Program Overview

Program Overview

The Communication Studies B.A. program is designed to build proficiency in three specific areas: media and visual culture, relational and organizational studies, and rhetoric and civic engagement. This online bachelor's program develops a comprehensive understanding of how people respond to various forms of communication and engage in public discourse.

Program Details

• Application Dates:
  • Fall semester: June 1
  • Spring semester: November 1
  • Summer semester: May 1
• Tuition: $490 per credit
• Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies
• Time Frame: Varies based on intensity of study and previous coursework
• Admission Requirements:
  • Freshman course recommendations or transfer mathematics requirement
  • High school graduation or equivalent
  • 2.7+ high school GPA (freshmen) or 2.5+ college GPA (transfer) preferred

Curriculum

• Requirements to Graduate: A minimum of 120 credits are required to complete this degree, including 42 upper-division credits and 30 upper-division credits completed through Colorado State University.
• Communication Studies Core Curriculum: 18 credits, including courses such as Communication and Popular Culture, Relational and Organizational Communication, Public Speaking, History and Theory of Rhetoric, Public Argumentation, and Communication Studies Capstone.
• Additional SPCM Courses: Select a total of 27 credits of SPCM subject code, with options including Gender and Communication, Persuasion, Evaluating Contemporary Television, Visual Communication, Freedom of Speech, and more.
• Advanced Writing Courses: Select one course from options like Writing Arguments or Writing in the Disciplines: Sciences.
• Arts and Humanities Credits: Select six credits from subject codes such as ART, E, ETST, LFRE, LGRE, LSPA, MU, PHIL, TH, or WS, with no more than one WS course.
• Degree Minor: Students are required to choose an approved minor in consultation with their advisor.

Degree Minors

• Agricultural Business: Build knowledge of production management, financial management, marketing management, international development, and trade through an agricultural lens.
• Anthropology: Get a cross-cultural view of humanity and the broadly conceived dimensions of human behavior.
• Business Administration: A minor in Business Administration will give students a basic understanding of many of the foundational areas of business.
• Computer Science: The minor in Computer Science will give students a foundation in software development, programming, and computer and information theory.
• Creative Writing: Explore creative writing in one or more of the following genres: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction.
• Design Thinking: The Minor in Design Thinking provides students with an opportunity to develop creative methods and processes for solving societal problems.
• Economics: Gain insight into current socioeconomic problems in the areas of resource allocation, inflation, unemployment, income distribution, environmental degradation, international trade, and monopoly power.
• Gerontology: Prepare for a variety of careers in gerontology and develop an understanding of the biological, psychological, and social aspects of adult development and aging.
• Global and Environmental Sustainability: Prepare to meet today's pressing environmental challenges with this interdisciplinary minor offered by The School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES).
• History: Expand the breadth of your knowledge by earning an undergraduate minor in history.
• Horticulture: Growing and managing plants requires you to understand the science and the business of cultivation, and this online bachelor's degree minor emphasizes both.
• Human Development and Family Studies: The Human Development and Family Studies minor provides students across all majors with an opportunity to select course work relevant to their career goals.
• Interdisciplinary Global Studies: Develop an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures and peoples with courses in international and global history, politics, languages and cultures, economics, and environmental issues.
• Interdisciplinary Information Science and Technology: This interdisciplinary minor is sponsored by departments in different colleges across CSU: Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, English and Journalism and Media Communication.
• Journalistic Reporting and Storytelling: Upon completion of this program, students will develop a strong understanding of the principles and practices of journalism.
• Machine Learning: Machine learning (ML) is the science of creating algorithms that learn from data.
• Media Studies: Understand the role and influence of mass media in American society and other cultures by studying media and film history, criticism, law, ethics, social effects, cultural consequences, and multicultural and international media issues.
• Music, Stage, and Sports Production: Upon completion of this minor, students will have a broad foundation in creating television and audio recordings of events.
• Political Science: Gain a foundation in political theory and prepare for careers in law, teaching in the social sciences, journalism, and public service.
• Science Communication: The minor in Science Communication is designed to educate highly qualified communicators who have interests in specialized academic disciplines and career fields.
• Sociology: Develop technical skills and knowledge to study human societies.

Undergraduate Certificates

• Climate Change and Society: Students enrolled in this certificate will be introduced to the major implications of climate change on people and earth systems.
• Design Thinking Certificate: Open to all undergraduate students, the Certificate in Design Thinking will improve not only the way students learn and find solutions to problems in their current coursework, but will also help make students more employable with sought-after marketable skills.
• Disability and Neurodiversity: The undergraduate certificate in Disability and Neurodiversity provides an interdisciplinary understanding of individuals across the lifespan with disabilities and is relevant to majors and careers in health, education, rehabilitation, and human service professions.
• Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: This certificate provides training on how to support families with infants and young children from a variety of backgrounds.
• Integrated Pest Management: The undergraduate Certificate in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) will equip students with in-depth knowledge of principles of integrated management of pest insects, weeds, and diseases associated with managed and natural landscapes.
• International Economics: This Certificate allows students to obtain a credential acknowledging their competence in international economics.
• Macroeconomics: The Certificate in Macroeconomics will educate students in the key ideas, tools, and policies of macroeconomics.
• Spanish for Animal Health and Care: For students interested in working in animal science, veterinary medicine, or related fields, this certificate program teaches intermediate-level Spanish for use in agricultural and animal care settings.
• Seed Science and Technology: Prepare for a career as a seed analyst with online courses in seed technology.

How to Apply

1. Review Admission Requirements: High school graduation or equivalent, 2.7+ high school GPA (freshmen) or 2.5+ college GPA (transfer) preferred, and freshman course recommendations or transfer mathematics requirement.
2. Talk with a Student Success Coach: Discuss the program and application process with a coach.
3. Complete Online Application: Submit the online undergraduate application and pay the nonrefundable application processing fee.
4. Apply for Financial Aid (Optional): Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
5. Check Your Application Status: View your application status to ensure your application checklist is complete or to check on updates.