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Undergraduate Program
> Undergraduate Advising Handbook 1999-2001 Undergraduate Advising Handbook 1999-2001 |
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Requirements in effect for those entering the program Fall 1999 through Spring 2001 Contents
WelcomeWelcome to the undergraduate major in Communication at the University of Maryland College Park. You are among approximately 700 majors in Communication, one of the largest majors in the College of Arts and Humanities. Most of your preparation for the Bachelor of Arts degree will be in your courses. But you are invited to participate in the many opportunities beyond the curriculum, including the departmental honors program, Lambda Pi Eta National Honor Society, the Communication Club, faculty research projects, and the department's research colloquium. This handbook will introduce you to the major, the department, the faculty, the curriculum, the requirements, and the special opportunities in Communication. 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 programs 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. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook The Value of an Education in CommunicationIn today's fast paced world, little knowledge will be as crucial to the quality of your life as an understanding of communication. Those who can effectively and responsibly communicate with others exercise a power that enriches their lives. One important measure of the quality of life in our society will be the openness and richness of communication. Those educated in the field of communication will make vital contributions to their own welfare and the welfare of others. The strength of a Communication major resides in an understanding of the place of communication in humanness 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. Although Communication is not a professional degree, 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. Effective preparation for a career in communication begins in the mastery of communication performance and matures in mastery of our extensive knowledge of strategies to improve the quality of communication throughout our society. 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. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook About the University of MarylandFrom a regional Agricultural College of 35 students in 1859, the University of Maryland at College Park has developed into a national institution serving over 35,000 students in 14 colleges and professional schools. It has also become one of America's finest establishments for research, instruction, and public service. The faculty of the University is widely recognized for its quality and achievement. In fact, College Park ranks twelfth among all U.S. universities for competitive research grants and ninth among public institutions for distinguished faculty awards. The local resources of the University include a library collection of two million volumes as well as 34 centers and institutes for research and study in specialized subject matters. Also, because of the University's unique location (just 10 miles from downtown Washington DC; 25 minutes by Metro subway) its extended resources include the Library of Congress, the National Archives (located on our campus), the National Library of Medicine, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Smithsonian Institution, and approximately 500 other libraries associated with educational, governmental, and private agencies in or near the nation's capital. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook About Communication at MarylandThe study of Communication at College Park is as old as the institution itself. The first students in the Maryland Agricultural College faced requirements in rhetoric, elocution, and declamation throughout the course of their degree. By 1901 a Department of Public Speaking was in place and, for nearly four decades, the department emphasized public speaking and public address in its course offerings. Beginning in the late 1930s, however, courses were added in other subjects related to spoken discourse. For example, new courses were announced in radio speaking for 1938, in speech pathology for 1939, and in drama for 1941. By 1946 coursework had developed to the point that the department could offer its Bachelor of Arts degree in four areas of concentration: public speaking, drama, radio, and speech sciences. The identification of these areas quickly gave rise to academic and administrative specialization within the department. One effect of this specialization was the formation of departmental divisions. The department maintained four such divisions until 1972, when the division of Speech and Hearing Sciences left the department for autonomous status in what is now the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. From that time until 1989 three divisions united in the Department of Communication Arts and Theatre: Communication; Radio, Television, Film; and Theatre. In 1989 each division became a separate department in the College of Arts and Humanities. Of these new departments, Communication maintains the disciplinary interest, goals, and subject matters that have animated speech instruction at Maryland from its beginnings. The department sustains a long-standing commitment to research and teaching in the history, processes, and effects of communication through speech and its extensions. Within the department, students may do graduate work in Communication in programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees and undergraduate work culminating in the B.A. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Constructing Your Major in CommunicationThe undergraduate Communication major offers four Tracks: Communication
Research, Communication Studies, Public Relations, and Rhetoric and Public
Discourse. The key to the quality of your education in Communication will
be your planning of the courses to satisfy the requirements for the various
major tracks. The major requirements are designed to provide multiple
levels of knowledge of communication. Requirements for the Communication
major include a minimum of 45 upper-level credits and the foreign language
requirement of the College of Arts and Humanities. No course with a grade
less than C may be used to satisfy major requirements. Requirements for MajorCompletion of fifty-two semester hours in Communication (including six semester hours in supporting courses and a nine hour cognate). No course with a grade less than C may be used to satisfy major or supporting course requirements. The course of study for a Communication major must satisfy all of the following requirements:
a. Communication Research
b. Communication Studies
c. Public Relations
d. Rhetoric and Public Discourse
Because the department's curriculum changes over time, the departmental Undergraduate Advisor may approve courses to meet the requirements for each track. Courses required for the Communication major but taken outside COMM may be used to satisfy CORE requirements. Communication offers special opportunities for majors. Superior students may participate in an Honors Program; contact the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society Director. An internship program is also available to students doing work related to the major; contact the internship coordinator. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Policy on Advising of Communication MajorsThe main objective of academic advising in Communication is to assist you in understanding, planning, and successfully completing the Communication major (for advising regarding University and College requirements, consult the Arts and Humanities Office of Student Affairs in 1120 Francis Scott Key). Pursuant to this objective, Communication has established a major advising program and appointed an Undergraduate Advisor. You are especially encouraged to consult with the Undergraduate Advisor for general information regarding the Communication major or to establish, revise, or review a program of study that satisfies the major requirements in Communication. As you prepare your final thirty hours, it is critical that you work with the departmental advisor. You are reminded, however, that University policy stipulates that the responsibility for knowing and meeting all degree requirements for graduation in any curriculum rests with the student. Accordingly, you have the responsibility to: (1) familiarize yourself with the requirements of the Communication major, (2) select and secure enrollment in courses which satisfy the Communication major requirements, and (3) monitor your own progress toward completion of the Communication major. The Undergraduate advisor will maintain a regular schedule of appointment hours during each academic term. You must schedule a meeting within the appointment hours. The Undergraduate Advisor is not obligated to consult with any student outside of the regular schedule. Advising for internship programs must be done through the department's Professional Internship Coordinator. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Special Opportunities for Communication MajorsThe Honors ProgramThe Honors Program provides superior students with the utmost opportunity for intensive study of Communication at an advanced level. Pursuant to this end, the program provides participants with opportunities to deepen their understanding of the discipline through graduate level coursework and to enrich this understanding through closely supervised research and intimate involvement in the intellectual life of the department. Students interested in the Honors Program apply for the program, ordinarily during the second semester of the sophomore year or the first semester of the junior year. Application is filed with the Honors Director who presents the proposal for admission to the Honors Committee. Generally, you should have the following qualifications:
Transfer students from accredited institutions receive equal consideration. Full information on the program is outlined in material available from
the Undergraduate Advisor. Communication Colloquium SeriesThe Communication Colloquium Series provides a forum for the active exchange of scholarly study in human communication. Each semester six different speakers present their current research. The colloquium features Communication faculty and graduate students, and noted communication scholars from around the country. Recent contributors include Karlyn Kohrs Campbell (University of Minnesota), Michael Leff (Northwestern University), James Dillard (University of Wisconsin), Sonja Foss (Ohio State University), and Gerry Philipsen (University of Washington). You may receive undergraduate credit for attendance at the colloquium and the preparation of work based on it through COMM 478 Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Lambda Pi Eta: National Honor SocietyLambda Pi Eta is the national communication honor society recognized by the National Communication Association -- the national professional organization of practitioners and scholars in Communication. Eligibility for membership in Lambda Pi Eta is based on the following criteria:
Applications for Lambda Pi Eta are available from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Internship ProgramThe internship program is specifically designed to aid communication majors in choosing careers, gaining professional experience, building a professional portfolio and establishing professional contacts. The success of the internship often depends upon the match between the student and the placement. Students should think carefully about what kind of internship they desire; they may desire an internship to develop specific skills or to experience a specific organization. The internship provides a place for them to explore career choices and to begin developing the experience, skills, and contacts that will take them there. Students will be expected to complete a series of assignments designed to encourage professional development. These assignments will be submitted to the internship coordinator who will supervise the internship. Students may earn up to three hours of credit for an internship. They must be Junior or Senior Communication majors and must have a GPA of 2.5 overall or a GPA of 2.7 in the major. They must have completed two of the following courses with a grade of C or higher: COMM 350, 400, 401, and 402. Alternatively, students may qualify with satisfaction of the Professional Writing Requirements and a grade of C or better in one COMM course. For more information on the internship program, contact the Outreach Coordinator at 405-7323. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Undergraduate Research and Teaching AssistantshipsThe University of Maryland sponsors research and teaching assistantships that provide specific training for undergraduate students working closely with faculty members. Research assistants provide support for faculty research projects. Teaching assistants provide support for the teaching of lower-level courses in Communication. For more information on these programs, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity institution with respect to both education and employment. The University's policies, programs and activities are in compliance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex and handicap. Requirements effective:
September 1999 Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Some Important Offices and Phone NumbersPlease consult the current Undergraduate Advising Handbook. Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook For Further InformationDirector of Undergraduate Studies Return to the Contents of the Undergraduate
Handbook Electronic InformationPlease consult the current Undergraduate Advising Handbook which offers that latest information and updated links.
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Department of Communication 2130 Skinner Building University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-7635 Phone: 301-405-8979 Fax: 301-314-9471 |
Last updated:
November 18, 2003
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