Program Overview

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Speech Communication Program

The Speech Communication program at Georgia State University is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the importance of communication in various contexts. Students who major in Speech learn about the construction, diffusion, analysis, and impact of messages as they occur among individuals, groups, organizations, and cultures in the media age.

Program Description

The program supports students interested in the Communication Disorders field, with an Interdisciplinary Minor in Communication Sciences. The GSU chapter in NSSLHA (National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association) includes undergraduate students and can further prepare them for graduate programs and careers in CSD fields.

Career Opportunities

Speech majors can pursue a variety of occupations, including:

• Teacher
• Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Elementary School Teacher
• Graduate Research Assistant
• Special Education Teacher
• Financial Advisor
• Branch Manager
• Software Engineer
• Associate
• Manager
• Pastor
• Administrative Assistant
• Missionary
• Minister
• Account Executive
• Editor
• Producer
• Account Manager
• Reporter
• Writer
• Scientist
• Territory Manager
• Sales Representative
• Project Manager

Skills and Competencies

The program helps students develop skills in:

• Public speaking
• Interpersonal communication
• Intercultural communication
• Argumentation
• Persuasion
• Conflict resolution
• Pronunciation
• Communication through social media
• Political communication

Courses

Some of the courses offered in the program include:

• SCOM 1000 Human Communication
• SCOM 1500 Public Speaking
• SCOM 2400 Interpersonal Communication
• SCOM 2710 Argumentation
• SCOM 3000 Phonetics
• SCOM 3010 Advanced Public Speaking
• SCOM 3050 Speech Communication Research Methods
• SCOM 3250 Persuasion
• SCOM 4400 Development of Communication and Language Across the Lifespan
• SCOM 4410 Communication Disorders
• SCOM 4440 Speech Science
• SCOM 4450 Rhetorical Theory and Criticism
• SCOM 4475 Communication and Aging
• SCOM 4480 Political Campaign Communication
• SCOM 4490 Communication and Gender
• SCOM 4510 Media and Politics
• SCOM 4540 Mediation and Conflict Resolution
• SCOM 4800 Communication and Diversity

Career Paths

Career paths for Speech majors are often full of twists and turns, and are rarely straight lines. The program prepares students for a variety of employment opportunities, including:

• Finance
• Education
• Religious Services
• Media
• Life Sciences

Alumni Testimonials

Some alumni of the program have shared their experiences and how the program helped them in their careers. For example:

• Clark Owen, Industrial & Logistics at Apex Industrial Real Estate Advisors, credits the program with teaching him the skills he needs to negotiate on a daily basis.
• Bobby Baker Jr., Customer Acquisition - Growth Consultant & Advisor, says that the program gave him the soft skills necessary to effectively communicate in his daily life and in his career.
• Brianna Baidwan, Assistant to Speech Language Pathologist & Advisor, used her Speech Communication degree to continue her education in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

University Resources

The university offers various resources to support students in their academic and professional pursuits, including:

• University Career Services
• Center for the Advancement of Students and Alumni (CASA)
• University Advisement Center

Professionalism

The program emphasizes the importance of professionalism, including:

• Meeting deadlines
• Demonstrating sensitivity to other's concerns
• Asking and responding appropriately to questions
• Accepting responsibility
• Anticipating needs
• Seeking other perspectives
• Demonstrating time management
• Adapting to changed circumstances/environment
• Interpreting other's emotions
• Soliciting and adjusting to feedback

Communication

The program focuses on developing strong communication skills, including:

• Communicating to a mass audience
• Using presentation software effectively
• Producing successful and convincing proposals
• Engaging in social/community/political activism
• Editing and publishing material
• Engaging in storytelling and analyzing narrative
• Preparing interview questions and answers
• Curating and maintaining social media information
• Translating research
• Participating in active listening and responding appropriately

Career/Self Development

The program helps students develop skills in career and self-development, including:

• Adapting to professional situations
• Demonstrating an awareness of digital presence
• Setting and achieving goals
• Articulating interests, skills, and values
• Showing attention to detail
• Taking initiative
• Networking
• Curating e-portfolio
• Identifying support groups needed to achieve goals
• Implementing solutions

Equity/Inclusion

The program emphasizes the importance of equity and inclusion, including:

• Showing an awareness of diverse perspectives
• Demonstrating respect for other cultures
• Approaching team/group communication with sensitivity and openness
• Showing awareness of global/community issues
• Questioning forms of power, privilege, and inequality
• Developing a sense of personal and civic responsibility
• Analyzing cultural norms and values
• Understanding the influence of history, geography, gender, race, ethnicity, etc. on identity
• Developing strategies for communicating with people with different languages
• Demonstrating self-sufficiency in 'outside the comfort zone' situations

Critical Thinking

The program helps students develop critical thinking skills, including:

• Recognizing, building, and appraising arguments
• Creating and implementing action plans
• Analyzing visual data
• Conducting academic and archival research
• Mining and analyzing data
• Creating and implementing solutions to crises/problems
• Identifying errors in reasoning
• Providing useful summaries/precis
• Connecting valid research to support arguments/claims
• Weighing options by considering impact

Teamwork

The program emphasizes the importance of teamwork, including:

• Assisting in organizing and planning
• Collaborating in group projects
• Participating in collaborative writing
• Designing and assessing tasks
• Prioritizing tasks
• Following through on tasks
• Managing executive order function
• Navigating conflict
• Listening and responding appropriately
• Showing commitment and follow-through

Technology

The program helps students develop skills in technology, including:

• Demonstrating technical and program literacy
• Designing creative digital solutions
• Knowing and applying field-related tech to solve challenges
• Engaging in copywriting and editing tasks
• Translating data
• Creating audience-appropriate layouts
• Engaging in variety of digital publishing formats
• Producing audio and video solutions
• Managing podcast projects
• Using variety of modalities to express meaning

Leadership

The program helps students develop leadership skills, including:

• Organizing and managing projects
• Developing time management strategies
• Training/teaching others how to perform tasks
• Observing and reflecting
• Performing an advisory role
• Developing and implementing outcomes
• Promoting critical literacy
• Taking calculated risks
• Managing conflict resolution
• Generating ideas