The Undergraduate Major in Communication
Program Overview
Communication takes as its subject matter the history, processes, and effects of human communication through speech and its extensions. The departmental curriculum is designed to provide a liberal education in the arts and sciences of human communication as well as preparation for career opportunities in business, government, education, and related fields. Within the curriculum, students may pursue academic courses that emphasize many disciplinary areas, including organizational communication, public relations, intercultural communication, political communication, conflict management, cognition and persuasion, rhetorical theory, history of rhetoric, and criticism of public discourse.
The strength of a Communication major resides in an understanding of the place of communication in humanity and in a fully developed ability to participate effectively and responsibly in communicating with others. Your education in Communication will go beyond performance courses that teach the skills of speaking into courses that explore our knowledge of communication in business, government, and other human institutions and relationships. Few choices of major afford such vital knowledge in preparing for a career. In many professions, employers praise the ability to communicate as central to an effective employee. As a result, our majors move rapidly into a broad range of careers.
Over the years, Communication has also served as an exceptional pre-professional major. Particularly those who proceed to study law, the helping professions, and governmental service have found the major critical to their later success. Many of our students remain in Communication by pursuing graduate work.
A major in Communication contributes to the quality of life far beyond the workplace. Those who seek to be good citizens or just good neighbors leave the major with experience and understanding that enriches their lives.
