Areas of Study

• Oral and written competency
• Cultural competency
• Ethical leadership
• Research and work experience

While the Loading... for a communication degree develop your competencies in these key areas, our elective courses allow you to focus on a particular area of study or explore multiple areas according to your interests and career goals.

Learn more about our seven areas of study and the suggested electives for each area.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

Corporate communication encompasses a wide variety of areas such as internal employee communication, leadership, public relations, informational campaigns, research and marketing. Studying corporate communication will help you learn how to think strategically and analytically and to make data-informed decisions. It prepares you to be an agent of change in the world, whether in the context of financial communication, health education, compliance, political campaign management or human resource administration.

Corporate Communication

GLOBAL COMMUNICATION AND PEACE STUDIES

Global Communication and Peace Studies places the study of communication in an intercultural context to help you develop your cultural understanding and competencies. As a global communication student, you will expand your ethical commitment to others, practice cultural humility, move from curiosity and the commodification of difference to the ability to forge engaged relationships, and gain a critical understanding of how social identities, power and systems intersect to affect local and global issues.

Global Communication and Peace Studies

JOURNALISM AND WRITING FOR MEDIA

Journalists and other media writers are charged with communicating for the common good. Our curriculum prepares you for this task by focusing on the ethics as well as techniques of writing for various media platforms and outlets. Through classes that center on experiential learning and co-curricular experiences like internships, we ensure that you are prepared to succeed as a media writer in an ever-changing media landscape.

Journalism and Writing for Media

MEDIA PRODUCTION AND CRITICISM

Studying media production and criticism will help you to competently navigate our ever-evolving media landscape. By focusing on the fundamentals of media studies, our program ensures that you will have the critical skills needed to be active participants, rather than passive consumers, in our mediated world.

Media Production and Criticism

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AND LEADERSHIP

Studying organizational communication will help you understand the complex messages and interactions that occur within — and shape — the organizations you belong to, and to develop the skills to analyze an organization’s strengths and challenges. Leadership is the influence process that enables people to effect change and accomplish organizational goals.

Organizational Communication and Leadership

RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Relationships are at the heart of communication: How we share meaning together in pairs, small groups, across cultures and through media. Our relational communication courses will give you tools to help you express ideas effectively, learn from others, manage differences and accomplish goals. 

Relational Communication

RHETORIC AND PUBLIC ADVOCACY

Communicating for the common good means learning to assess and analyze the symbols, stories, arguments and persuasive appeals that surround us. Studying rhetoric and public advocacy specifically helps you understand deeper meanings, determine the ethics of discourse and strategize for the most effective communication.

Rhetoric and Public Advocacy