B.S./B.A. in Communication Studies: Curriculum

This course increases the knowledge and use of competent communication skills to better understand oneself, others, and the role of communication in interpersonal relationships.

This course emphasizes developing communication skills by examining and demonstrating how self-awareness, audience, content, and occasion influence the creation and delivery of speeches and presentations.

This course will analyze and apply conflict management concepts, principles, strategies and techniques to our daily lives. This is done in order to foster a happier, healthier work, home and community environment for ourselves, our families, friends and associates.

Foundations of Digital Media provides students with an overview of the concepts and workflows used in the creation of three forms of digital media including digital images, audio and video. This class supplies students with fundamental knowledge of the composition of digital media and the tools used to create digital images, audio and video. Student must have at least sophomore standing to register for this course.

This course surveys the dialectical relationships between communication behavior and the quality of human affairs at interpersonal, small group, organizational, national and global levels, with emphasis on how individual perception, cognition and identity interact with societal power in various communication contexts/genres. Major concepts/theories such as self-esteem, stereotype threats, cognitive representation, political incorrectness, cultivation, hegemony and pseudo-anonymity will be discussed.

This course adopts a critical/cultural approach to survey the relationship between communication innovations and human affairs at large. Specifically, this course examines the evolution of media technology in the United States and its impact on the ethos of national culture. Major issues such as media representation, media consumption, media acculturation and media consolidation will be discussed.

In this course, students will explore communication research from various paradigms. A variety of perspectives about the language of human communication will be evaluated. Students will discover why and how we study human communication, who is asking what types of questions, how theory translates into effective research agendas, how to develop their own research agendas and how we can apply theory in our everyday lives.

This course examines how communication behavior differs among cultures in various contexts such as workplace, school, healthcare and diplomacy. Students learn to be adaptive different worldviews, meaning system, stereotypes and ethnocentric behavior. Major issues such as identity, ethnocentrism and multiculturalism will be discussed. Prerequisite: Must have at least sophomore standing to register for this course.

This course provides students with the theoretical foundation and the practical skills to examine and alter their ability to listen within the personal and professional setting. Prerequisite: None. COM 111 recommended. Student must have at least sophomore standing to register for this course.

Students examine communication theory, design and use practical interviewing skills required to gain accurate information in a variety of settings. Ethical and legal aspects of interviewing people are emphasized. Interview types include survey, employee selection, probing, counseling, healthcare and media. Students master interview competencies intended for careers in fire services,
management, healthcare, education, media or anyone interested in gaining accurate information.

This course introduces the concepts, history, theories, legal/ethical issues and routine practices of advertising as a medium of information in modern society. Students learn how advertising meshes with the ethos of our national culture, how advertising works in the market economy, how advertising appeals to consumers and how to create selling ad copy.

This course introduces basic concepts, theories, issues and routine practices of public relations as a communication profession in the contemporary world. It examines how organizations as well as individuals can ethically and scientifically build productive, mutually beneficial relationships with various stakeholders and the general public through effective communication.

This course adopts the “big picture” approach to explore the elements of media process such as regulation, production, representation and consumption. With this approach, students get a better understanding of the relationship between media and society, especially the relationships between media and ideology, media representation and social inequality, and media ownership and political power. Furthermore, students develop skills in ideological analysis of media content.

This course explains legal problems, such as libel, copyright infringement, privacy violation, obscenity, deception, and prejudicial publicity, etc., in public communication. Students learn to apply the First Amendment principle to mass mediated communication and how to navigate through legal questions in the context of professional communication.

This course introduces moral philosophy and ethical reasoning for students of mass media communication. Students learn to appreciate the moral foundation of media law and the principle of social responsibility required of free media. More important, they learn to weigh competing principles and values to render a decision with a degree of moral certainty. Important ethical issues such as truthfulness and honesty, privacy, confidentiality, conflict of interest, editorial independence, indecency and stereotypes will bediscussed.

This course requires students to apply their knowledge and skills in communication to their future jobs related to communication, such as news writing, broadcasting, public relations, advertising, human resources, education, business communication and so on. Students are advised by faculty and field-supervisors to engage in communication activities or communication research. Must have senior standing to register for this course. Part of the course assignment will help students to work toward their capstone projects.

This course guides students to complete a rigorous research project in communication studies. Students are required to recapitulate their learning of the subject matter and to reflect on the important issues in human communication. Critical thinking and dialectical approach are strongly recommended in this research project. Students are expected to present their studies in a local, regional or national conference. Must have senior standing to register for this course.