Communication, B.A.
The bachelor of arts in communication offers a general degree program as well as three optional concentrations in which students may choose to specialize. These include journalism, rhetoric and media, and leadership and advocacy. This degree teaches about the roles interpersonal and mediated messages play in shaping personal, group, and societal attitudes, values, beliefs, and actions.
For students who wish to specialize within this B.A. program, CST’s journalism concentration engages students in the evolving forms and practices of the journalism profession, including print and online journalism. These include developing abilities to gather and assess information from a variety of sources, including interviews, public meetings, databases, and public records; writing news stories that are fair and accurate; and applying the standards of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics in all arenas of professional activity.
Students pursuing CST’s rhetoric and media concentration develop critical understandings about the persuasive roles various forms of media play in shaping our economy, culture, and public, political discourse. This includes developing abilities to deconstruct media messages using rhetorical and media literacy tools, and to recognize and assess the economic underpinnings and performance of mass mediated forms—including journalism (online, print and broadcast), entertainment media, public relations and advertising—in advancing and inhibiting democratic practice.
Students pursuing CST’s leadership and advocacy concentration gain competency in the means by which people influence the direction and outcomes of activities that pursue shared goals within relationships and communities. Learners develop abilities to explain and apply leadership knowledge, skills, and values focused on making a difference within particular situations and contexts, attend to ethical questions attached to leading in particular contexts, and become involved in contemporary dilemmas involving multiple stakeholders embedded in diverse social and historical contexts. These students take courses such as argumentation and advocacy, social media and culture, negotiation and conflict management, and the rhetoric of politics and social change.
Students in all concentrations are encouraged to explore various occupations via the professional training available through a variety of community-based academic internships. This degree prepares students for professional communication work and for graduate study in a variety of fields.
University Requirements - 39 hours
See Core Curriculum
College Requirements - 21-33 hours
See College Requirements BA
Degree Requirements
Communication Requirements — 42 hours
Each of the following four courses (12 hours):
| CST 101 | Introduction to Communication Studies | 3 |
| CST 107 | Effective Public Speaking | 3 |
| CST 225 | Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| CST 301 | Media and Society | 3 |
6 credits - Two of the following three research methods courses (6 hours):
| CST 300 | Communication Research | 3 |
| CST 320 | Rhetorical Theory and Criticism | 3 |
| CST 434 | Examining Organizational Communication in Natural Settings | 3 |
Beyond these courses, students may complete their CST B.A. degree in either of two ways:
24 credits - Eight upper-division CST courses students choose in consultation with their academic advisors; at least three of those must be 400-level courses.
or
12 credits - Four upper-division CST courses students choose in consultation with their academic advisors,
plus
12 credits - Four upper-division CST courses from any one of the following three concentrations. At least three of the resulting eight courses must be at the 400-level:
Choose Leadership and Advocacy
plus any three of these:
| CST 307 | Advanced Public Speaking | 3 |
| CST 332 | Collaborative Group Leadership | 3 |
| CST 333 | Applied Organizational Communication Skills | 3 |
| CST 362 | Introduction to Public Relations | 3 |
| CST 401 | Rhetoric of Politics and Social Movements | 3 |
| CST 402 | Social Media and Cultures | 3 |
| CST 403 | Communication Law | 3 |
| CST 410 | Communication Theory | 3 |
| CST 416 | Negotiation and Conflict Management | 3 |
| CST 391 | Seminar | Variable |
| Or | |
| CST 491 | Seminar | Variable |
| Or | |
| CST 492 | Seminar | Variable |
or Rhetoric and Media- Take any four of these:
CST 320 recommended as one research methods course choice.
Or Journalism
plus any two of these:
General Electives - 6-18 hours
Total Credit Hours: 120