Communication Programs

The Department of Mass Media and Communication offers a major with two possible emphases and two minors – Communication Studies and Conflict Management.

Major in Communication

Each student majoring in communication must successfully complete a minimum of 33 semester hours as designated below, with a grade of C or better. At least 15 of these hours must be upper-college hours.

Each communication major also must successfully complete at least twelve semester hours of courses in the student’s designated area of emphasis — communication studies or conflict management.

The following 21 hours of core classes are required of all communication majors:

• CO 242 Interpersonal Communication and Ethics
• CO 245 Advanced Public Speaking
• CO 257 Pathways to Dispute Resolution
• CO 350 Organizational Communication
• CO 355 Group and Team Communication
• CO 467 Rhetoric of Social Movements
• CO 476 Senior Seminar in Communication

Emphasis in Communication Studies

Students who choose the communication studies emphasis must successfully complete the following:

• CO 328 Political Communication
• CO 420 Communicating the Feminine in Ancient World Religions

In addition, 6 semester hours of coursework are required from the following:

• CO 120 Performance of Literature
• CO 237 Intercultural Communication
• CO 330 Fundamentals of Public Relations
• CO 380 Argumentation and Debate

Emphasis in Conflict Management

Students who choose the conflict management emphasis must successfully complete the following:

• CO 237 Intercultural Communication
• CO 337 Interpersonal Conflict Management
• PY 234 Psychopathology

In addition, 3 semester hours of coursework are required from the following:

• EC 151 Applied Game Theory
• PY 385 Clinical and Counseling Psychology
• SO 346 Criminal Justice
• SO 380 Sociology of Law

Supporting Coursework

Three semester hours of supporting courses are required from the following communication or theatre workshops:

• CO 230 Communication Workshop
• MM 241 Newspaper
• MM 243 Radio
• MM 244 Television
• MM 246 Advanced Radio
• MM 247 Advanced Television
• TH 123 Stage Performance
• TH 423 Stage Performance

Minor in Communication

A minor in communication requires successful completion of the following courses:

• CO 242 Interpersonal Communication and Ethics
• CO 245 Advanced Public Speaking
• CO 257 Pathways to Dispute Resolution
• Two upper-college CO courses

Minor in Conflict Management

This minor is designed to supplement a wide variety of majors, preparing students for communicating clearly and problem-solving with others at home and in the workplace. Students electing this minor would survey a range of conflict management strategies and understand the differences between them, identify factors contributing to conflict escalation and avoidance, understand mediation and principled negotiation processes and define and practice communication skills that facilitate conflict resolution.

The following courses (totaling 9 semester hours) are required for a minor in conflict management:

• CO 242 Interpersonal Communication and Ethics
• CO 257 Pathways to Dispute Resolution
• CO 337 Interpersonal Conflict Management

In addition, students must complete 6 semester hours from among the following (3 hours from group A and 3 hours from group B):

Group A

• CO 237 Introduction to Intercultural Communication
• CO 355 Group and Team Communication
• CO 467 The Rhetoric of Social Movements

Group B

• EC 151 Applied Game Theory
• PY 385 Clinical and Counseling Psychology
• SO 346 Criminal Justice
• SO 380 Sociology of Law

This program information has been taken from the current College of Arts and Sciences catalog. This information is subject to change and is updated with each academic year.