Academics
Undergraduate Programs: Majors and Minors
Undergraduate Programs: Majors and Minors
Communication Studies, B.A.
About the Program
This major allows students much flexibility to tailor a program of theory-based and applied courses. It meets the needs of students preferring a generalist approach to communication, as well as for students seeking a more academic, less applied approach. Compare this major with journalism, media production, and public communication.
Career Opportunities: Students in communication studies prepare for careers in organizational communication, research, media analysis, public relations, lobbying, speechwriting, fundraising, and other fields that require a liberal arts education enhanced with communication expertise. The major also provides a base for graduate education in communication, law, management, and other professional areas.
The profile of a successful communication studies graduate is a person with strong writing and speaking proficiency, keen ethical insight, competence in analyzing and thinking critically, and skill in working effectively both independently and in teams.
About the Communication Department
210 Bishop Hall
1300 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878-6008
Fax: (716) 878-4697
www.buffalostate.edu/communication/
Contact Faculty and Staff in the Communication Department
Admission Requirements
Incoming freshman and transfer students can declare the major. A 2.6 in the major is needed to register for certain required upper-division courses (300- and 400-level).
See www.buffalostate.edu/communication for application forms and additional information, including a list of equivalent core courses at community colleges. Transfer students from two-year schools may apply only core courses toward this major for a maximum of 12 credits. Students generally require four semesters of study after completing communication core courses.
Academic Standards: Only grades of C or higher may be applied toward requirements for any communication degree; courses with lower grades must be repeated. Consistent with standards of the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the number of communication courses that students may take is capped, encouraging a broad-based liberal arts education. The department encourages students to take minors or second majors, and requires evidence of an academic concentration or area of expertise outside the Communication Department.
Career Information
Communication Studies graduates pursue careers in speech, Internet communication, and other specialties. This major also is well suited for students who want to attend graduate school to specialize in communication theory in fields such as mass communication, organizational communication, intercultural communication, or international communication.
Journalism graduates work as reporters, feature writers, critics, and editors for newspapers and magazines and their associated Web sites.
Media Production graduates work as technicians (sound, camera, lighting, sets), producers, and directors in traditional radio and television stations, broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and public television), cable networks (CNN, ESPN, MTV, religious and local cable stations), and companies that produce programming for radio and television and other video projects.
Public communication graduates work as public relations officers, advertising copywriters, and graphic designers. Hiring firms include advertising agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.
Students who have chosen to attend graduate school have been accepted into schools such as Pennsylvania State University, Syracuse University, Temple University, and New York University.
Recent graduates have been hired as reporters and announcers by radio and television networks such as Fox Sports and MTV; by newspapers such as the Niagara Gazette; as public relations specialists for organizations such as the Buffalo Zoo; as writers for online enterprises including Dow Jones Online; and by various advertising agencies and public relations firms.
Program Requirements
Intellectual Foundations Requirements 39–66 cr
Total Required Credit Hours in Communication 42 cr
A. Communication Core (12 cr)
COM 100 Media Literacy
OR
SPC 103 Introduction to Human Communication
COM 210 Introduction to Writing for the Media
COM 215 Introduction to Visual Communication
SPC 205 Introduction to Oral Communication
Note: Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.6 in the major to register for certain upper-division courses (330- and 400-level).
B. Upper-Level Oral Communication Course (3 cr)
Select one course from the following:
SPC 306 Advanced Public Speaking
SPC 307 Group Communication
SPC 315 Media Performance
C. Upper-Level Written Communication Course (3 cr)
Select one course from the following:
COM 303 Print News I: Reporting
COM 304 Writing and Producing
COM 308 Public Relations Writing
COM 325 Feature Writing
COM 337 Electronic News I: Producing
COM 390 Special Topics: Journalism Writing
D. Upper-Level Visual Communication Course (3 cr)
Select one course from the following:
COM 322 Communication Graphics
COM 329 Video Production
COM 336 Web Communication
E. Communication Theory and Criticism (6 cr)
Select two courses from the following:
COM 310 International Communication
COM 327 Literary Journalism
COM 400 Communication Law
COM 401 Applied Communication Research
COM 407 Organizational Communication
COM 410 Communication History
SPC 309 Persuasion and Propaganda
SPC 311 Intercultural Communication
SPC 321 Rhetorical Criticism
SPC 333 Minorities and the Media
SPC 422 Media Criticism
SPC 424 Special Topics in Media Criticism
F. Senior Seminar (3 cr)
COM 450 Communication and Society
G. Communication Electives (12 cr)
H. 300- and 400-level courses in the department (selected by advisement)
All College Electives 12–39 cr
Total Required Credit Hours 120 cr
