School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Humanities

Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts
The Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts is appropriate for students seeking employment in various fields, including public communication, public relations, journalism, and other fields that require writing, research, and presentational proficiency. Other careers include integrated marketing communications, corporate and public sector consulting, speech writing, publicity, community relations, public affairs, government, public and social service, news reporting, radio, sports marketing, media relations, editing or writing for various media, business and industrial communication. The B.S. is also appropriate for those students seeking to enter a graduate program in communication, as those programs are typically writing and research intensive.

Students who complete the Bachelor in Science Degree in Communication Arts will have broad knowledge of communication and an in-depth understanding of various forms of writing and research within the academic discipline and related professions. The students will have experience conducting and presenting research in both written and oral formats. The students will have the ability to develop and carry out communication research.

The Bachelor of Science differs from the Bachelor of Arts by adding more coursework in the Experiential component and the Concentrations that engage students in additional writing and research. It will also require students to take a related minor, where the B.A. does not.

To earn the Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts, you must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours. In addition to the general education requirements (see “General Education Requirements” under the section “Academic Regulations” earlier in the Bulletin), you will complete a related minor (subject to approval by the Communication Arts Faculty) and at least 48 credit hours as follows:

Requirements
  1. Part 1: Core. (21 hours)

The core of the Communication Arts curriculum grounds graduates in the theoretical and applied nature of the discipline, culminating in a capstone project in the Senior Seminar. All Communication Arts majors must complete each of the following courses:

  • SPCH-C 200 Introduction to Mass Communication (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 205 Introduction to Speech Communication (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-C 321 Persuasion (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 336 Communication Theory (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-C 380 Organizational Communication (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 398 Independent Study in Speech Communication (Senior Seminar) (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 427 Cross Cultural Communication (3 cr.)
  1. Part 2: Experiential Component. (12 hours)

The experiential component of the Communication Arts degree is designed to provide students with real world experience in the field of communication. These courses link students to the broader community, beyond the campus, pushing them to work with and/or develop projects with constituent groups outside the classroom. Through class assignments, such as interviewing workshops (SPCH-C 325) and group designed and administered surveys (SPCH-C 393), students will initiate and manage projects and campaigns designed to address real world problems in a mentored and supportive setting. Students in the Bachelor of Science will also take Statistics (K 300) and an Independent Study Research Project (SPCH-C 398) that will hone their research skills. Students must take the following:

  • SPCH-C 393 Communication Research Methods (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 398 Independent Study in Speech Communication (Research Project) (3 cr.)
  • PSY-K 300 Statistical Techniques (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-C 325 Interviewing OR SPCH-S 201 Communicating in Public (3 cr.)
  1. Part 3: Concentration. (15 hours)

The final component of the B.S. in Communication Arts is the concentration. These concentrations build upon the core and experiential components of the degree by providing students with a focused area of study. Students must complete each course in the chosen concentration, and will choose from the following:

  1. Public Communication. The Public Communication concentration focuses on developing students’ presentational skills and is designed to prepare them for careers in business, government, marketing, sales, advertising, speech writing, and other careers in which oral and written communication skills are essential.
  • SPCH-S 228 Argumentation and Debate (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-C 444 Political Communication (3 cr.)
  • HSS -S 200 Leadership Studies (3 cr.)
  • NMCM-N 351 Cyberculture and Community (3 cr.)
  • ENG W-315 Writing for the Web (3 cr.)
  1. Journalism. The journalism concentration develops student writing, editing, layout and photography skills, teaching students the journalism basics of reporting and editing. Students are encouraged to combine their understanding of core skills in the profession with online media and their own unique interests to better prepare them for a market which demands great breadth and sensitivity to the intersections between social issues, human nature and technology.
  • SPCH-J 200 Writing for Mass Media (3 cr.)
  • ENG-W 365 Theories and Practices of Editing (3 cr.)
  • NMCM-N 250 Graphic Design I (3 cr.) OR JOUR-J 344 Photojournalism Reporting (3 cr.)
  • JOUR-J 290 Internship in Journalism (3 cr.)
  • JOUR-J 343 Broadcast News (3 cr.)
  1. Public Relations/Corporate Communications. The Public Relations/Corporate Communication concentration prepares students to strategically manage communication resources for both profit and nonprofit organizations. Coursework prepares students to enhance a corporation’s image and reputation, monitor and resolve its issues, influence relevant attitudes and opinions, in efforts to adapt the organization to its environment and the environment to the organization. Grounded in communication theory and the four step process, students will enhance their writing and planning skills and learn a variety of communication formats and media techniques for relating to diverse publics.
  • SPCH-S 233 Intro to Public Relations (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-S 333 Public Relations Writing (3 cr.)
  • SPCH-C 391 Public Relations Campaigns (3 cr.)
  • NMCM-N 250 Graphic Design I (3 cr.)
  • NMCM-N 351 Cyberculture and Community (3 cr.)

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