Pre-Communication (0701)
Students wishing to enter one of the four Communication majors can join the department in this preliminary program while they take core courses. Participation in this pre-major is not required, but it does make it easier for students to enroll into the core courses. Students in Pre-Communication are advised by Department faculty.
The Communication Department has three professional majors: Public Communication, Broadcasting and Journalism. Each of these requires students to have a GPA of at least 2.6 in COM 205, 210 and 215. Students not achieving this minimal GPA will not be admitted to a professional major. They may pursue a limited number of Communication courses through the Individualized Studies major.
The department has one liberal arts major, Communication Studies. Students wishing to enter this program must have an overall GPA of 2.0, the regular college standard to declare a major. (Effective September 2006, entrance requirements for Communication Studies will be the same as those for the professional majors requiring a 2.6 GPA in COM 205, COM 210 and COM 215.)
Communication Core (4 courses)
- COM 100 Media Literacy (not required for students entering the Communication Studies major)
- COM 205 Introduction to Oral Communication
- COM 210 Introduction to Media Writing (prerequisite ENG 101 with minimum grade of C)
- COM 215 Introduction to Visual Communication (Students must have a GPA of 2.6 in COM 205, 210 and 215 in order to apply into Public communication, Broadcasting or Journalism. Students must have an overall GPA of 2.0 to apply into Communication Studies)
Liberal Arts Base (27 courses)
As part of Buffalo State's Bachelor of Arts program, all Communication programs are based in the liberal arts. Students take about one-third of their courses from the standard range of general education courses in arts, humanities, and the natural, applied and social sciences. They select another third of their college program as elective courses from any department, allowing them to pursue a minor or second major or to create a concentration of particular interest. The final third of courses are those in the major.
Note: Because of the department's commitment to providing a well-rounded liberal arts education, any COM courses beyond 43 credit hours cannot be counted toward the graduation requirement and will be counted as an addition to the required 123 credit hours. This is consistent with standards of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication requiring students to take a minimum of 80 credit hours in courses outside the major, with no fewer than 65 credit hours in the basic liberal arts and sciences.
