Requirements

Major and Minor in Communication

The Major and Minor in Communication were redesigned in 2016.  All students must follow this set of requirements if they matriculated in the fall semester of 2016 or thereafter (see left navigation bar for requirements before Fall 2016). The Major in Communication requires at least ten credits, while the Minor in Communication requires at least six credits.  Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in all courses used to fulfill the major or minor. Courses taken Pass-NoPass (with the exception of internships) may not count towards the major or minor in Communication.  

Requirements for the Major:

At least 10 credits

  • COMM 110: Introduction to Communication
  • 1 200-level Rhetoric course (other than COMM 255)
  • 2 200-level Media Studies courses
  • COMM 255: Communication Criticism
  • COMM 256: Communication Research Methods
  • 2 300-level Communication seminars
  • COMM 390: Internship. Junior status required
  • Completion of the Senior Studies Requirement in one of the following ways:
    • COMM 420: Senior Seminar
    • COMM 480: Rhetoric of Civil Rights
    • COMM 492: Creative Project  or COMM 493: Research Project (Senior Status Required for Senior Studies Requirement)
    • COMM 494: Senior Thesis in Communication

Requirements for the Minor:

At least 6 credits

  • COMM 110: Introduction to Communication
  • 1 200-level Rhetoric course
  • 1 200-level Media Studies course
  • COMM 255: Communication Criticism
  • 2 300-level Communication seminars

Groups of Communication Courses

200-level Rhetoric Courses

• COMM 212: Visual Rhetoric
• COMM 250: The Classical Rhetorical Tradition
• COMM 251: Rhetorical History of the United States
• COMM 253: Argumentation and Advocacy
• COMM 274: Visual Chicago

200-level Media Studies Courses

• COMM 281: Media and Society
• COMM 283: Race, Class, Gender, and the Media
• COMM 285: Modern Media History
• COMM 287: Media Systems and Institutions

300-level Seminars

  • COMM 350: Topics in Communication
  • COMM 370: Feminism and Pop Culture
  • COMM 371: Communication in the Age of AI
  • COMM 372: Rhetoric of Economics and the Market
  • COMM 373: Cultural Theory and Media Studies
  • COMM 374: Rhetorical Chicago
  • COMM 375: Rhetoric of Humor
  • COMM 376: Queer Cinema
  • COMM 378 Communicating Science and Medicine
  • COMM 381: History and Theory of Freedom of Expression
  • COMM 382: Women’s Rhetoric and the Feminist Critique
  • COMM 383: New Media and Society
  • COMM 384: The Rhetorical Presidency
  • COMM 385: Public Sphere
  • COMM 386: Reading Popular Culture
  • COMM 387: Rhetoric of Law
  • COMM 388: Rhetoric and Public Memory
  • COMM 389: Political Economy of Media