*Communications students should not use COM prefix classes to fulfill these requirements.

The Communication Studies Major
All students in the communications studies major are required to fulfill a 21 credit communications core (see right) and a 18 credit concentration (choose one listed below) for a total of 39 credits in the major. In addition, all students must complete the college core of 36 credits (see above and right) and take the balance of their classes as general electives with no less than 15 credits of electives taken at the 300 level and three courses being from the list of writing intensive classes (see below). General electives may be any course not otherwise required for the student’s core, concentration, or college requirements.

Communications Core (21 Credits)
COM 110 Introduction to Mass Media (3)
COM 151 Public Speaking (3)
COM 170 Explorations in Media (3)
COM 201 Introduction to Rhetoric (3)
COM 210 Media Analysis (3)
COM 310 Communications Theory or COM 320 Communications Law and Ethics (3)
Capstone Experience** (3)

** students must choose between the following options for their capstone experience:
COM 490 Senior Thesis (3 credits maximum)
COM 491 / 492 Internship (6 credits maximum)
COM 493 / 494 Professional Seminar (6 credits maximum)
COM 495 / 496 Independent Study (6 credits maximum)
COM 499 Senior Video Project (3 credits maximum)

Concentrations
Each student must choose at least one concentration in the Communication Studies major to meet graduation requirements. Student may choose to complete the requirements for more than one concentration if they wish.

Media Arts (24 Credits)
Media Artists use images, text, and sound to communicate meaning in an artistic way using digital video, photography, audio, and other time-based mediums. Media arts though is not completely an artistic concentration. Students studying media arts learn by way of documentary production to do research (in COM 275 Introduction to Video Production), learn how to communicate complex information using graphics (in COM 375 Post production), and learn how to express creative ideas in writing, both by creating scripts (in COM 242 Script Writing) and through storyboards and production plans.
COM 242 Scriptwriting (3)
COM 275 Video Production (3)
COM 375 Video Post Production (3)
COM 475 Advanced Video Production (3)
Four elective (two 300 level or higher)***

Integrated Marketing (24 Credits)
Integrated Marketing Communication prepares a student to work as communications professionals in the advertising, public relations, marketing communication, and corporate communication fields. Integrated Marketing is the process of creating and maintaining relationships with the public by creating meaningful dialogue. Students in this program learn how to carry out this two-way dialogue by means of research, mass communication media buys, press relations, and market analysis. Students also learn the differing skills needed for crisis communications, non-profit communications, and other specialized areas of Integrated Marketing.
COM 261 Concepts of Integrated Marketing (3)
COM 344 Public Relations Writing (3)
COM 362 Integrated Marketing Research (3)
COM 460 Persuasive Campaigns (3)
Four electives (two 300 level or higher)***

Media Writing (24 Credits)
Media Writing is not a traditional journalism degree, although there is a strong emphasis on the clear writing and thinking needed to write journalistically. Instead, the Media Writing major emphasizes the ability to discover information on any subject, combine that information stream with other information streams to discover relationships not apparent to the casual viewer, and then to communicate those relationships to an audience in a creative manner. Thus, media writers are both researchers (in the broadest sense) and creative artists.
COM 242 Script Writing (3)
COM 243 Journalism I (3)
COM 344 Public Relations Writing (3)
COM 348 Advertising Writing (3)
Four electives (two 300 level or higher)***

Writing Requirement
Students must take 9 hours of courses outside of their communication studies concentration as liberal arts or all-college electives that are considered writing intensive. These courses may be general electives or meet the college 36 credit requirement (excluding EN 101 and EN102). Writing intensive courses include:

COM 242 Script Writing
COM 243 Journalism I
COM 343 Journalism 2
COM 344 Public Relations Writing
COM 345 Sports Writing
COM 348 Advertising Copywriting
CS 250 Creative Writing Workshop I
CS 320 Theory and Method of Play Production
CS 350 Creative Writing Workshop II
EN 340 Professional and Technical Writing
EN 341 Advanced Writing
LW 303 Advanced Legal Research Writing

***Communication Studies Electives
The following classes may be used to fulfill the elective requirements listed for each concentration.

All Communication Studies (COM), Theatre Arts (TA), or Creative Studies (CS) courses
AHA 320 The Art of Renaissance in Italy
EN 340 Professional and Technical Writing
EN 360 Film and Literature
HI 401 History and the Movies
LW 300 Legal and Factual Research
LW 303 Advanced Legal Research Writing
LW 320 Intellectual Property Law
MIS 320 Introduction to Management Information Systems
MGT 320 Human Resources
MGT 410 Labor Relations
MKT 300 Consumer Behavior
MKT 320 Advertising
MKT 410 International Marketing
PS 365 Politics and Movie
PSY 305 Research Methods in Social Sciences
PS 310 Psychology of Group Dynamics

Minor in Communications (18 Credits)
Communication studies offer a minor for those students wanting a taste of communications. Students that want to list communication studies as a minor for their degree should take the following courses and choose a minor advisor from any of the full-time communication studies professors.

COM 110 Introduction to Mass Media
COM 170 Explorations in Media
COM 210 Media Analysis
Three Electives (Two over the 300 level)****

****Communication studies minors may take any (COM) prefix communication courses of the appropriate level to fulfill this requirement.