Communication (COMM)

Program Overview

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Communication (COMM)

Course Fees

Some courses may carry fees beyond the standard tuition costs to cover additional support or materials. Program-, subject- and course-specific fee information can be found on the Office of the Bursar website.

Course Descriptions

COMM 505. Perspectives on Religion and Media - WR, CUE

• Prerequisite(s): COMM 305 and 90 credit hours completed.
• Description: Study of the history and meaning of mediated religious communication, focusing on journalism and strategic communication.
• Note: Approval for the Arts & Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
• Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

COMM 506. Ethical Problems in Communication - CUE, WR

• Prerequisite(s): COMM 305 and 90 credit hours completed.
• Description: Examines the moral and ethical problems posed by communication practices. Topics include case studies in interpersonal communication, journalism, public relations, and advertising.
• Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).
• Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

COMM 510. Special Topics in Communication Studies

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Advanced study in specific areas of communication studies.
• Note: May be repeated under different subtitles.

COMM 520. Computer-Mediated Communication - WR

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Conceptual analysis and practical use of computer networks with an emphasis on the social and cultural dimensions of this type of human communication.
• Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

COMM 530. Science Communication

• Description: The course examines the conceptual foundations and practices of science communication. It examines the institutional and intellectual contexts of science communication as well as the scientific constraints on science communication.

COMM 532. Intercultural Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Explores the influence of cultural identity on the communication practices of individuals, communities, and institutions.

COMM 538. Intimate Communication - WR

• Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
• Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.
• Description: Explores communication issues in intimate personal relationships.
• Note: Approved for the Arts and Sciences upper-level requirement in written communication (WR).

COMM 540. Public Communication Campaigns

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Drawing upon emerging new theories and empirical studies on influencing audiences, this course examines mediated public communication campaigns.

COMM 555. Persuasive Movements

• Description: Seminar focuses upon the role of persuasion and rhetoric in the formation and lifespan of social movements.

COMM 565. Special Topics in Communication Service Learning - CUE

• Prerequisite(s): Faculty consent.
• Description: Study of communication concepts and theories that will be applied in service learning field work.
• Note: May be repeated up to six hours under different subtitles.
• Course Attribute(s): CUE - This course fulfills the Culminating Undergraduate Experience (CUE) requirement for certain degree programs. CUE courses are advanced-level courses intended for majors with at least 90 earned credits/senior-level status.

COMM 580. Interpersonal Communication

• Description: Study of communication in everyday life, including casual conversation and interaction among acquaintances.

COMM 590. Health Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Prerequisite(s): Faculty permission.
• Description: Studies the nature, function, and importance of communication in the delivery of health care, and/or medical knowledge.

COMM 600. Practicum

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Prerequisite(s): Instructor permission.
• Description: Initiating and completing a practical communication project for an organization.

COMM 601. Professional Seminar in Communication

• Grading Basis: Pass/Fail
• Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.
• Description: Overview of the communication discipline and introduction to the academic study of communication.

COMM 603. Communication Pedagogy

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: An introduction to teaching college-level in communication. Applies various theories of communication to interactions between students and teachers.

COMM 605. Communication Theory & Practice

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Surveys a range of communication theories and traditions to equip students with tools for making sense of communication in context.

COMM 610. Problems of Public Discourse

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Surveys the relevant theories and disputes concerning public discourse, public knowledge, and decision-making.

COMM 615. Foundations of Communication Research Design

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: This course will familiarize students with the traditional (and some emerging) research methods used in communication research.

COMM 616. Qualitative Communication Research

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Instruction in the practical issues and conceptual debates in qualitative research in the field of communication. Methods includes interviewing, participant observation, unobstructive observation, historical/archival methods, narrative and ethnography.

COMM 617. Quantitative Methods in Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Instruction in procedures used to systematically and statistically measure differences between groups and relationships pertaining to communication outcomes.

COMM 620. Organizational Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Theoretical and applied studies of communication within and between organizations and their publics.

COMM 625. Personality and Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Exploration of individual differences in communication processes, such as argumentativeness, shyness, and persuasiveness.

COMM 640. Communication in Social Service

• Description: Studies public communication campaigns, e.g., health information and policy campaigns.

COMM 650. Corporate Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Study of the nature, strengths, and weaknesses of empirical research in organizational communication and application of these findings to analysis, diagnosis, and remedy or communication problems in specific organizations. Focus is primarily on case studies and in-community "practicum" consulting project.

COMM 651. Conflict Management

• Description: Uses role playing and case studies in community organizations to assist students in developing the skills needed for managing conflict.

COMM 652. Health Communication: Theory and Practice

• Term Typically Offered: Fall Only
• Description: This course uses health communication theories and methods to design and evaluate health communication materials that capitalize on opportunities afforded by the current context. Students will learn the concepts of effective public health communication across multiple media and levels of the social ecology, considering a variety of audiences, and achieving multiple purposes. Students will also learn to critically analyze examples of communication and develop culturally responsive communication material oriented towards public health interventions. The course will emphasize the development of delivering health information in a meaningful, actionable, and accessible manner.
• Note: Cross-listed with PHPB 612.

COMM 653. Integrated Marketing Communication Campaigns

• Description: Study of integrated advertising, public relations, and sales promotions. Course culminates with students preparing integrated marketing plans for local clients.

COMM 654. Strategic Communication and Crisis Management

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Examines problems of planning and implementing public relations strategies for crisis management. The organizations studied include corporations, agencies, educational and government institutions, and non-profits.

COMM 660. Selected Topics in Mass Media

• Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.
• Description: Examination of topics specific to the study of mass media not covered in other courses.

COMM 670. Directed Readings in Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Prerequisite(s): Faculty Permission.
• Description: Faculty supervised readings on special topics in communication theory, research and practice.

COMM 675. Risk Communication

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Examines the study of risk communication across various contexts (e.g., health, environmental). Focuses on the role of messages in shaping risk perception, evaluation, and behavior.

COMM 690. Special Topics

• Description: Examination of topics not covered in regularly-scheduled courses.

COMM 698. Thesis

• Term Typically Offered: Occasionally Offered
• Description: Students complete an independent research project (a thesis) over two semesters for a total of six credit hours.