMRC 1710 counts toward the major. The others fulfill elective credits.
Although any department could be a related area, past majors often have selected political science, sociology, business, English writing, psychology, anthropology, or history.
Students who plan to do graduate work in communication are advised to do additional work in a foreign language.