Undergraduate Program

Students may pursue a general major in Communication Studies or select one of three special options: Organizational Communication, Communication and Human Relationships, or Rhetoric and Public Discourse. Each of these special options provides additional background important to particular careers. 

We are an active department of approximately 220 majors, 7 faculty members, and 18 graduate students. The members of the Communication Studies faculty are all approachable and enjoy working with students. You'll get to know your instructors here!

We also have an excellent faculty. All of our full time faculty members have Ph.D.s. They all conduct research and publish articles on communication but everyone teaches undergraduate courses and advises undergraduate students. The student teaching evaluations of the instructors in our department are as strong as you'll see anywhere. In fact, we consistently have among the best teacher evaluations on campus!

Many of our courses are limited to 30 or fewer students. The curriculum is flexible; it emphasizes broad knowledge of communication in personal, professional, and public life; along with speaking, writing, and analytic skills. The knowledge and skills taught in the department are essential in many careers. We also offer a number of honors courses and a chapter of the communication honor society, Lambda Pi Eta.

Our courses have strong ties to other programs and minors in areas such as Women's Studies, Human and Family Development, Environmental Studies, International Development, Climate Change Studies, and Nonprofit Administration. We also have one of the largest internship programs on campus.

Finally, student research, training, and volunteer work are an important part of our research methods and organizational communication courses. We encourage undergraduates to get involved in research and we help interested students to attend student research conferences.