Pictured | Bronson Bontrager | Interpersonal Communication | South Bend, Indiana (hometown)
About the Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication Studies prepares students for a wide variety of careers including advertising, business, sales, communication consulting, training and development, human resources, politics, government, health fields, and other careers that focus on problem-solving interactions, management, and human relations.
Concentrations Offered
- Interpersonal Communication
- Journalism
- Organizational Communication
- Public Relations
- Health Communication (Pending Approval)
- Media, Culture, and Society (Pending Approval)
Academic Advising
The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts policy on advising requires that students meet with their academic advisors each semester prior to registration. Advising holds are placed on all Communication Studies students prior to advance registration and are released following advising appointments. Students with a declared major in Fine Arts are advised by Fine Art faculty. Additionally, you may have a secondary adviser if you have also declared a minor, although a minor is not required for a degree in the Fine Arts department. You can verify your assigned advisor in the student center in One.IU.
Degree Requirements (120 cr.)
Degree Map >>
Students receiving the Bachelor of Art Education degree must complete 120 total credit hours including:
- IU South Bend Campuswide General Education Curriculum (30 cr.) to include
- JOUR-J 210 Visual Communication
- Major Requrements (15 cr.)
- Capstone Experience (3 cr.)
- Concentration (24 cr.)
- Required Minor
- A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300- or 400-level.
- Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C– or higher.
- A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required.
Major Requirements (15 cr.)
All courses are 3 credits, unless otherwise designated.
- JOUR-J 200 Reporting, Writing and Editing I
- SPCH-C 393 Communication Research Methods (pending final approval)
- SPCH-S 205 Introduction to Speech Communication
- SPCH-S 223 Business and Professional Communication
- SPCH-S 405 Human Communication Theory
Capstone Experience (3 credits)
Each student will complete a capstone experience, either through a senior comprehensive class or an internship.
- SPCH-S 400 Senior Seminar in Speech; OR
- Internship
Internships will be coded based upon a student’s concentration. For example, a Public Relations internship will be JOUR-P 492.
Codes will be as follows:
- H | Health Communication
- I | Interpersonal Communication
- J | Journalism
- M | Media, Culture and Society
- O | Organizational Communication
- P | Public Relations