Courses
COMM-103 Career Planning
Focuses on identifying and clarifying individual values, skills, interests and communication style in order to develop appropriate career objectives.Emphasis on the connections between career preparation, academic choices and cocurricular activities. Students learn how to construct aresume and conduct a job search.
COMM-131 Introduction to Journalism
An introduction to journalism, with emphasis on news and feature writing and copy editing. Topics include American newspaper history, elements of libel, copyediting symbols, Associated Press style, news leads, inverted pyramid format, interviewing, attributing quotations, writingspeech and meeting stories, and reading a daily newspaper critically.
COMM-171 Introduction to Broadcasting
Survey of broadcasting: history, evaluation, organization and function. Includes economic and cultural influences on society and legal, educational and artistic aspects.
COMM-190 Introduction to Communication Theory
An introductory exploration of the underlyingtheories that allow us to understand both person-to-person communication and communication media events and processes. Systems, sign theory, cognitive and behavioral, cultural and social, andcritical perspectives are examined as they apply to interpersonal, group, organizational and media contexts.
COMM-191 Interpersonal Communication
A lecture-discussion laboratory approach to communication theory. Includes the scope and purpose of communication, the process, and the role it plays in verbal and nonverbal, face-to-face interactions.
COMM-192 Public Speaking
Basic principles of effective extemporaneous speaking to inform and motivate an audience. Emphasizes selection, organization, ideadevelopment and audience analysis. Students deliver, listen to, and criticize expository and persuasive speeches.
COMM-194 Intercultural Communication
An introduction to contemporary and foundational concepts, practices, and processes of intercultural communication. Topics include the complex nature of social and cultural identities; privilege, power and oppression in historical and contemporary society; representations of cultures and identities in popular media; nonverbal codes and cultural space; the relationship between language and culture. Special emphasis will be onethical and mindful intercultural communication and social justice.
COMM-211 Public Relations
Survey of the history, development, principles andpractices of public relations. Investigates publicrelations ethics, relationships, and roles of massmedia and society. Includes case studies in publicrelations practices.
COMM-217 Principles of Advertising
Students evaluate how advertisers select the appropriate media to reach their targeted audiences. They will be able to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of various advertising options.
COMM-221 Corporate Communications
Overview of the development, principles, and practices of corporate communication andprinciples of message design. Includes case studies and corporate simulations.
COMM-223 Corporate Communications Writing
Introduction to message content and style forcorporate writing. Emphasizes memos, letters,advertisements and brochures.
COMM-231 Newswriting and Reporting
A survey of the elements of news and newswriting. Topics include the lead, style, news sources, newsselection, covering beats, and writing obituaries.
COMM-270 New Media
This course introduces students to the history, elements, and concepts that make up convergent anddigital media technologies. Surveys of specific new converging communication technologies, as wellas their use and impacts on traditional forms of mass communications will be addressed. The student will gain a deeper understanding of the movement and interconnectedness that exists between new media technologies and their social, economic, cultural, and political impacts andeffects.
COMM-271 Broadcast Announcing
A study of basic broadcast announcing techniques including voice and diction, pronunciation and oral interpretation of American speech.
COMM-272 Audio Production
The theory and practice of audio recording, production, and broadcast operations including sound and broadcast wave theory, consoleoperation, microphone techniques, commercial production, and broadcast procedures.
COMM-275 Media Analysis
Introduces the student to the art and practice of contemporary media criticism and to several key theoretical and critical approaches that guide thepractice. Through the process of actively critiquing and analyzing media texts from a variety of theoretical perspectives, the student will gain familiarity with the approaches of contemporary criticism. The student will learn how to apply these approaches in the study, exploration and analysis of today?s convergent media.
COMM-281 Mass Media and Society
Survey of national mass media. Emphasizes historical development, structure, organization, function, and effects of the media on societytoday.
COMM-282 Fundamentals of TV Production
An introduction to small-format video production. Covers basic equipment, terminology, personnel, and video production techniques. Includes writing,producing and editing of assigned short projects such as commercials or brief interview segments.
COMM-293 Parliamentary Procedure
Principles and rules of parliamentary procedure based upon Robert's Rules of Order. Emphasizes practical experience and the importance of a well-run meeting as an integral component of effective communication. Includes outside meeting evaluations.
COMM-295 Effective Listening
Guided group and individual programs to develop abilities of concentration, comprehension, interpretation and recall.
COMM-305 Topics in Communications
Examines selected topics in communications, depending on instructor and student interest.Course may be repeated for credit if topic isdifferent. 2 - 4 SH.
COMM-314 Public Relations Writing and Campaigns
Emphasized writing styles and techniques for brochures, publicity, news releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, and biographies. Discussion of convergent media. Students produce creative work on actual public relations problems, as well as anoverall plan to handle a simulated problem.
COMM-317 Print Advertising
Students will apply the principles and techniques of advertisements found in various print media. They will use hands-on skills to design and createcamera-ready ads in such media for products, services and nonprofit organizations.
COMM-321 Crisis Communications
A critical responsibility of professional communicators, crisis communications bring all of a practitioner's skills together in situations that are both important and urgent. Students learnthe elements of how to be the voice of the organization in crisis and how to create a crisis communication plan. Media skills, socialresponsibilities, ethics and issues management areemphasized.
COMM-323 Desktop Publishing
A study of design principles and computer softwarefor the publication of newsletters, brochures and advertisements. Topics include fonts andtypography, proportion, graphics, photographs, contrast and color.
COMM-325 Information Industries
An examination of our social, political and economic environments as shaped by the driving forces of the converging information industries. Telecommunications, broadcasting, computing, content providers, their interactions and integration are considered. Students follow various industry leaders, predict their actions, and access potential implications for their own professional lives.
COMM-327 Computer Applications in Corporate Com
A study of computer applications as they are used in corporate communications. Topics, which will change to keep pace with technology, may include presentation software, Internet applications,interactive scripting, file sharing and simple local area networking, and dynamic documents.
COMM-329 Communications Research
Evaluates research findings to determine their value for communication professionals. Provides anoverview of the major quantitative and qualitativemethods and tests used in communication research. Emphasizes random samples, surveys, focus groups, content analyses, experimental settings, and basicstatistics.
COMM-331 Editing
The process of editing a newspaper. Includes developing assignments, editorial judgment, copy editing, type styles and sizes, headline writing, graphic and photo design, and page layout.
COMM-371 Broadcast Advertising
Theory and technique of writing commercial scriptsfor radio and television. Covers broadcast ratingsanalysis and interpretation, time sales, personneland client relationships.
COMM-381 Video Editing
A study of advanced video editing techniques and special effects utilizing computerized A/B Roll edit systems and computer graphics. Students will produce complete programs and projects from field-recorded video, as well as studio-recorded productions. The emphasis will be on both thetechnical operation of sophisticated editing systems and the aesthetics of program editing.
COMM-393 Leaders of Tomorrow
Examines leadership theory and styles and the needfor strong values and ethics within leadership. Explores how the need for visionary leadership andsetting goals expands beyond immediate gains or losses. Investigates how these skills create a more productive and responsible environment especially within a rapidly changing world.
COMM-394 Organizational Communication
Theory and principles of effective communication in the organizational setting. Emphasizes theoriesof organizational communication, communication structure, technology, diversity and culturalchange, power, conflict, leadership, and strategiccommunication. Includes case studies and oralpresentation.
COMM-411 Public Relations Management
Modules include management, strategy, government affairs and corporate advertising. Self-managed teams simulate agency communications consulting.
COMM-435 Feature Writing
The process of determining a medium's audience, developing story ideas, writing query letters, andresearching and writing feature articles. News andtravel features and profiles are among the assignments.
COMM-472 Broadcast News
Theory and technique of writing news and features for broadcast media. Includes editing and rewriting Associated Press dispatches, gathering local news, recording interviews and preparing newscasts and feature programs.
COMM-481 Media Law and Ethics
Examines legal and ethical aspects of print and electronic communications. Emphasizes First Amendment, freedom of the press, the right toknow, copyright, libel, and privacy.
COMM-482 Television Documentary Production
Advanced technique of small-format videoproduction. Emphasizes roles of the producer and director as they pertain to video production.Includes writing, producing and editing of assigned long-form projects, such as 30-minute magazine programs and documentaries.
COMM-491 Group Communication
Theory and principles of effective team membershipand leadership in the small group setting. Focuses on functional roles, verbal and nonverbal behaviors, decision-making, problem solving, conflict resolution, ethics and diversity, and group dynamics through the observations of teams.
COMM-501 Practicum
Applied projects in broadcasting, print journalismand public relations. All department majors successfully complete the required number of semester hours required in the student's emphasis,but no more than six semester hours of practicum work. All projects require department approval, are graded, must be completed and include a minimum of five hours of project work per week. Students may complete only one project per semester and may not use practicum projects to simultaneously fulfill requirements of other courses.
