Offered at: San Luis Obispo Campus
Understanding the process of communication is no less important in today's Information Age than it was during the Golden Age of Athens, when skill in oral communication determined one's success in life. The study of the human capacity for speech as a means of influence, entertainment, and information was at the foundation of Western Civilization. A course of study in communication, always one that required knowledge of many cognate fields such as psychology and logic, remains interdisciplinary in nature. Faculty in Communication Studies teach aesthetic, historical, critical, and empirical methods for understanding communication.
The aims of the discipline are both conceptual and practical. In broad terms, students who enroll in a liberal arts curriculum do so to develop the ability to analyze and reason critically, write and speak effectively, and appreciate the influences of culture upon their lives. The first goal of the department is to advance these objectives.
The department offers fully articulated major and minor programs. Courses focus on the history, theory, and practice of human communication across personal, professional, and civic contexts. Required courses introduce students to the importance of communication in several key areas: debate, interpersonal communication, media studies, organizational communication, performance of literature, rhetoric, and small group communication. Through the use of electives, the major can be shaped to assist students in preparing for their educational and career objectives.
Students use a Communication Studies major to prepare for careers in business, advertising, public relations, human relations, law, education, the mass media, non-profit work, theatre, and the clergy. In addition to providing students with an option to select from a broad range of internships and to participate in various Learn by Doing activities, the department houses an extensive program in competitive debate. It also offers individual and sequenced courses to develop practical skills in oral composition, critical thinking, and effective human communication.
Program Learning Objectives
- Describe the foundational concepts, theories, and methods of critical, humanistic, and social scientific approaches to studying communication.
- Analyze mediated and non-mediated communication practices, messages, and effects considering the culture and context in which they occur.
- Practice self-reflexivity about one’s own communication practices.
- Develop a critical framework for making ethical and inclusive communication choices.
- Select appropriate modalities and technologies to accomplish communication goals.
- Apply communication concepts, theories, and methods to real-world events, issues, and problems.
- Produce effective and ethical communication based on awareness of diverse perspectives, contexts, and social identities.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 40 units of upper-division courses
- 2.0 GPA
- Graduation Writing Requirements (GWR)
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major or Support courses may be selected as credit/no credit. In addition, no more than 12 units of cooperative or internship courses can count towards your degree requirements.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| COMS 1100 | Introduction to the Communication Studies Major | 2 |
| Select from the following: (1C) 1 | 3 | |
| Public Speaking | ||
| Public Speaking in Digital Spaces | ||
| COMS 2205 | Rhetorical Studies | 3 |
| COMS 2206 | Communication Theory | 3 |
| Select from the following: | 3 | |
| Performance, Literature, and Culture | ||
| Building Advocacy Skills 2 | ||
| Select two from the following: | 6 | |
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Organizational Communication | ||
| Media Studies | ||
| Small Group Collaboration and Creativity | ||
| Select from the following: | 3 | |
| Quantitative Research Methods in Communication Studies | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods in Communication Studies | ||
| COMS 3316 | Intercultural Communication ((Upper-Division 4) (USCP)) | 3 |
| Select from the following: (GWR) | 3 | |
| Rhetorical Criticism | ||
| Media Criticism | ||
| COMS 4460 | Undergraduate Seminar | 1 |
| COMS 4461 | Senior Project | 2 |
| Focus Area | ||
| Select from the following focus areas or any courses in the list below: | 18 | |
| Culture, Identity, and Power | ||
| Group Performance of Literature | ||
| Critical Cultural Studies and Communication | ||
| Intergroup Communication | ||
| Contemporary Rhetorical Approaches | ||
| Race and Rhetoric | ||
| Advocacy Coaching and Consulting 2 | ||
| Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Spanish-language Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Sports Communication | ||
| Video Games and Society | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Nonverbal Communication | ||
| Gender and Communication | ||
| Family Communication | ||
| The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Rhetoric and Social Change | ||
| Media and Technology | ||
| Technology and Human Communication | ||
| Media Effects | ||
| Communication, Media, and Politics | ||
| Sports Communication | ||
| Science Communication | ||
| Rhetorics of Science, Technology, and Medicine | ||
| Video Games and Society | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Gender and Communication | ||
| Solving Big World Challenges | ||
| Values and Technology | ||
| Persuasion and Social Influence | ||
| Applied Argumentation | ||
| Business and Professional Communication | ||
| Advanced Public Speaking | ||
| Persuasion | ||
| Technology and Human Communication | ||
| Classical Rhetoric | ||
| Advocacy Coaching and Consulting 2 | ||
| Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Spanish-language Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Media Effects | ||
| Communication, Media, and Politics | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Nonverbal Communication | ||
| Rhetoric and Social Change | ||
| Politics, Advocacy, and Civic Engagement | ||
| Applied Argumentation | ||
| Advanced Public Speaking | ||
| Persuasion | ||
| Group Performance of Literature | ||
| Critical Cultural Studies and Communication | ||
| Classical Rhetoric | ||
| Contemporary Rhetorical Approaches | ||
| Advocacy Coaching and Consulting 2 | ||
| Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Spanish-language Speech and Debate Team 3 | ||
| Media Effects | ||
| Communication, Media, and Politics | ||
| Environmental Communication | ||
| Rhetorics of Science, Technology, and Medicine | ||
| Rhetoric and Social Change | ||
| Relationships, Organizations, and Socialization | ||
| Business and Professional Communication | ||
| Intergroup Communication | ||
| Race and Rhetoric | ||
| Sports Communication | ||
| Training and Development | ||
| Nonverbal Communication | ||
| Gender and Communication | ||
| Family Communication | ||
| The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Solving Big World Challenges | ||
| COMS Electives | ||
| Select any 3000-4000 level COMS courses 4, 5 | 6 | |
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| STAT 1110 | Applied Statistical Concepts and Methods (2) 1 | 3 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below) | 37 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives 6,7 | 24 | |
| Total Units | 120 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.
- 2
Repeatable course; Major credit limited to 3 units.
- 3
Repeatable course; Major credit limited to 6 units.
- 4
Courses taken to meet the focus area requirement cannot be double-counted in the COMS Electives.
- 5
A maximum of 3 units may be applied toward COMS electives: COMS 4400, COMS 4480, COMS 4485.
- 6
Free electives may need to be at the 3000-4000 level to ensure completion of the required minimum of 40 units of upper-division.
- 7
If a General Education (GE) course is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 43 units required, 9 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 34 Units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: 1A (English Composition), 1B (Critical Thinking), 1C (Oral Communication), and 2 (Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning).
| Lower-Division General Education | ||
| Area 1 | English Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| 1A | Written Communication | 3 |
| 1B | Critical Thinking | 3 |
| 1C | Oral Communication (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Area 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| 2 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (3 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Area 3 | Arts and Humanities | |
| 3A | Arts | 3 |
| 3B | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 3 |
| Area 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) | |
| 4A | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 3 |
| 4B | Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Area 5 | Physical and Life Sciences | |
| 5A | Physical Sciences | 3 |
| 5B | Life Sciences | 3 |
| 5C | Laboratory (may be embedded in a 5A or 5B course) | 1 |
| Area 6 | Ethnic Studies | |
| 6 | Ethnic Studies | 3 |
| Upper-Division General Education | ||
| Upper-Division 2/5 | Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning or Physical and Life Sciences | 3 |
| Upper-Division 3 | Arts and Humanities | 3 |
| Upper-Division 4 | Social and Behavioral Sciences (Area 4 courses must come from at least two different course prefixes.) (3 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| Total Units | 34 | |
- 1
Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement.