Communication Minor

Communication Minor

IN THIS SECTION

Get skills that will give you an advantage in virtually any career.

With the Communication Minor, you will get a strong understanding of the principles and practices of effective communication to help you build and maintain relationships with clients, colleagues, citizens, and community members. You will study mass communication, media writing, social media marketing, media criticism, video production, advertising and public relations, photography, and graphic design. Through lively, interactive classroom exchanges and hands-on learning opportunities, you will assess the role of communication in society and develop your own communication skills.

What You Will Do:

  • Develop a solid understanding of the principles and practices of effective communication
  • Apply critical and analytical thinking to explore issues across the discipline of communication
  • Learn to share information through a variety of methods, technology, platforms, and channels
  • Participate in hands on learning across classes in video production, photography, and social media
  • Discover the relevance of communication with the emergence of digital media
  • Develop skills and a professional portfolio of creative works produced in the major
Explore sample courses in this program.
CM-100 Intro to Mass Communication
An integrated examination of the history, theory, structure, process, and effects of each of the mass media.
3 credits
CM-103 Survey of Radio and Television
Perspectives on the development of radio and television technologies, programming, regulation, and economic support, and their impact.
3 credits
CM-105 Media Writing
An introduction to various types of mass media writing, from print and broadcast to public relations, advertising, and online media.
3 credits
CM-106 Communications and the Internet
Focuses on the social and educational implications of the internet and the application of its various search tools as a means of communication.
3 credits
CM-107 Journalism and Democracy
This course introduces students to the history of American journalism and the role of journalism in democratic and non-democratic societies.
3 credits
CM-108 Introduction to Animation
This hands-on introductory-level course covers the fundamentals of aesthetics of computer animation. Through a series of shorts projects, students learn the principles of expression through movement in time, sequential composition, editing, and integration of images, sequences, and sound.
3 credits
CM-110 Public Speaking
Essentials of speech production and speech writing for large and small groups. Classroom practice in delivering various types of speeches.
3 credits
CM-150 Photography I
Covers the basic theory and practice of 35 millimeter black-and-white photography, including camera handling, film processing, light meters, printing, and picture content.
3 credits
CM-160 Introduction to Digital Imaging
This course introduces students to the procedures, techniques, and concepts of basic digital imaging. In the course students learn to use the computer as a tool for visual image making.
3 credits
CM-180 Introduction to Advertising
An overview of the advertising including the historical and current roles of advertising in our economy, basic advertising concepts and methods, and social and cultural effects.
3 credits
CM-204 Analysis of News
This course introduces students to the conventions and ethical issues and the economic, political, and socio-cultural forces that affect mainstream and alternative journalism today.
3 credits
CM-205 Reporting for Media
This course refines interviewing skills and enables students to develop evidence from documentary sources to create stories for converging media.
3 credits
CM-206 Digital Storytelling
Use of personal narrative to construct stories using audio, still and video images, and music tracks in digital format.
3 credits
CM-213 Gender and the Media
This course explores how difference is socially constructed along gender lines and explores the intersections of gender, identity, power, and media representation.
3 credits
CM-240 Principles of Public Relations Practices
An overview of public relations principles in business, politics, and society.
3 credits
CM-241 Understanding Movies
An introduction to the aesthetics and critical theories of film as an artistic medium of communication through critical observation of classic and contemporary movies.
3 credits
CM-242 Understanding Video Games
An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of video games as texts through an examination of their cultural, educational, and social functions in contemporary settings.
3 credits
CM-244 Graphic Design
Through hands-on projects, students learn formal elements of design, principles of typography, idea generation, and issues of responsible design as applied to print media.
3 credits
CM-250 Music of the Cinema: Spectacle, Splendor, and Spielberg
An introduction to the role, impact, and importance of music in motion pictures from silent movies through contemporary film.
3 credits
CM-259 Television Production
Basics of studio production including visualization and sequencing of short scripts, sound, graphics, lighting, and technical direction.
3 credits
CM-272 News Reporting and Writing
Includes fundamentals of news judgement, events coverage, sourcing, interviewing, writing on deadline, fact checking, and basic editing.
3 credits
CM-340 Public Relations Strategy
Case study approach to public relations practices, problems, opportunities, and application to practical situations.
3 credits
CM-350 Intercultural Communication
Introductory communication theory and practice across cultural groups defined by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, nationality, politics, and economics.
3 credits
CM-359 Documentary Production
This course engages students in a semester-long production of documentary and introduces key concepts of documentary theory.
3 credits
CM-363 Visual Media Literacy
An introduction to principles of visual media literacy and their application in media production and perception.
3 credits
CM-366 Scriptwriting
Creating scripted material for the electronic media. All types, styles, and formats are covered.
3 credits
CM-384 Media Criticism
Evaluation and analysis of film, television, theatre, and radio performances, development of intelligent, ethical standards of judgment.
3 credits
CM-416 Media Law and Ethics
An overview of the US legal and justice systems and an examination of ethical issues in mass media.
3 credits

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