School of Communication

The advertising and public relations immersion provides opportunities for the advanced study of selected areas central to the persuasive arts as they apply to advertising and public relations, as well as education and practice in the writing, speaking, and design skills required of these professions.

The advertising and public relations minor prepares students to analyze audiences, write advertising copy, prepare press releases, select media, and manage broad-scaled persuasive campaigns. Students are grounded in the basic theories of persuasive communication enabling them to create persuasive messages with a strong emphasis on ethical decision-making.

This immersion provides students with the opportunity to study the American arts through a variety of disciplines, including painting, architecture, film, photography, music, theatre, and mass media. Each course presents American art within the context of the broader current of American life, including its history, philosophy, social, and cultural traditions.

This minor provides students with an opportunity to study the American arts in a variety of disciplines, including painting, architecture, film, photography, music, theatre, and the mass media. Courses present American art within the context of the broader current of American life, including its history, philosophy, social, and cultural traditions.

Advanced study of selected areas of communication, including an overview of the fields of persuasion, mass communications, public speaking, and small group communication. Students will understand and apply several modes of communication in academic, professional, and personal situations.

Students gain a foundation in human communication theories, research, and skills. Students select courses in mass media analysis, communication in professional and organizational contexts, communication skills, and critical reflection of and on communication in society.

The film studies immersion allows students to engage in the study of global cinema using a variety of interdisciplinary methodologies and perspectives. Coming from the disciplines of English, anthropology, philosophy, fine arts/visual culture, political science, history, and modern languages, the immersion investigates cinema’s mass appeal as a form of entertainment, but also the power it wields as a disseminator of ideas, history, values, aesthetics, behavior, and cultural norms.

Film studies explores the role of cinema in our contemporary global culture. Using methodologies and perspectives from a variety of disciplines, such as English, anthropology, philosophy, fine arts/visual culture, political science, history, and modern languages, the film studies minor investigates cinema’s mass appeal as a form of entertainment, but also the power it wields as a disseminator of ideas, history, values, aesthetics, behavior, and cultural norms.

The health communication minor provides students with theoretical and applied knowledge about communication’s role in health care delivery, doctor-patient communication, health campaigns and public health, and other areas related to the dissemination of health information. This collaborative minor is designed for students interested in health care fields or health and risk communication.

The journalism immersion provides opportunities for the advanced study of selected areas of journalism, including its history and relevant legal and ethical issues, and for education and practice in writing and editing skills required of journalists.

The journalism minor provides students with a foundation in the professional study and practice of journalism. Courses offer a broad perspective that includes historical, legal, and ethical issues of specific concern to journalism, as well as learning and practice writing in a journalistic style for delivery across multiple media platforms.

Visual culture explores the role of visual media in everyday life and its critical function in the dissemination of ideas in the public sphere. Emphasizing comparative critical approaches to the convergence of art, popular media, science, and technology, the immersion engages globalized visual media ranging from photography, television, film, new media (the web, digital imaging, and social networks), architecture, design, and art (painting, sculpture, and multimedia forms) in the context of such social arenas as art, news, science, advertising, and popular culture. The goal is to help students develop media literacy.

Visual culture explores the role of visual media in everyday life and its critical function in the dissemination of ideas in the public sphere. Emphasizing comparative critical approaches to the convergence of art, popular media, science, and technology, the minor engages globalized visual media ranging from photography, television and film, to new media (the web, digital imaging, and social networks), architecture, design, and art (painting, sculpture, and multimedia forms) in the context of such social arenas, as art, news, science, advertising, and popular culture.