Communication - COM
COM 201 Dynamic Presentations 3 Credits
Study and practice of concepts, processes, and techniques of dynamic presentations delivered face-to-face and/or online. Apply communication theories, models and constructs to design, deliver, and critically assess presentations. Speeches required.
Fulfills College Core: Oral Communication
Offered: every fall & spring.
COM 202 Strategic Communication Theory 3 Credits
Communication theories, models, and constructs are explored and applied to research in relational, group, organizational, gender, social media, public and mass mediated communication contexts. The role of theory in designing, delivering, and assessing messages for diverse audiences is emphasized.
Offered: every spring.
COM 203 Writing for Contemporary Media 3 Credits
Intensive writing assignments employing message-design principles provide opportunities to prepare news, features, press releases, advertising copy and opinion pieces.
Fulfills College Core: Advanced Writing-Intensive
Offered: every fall & spring.
COM 204 Relational Communication 3 Credits
Examines theoretical and pragmatic aspects of relational communication in social contexts to enhance self-awareness and effective self-expression in relationships. Survey of interpersonal/relational theories, models, and constructs associated with competent communication in platonic, romantic, familial, and work relationships.
Fulfills College Core: Field 5 (Social Sciences)
Offered: every fall.
COM 205 Media Literacy 3 Credits
Focuses on the increasingly complex media environment that we live in and the role the media play in our lives, with the goal of students becoming more critical consumers of media content and more responsible communicators. Examination of various media formats and genres, and the distinctions between entertainment, information and persuasion. Explores news partisanship, algorithmic personalization and social media, media stereotypes, media addiction, advertising and media economics, and the media’s influence on personal and social identity.
Fulfills College Core: Field 5 (Social Sciences)
Offered: every fall & spring.
COM 206 Introduction to Research Methods 3 Credits
Overview and application of qualitative and quantitative research methods in communication. Survey of basic research methods concepts including, among others, identifying credible research, formulating hypotheses/research questions, sampling, reliability/credibility, widely-used qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and data analysis and interpretation.
Offered: every fall.
COM 211 Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communication 3 Credits
An introduction to the historical, theoretical and practical implications of integrated marketing communication that spans decades and communication channels to affect an array of stakeholders and target publics. Students will learn the basics of how integrated marketing communication has evolved from disparate skill sets (advertising, public relations, marketing, social media, e.g.) into a unified approach to communicating to various market segments. In addition, they will explore the various elements of IMC and learn the advantages of each and their optimal application in the marketplace.
Offered: every fall.
COM 302 Strategic Communication in Teams 3 Credits
Communication processes and strategic implementation of messages involving task and maintenance messaging, leadership strategies for team building, conformity, shift-to-risk and development. Some emphasis on skill development.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 304 Family Communication 3 Credits
Examines contemporary family communication theories, concepts, models and research. Special emphasis on improving family communication across the lifespan.
Fulfills College Core: Field 5 (Social Sciences)
Offered: occasionally.
COM 308 Social Media Effects 3 Credits
Survey of scholarship on the effects of social media on individuals, relationships, communities, and organizations. Course emphasizes creating and evaluating social media content for strategic, ethical, and effective personal and professional use.
Offered: spring of odd-numbered years.
COM 311 Principles of Advertising and Mass Media 3 Credits
Covers the basic economics of consumerism and mass media, consumers and our broad media options, and ways consumers view media advertising. Includes the strategic impact of advertising, which includes history and development, agencies, audiences, advertising and social media, campaign objectives, budget, creativity and ethics. (DMA elective).
Offered: every fall.
COM 312 Public Relations: Principles and Practices 3 Credits
Historical antecedents and contemporary strategic practice of public relations are examined in the context of public relations concepts and theories. The course also examines the day-to-day responsibilities and ethical obligations of PR practitioners in a variety of public settings.
Offered: every fall.
COM 315 Advertising and the Creative Process 3 Credits
Study of techniques, tools and theories for generating innovative concepts and ideas. Emphasize application to strategic advertising context. (DMA elective).
Offered: occasionally.
COM 318 Organizational Communication 3 Credits
Communication principles and practices, including communicator style variables, communication flow and competent superior-subordinate communication.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 319 Training and Development 3 Credits
Methods for assessing training needs within organizations, and designing, implementing and assessing outcomes of training. Emphasis on principles of effective training and development of training competencies. Students develop training skills.
Fulfills College Core: Oral Communication
Offered: occasionally.
COM 320 Advertising Writing 3 Credits
Covers a variety of ways of developing advertising copy (copywriting) and creative concepts, based on strategic goals. Includes workshop writing for print, electronic and social media tactics.
Offered: every other year.
COM 327 Impact of Culture, Race, and Gender on Message Design 3 Credits
Examines the impact of culture, race, and gender in social interactions with special emphasis on contemporary theories, concepts, and research on this topic. Understand why communication misunderstandings occur linked to gender, race, and culture and how to communicate competently to remediate and/or eliminate future communication problems.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 328 Screenwriting 3 Credits
The fundamentals of developing an idea into a screenplay or teleplay. Explores characters, story, dialogue, and the business of screenwriting.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 330 PR and Promotional Writing 3 Credits
Theoretical perspectives on various forms of promotional writing and the applications of each. Writing and editing skills. Students produce a portfolio demonstrating their understanding of public relations and promotional writing tools and techniques based on strategic objectives.
Offered: spring.
COM 337 Strategic Uses of Humor 3 Credits
Survey of humor theories, concepts, and research emphasizing the benefits of humor in education, medicine, business, and relational contexts. Learn how to enact humor competently in social interactions and create humorous content to promote products, services, people, behavior, and social initiatives.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 350 Public Communication Campaigns 3 Credits
Survey of effective communication campaign practices targeting public health issues, politics, and social justice. Examine strategic communication theories, research, and models used in communication campaigns. Design, deliver, and assess the effectiveness of a communication campaign.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 351 Media Ethics 3 Credits
Explores ethics across media disciplines through the work of professional communicators -- journalists, broadcasters, advertising, public relations, marketing communications practitioners. Develop practices of making media-related decisions based on principles and idealism.
Fulfills College Core: Ethics
Offered: every spring.
COM 354 Influence and Influencers: Persuasion Theory and Practices 3 Credits
Survey of classic and contemporary persuasion and social influence theories, models, and concepts. Understand how to argue effectively without damaging relationships and become a change agent at work or in your community by using effective persuasion and social influence strategies.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 367 Producing Multi-Platform Content 3 Credits
Learn the role of a producer by actually developing and producing episodes of a show for broadcast/streaming media, and then re-shaping that content for alternative media platforms including podcasts and social media. Students will work in groups to develop their ideas for an interview-based series, do research on their topic, conduct interviews, write, and produce several episodes of the series. We’ll collaborate with students in COM 361 – Intro to TV Production; students in that class will shoot and edit the series. The episodes and promotional material will be scheduled for distribution throughout the semester. COM and JRN credit.
Offered: every 2-3 years.
COM 383 Conflict Strategy and Tactics 3 Credits
Conflict occurs in all relationships. This course focuses on analyzing how and why conflict occurs in our personal and professional lives. The focus in on understanding strategic communication strategies for facilitating and resolving conflict. Case studies and simulations are used to emphasize theory and application of conflict resolution strategies, facilitation, negotiation and meditation.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 385 Media & Children 3 Credits
Learn about the role of television in children's lives. Course explores children's television use, the development and content of children's television programs (both commercial and educational), television and the family, and children's advertising.
Offered: occasionally.
COM 411 Advertising Campaigns 3 Credits
This course examines current and classic advertising campaigns for technique and effectiveness. Students will also develop their own advertising campaigns.
Prerequisite: COM 311 or permission of instructor.
Offered: every other year.
COM 414 Issues in Integrated Marketing Communications 3 Credits
In this Core Capstone seminar, students explore a range of contemporary issues in advertising, public relations and marketing communications (IMC). They include: consumerism, social effects, privacy and social media, sexual and minority portrayals, political communication, messaging, and more. These are viewed against ethical, justice, global and diversity attributes. Recommend COM/ADV, COM/PR or MKT background.
Restriction: senior standing.
Fulfills College Core: Core Capstone
Offered: fall & spring.
COM 422 Public Relations Campaigns 3 Credits
Designed as a capstone course for public relations students, this course examines PR campaigns as the concerted efforts of an organization to build socially responsible relationships by achieving research-based goals through the application of communication strategies and the measurement of outcomes. Students produce an actual campaign.
Prerequisite: COM 312 or permission of instructor.
Offered: every other year.
COM 488 Internship I Seminar 1-12 Credits
Student experientially learns communication functions in compatibly matched professional setting, locally or out-of- town. Faculty and on-site supervision. Seminar required. Pass/fail. May be repeated as COM 498; 12-credit limit for COM 488 and COM 498 combined. Information about the internship application process is available on the Communication Studies Department website.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing, minimum overall GPA of 2.50, minimum communication studies average of 2.70, & approval by department faculty. Restriction: must be COM major.
Offered: every fall, spring, & summer.
COM 495 Integrated Marketing Communication Masterclass 3 Credits
Similar to a real-life integrated marketing communication (IMC) agency, the IMC Masterclass allows students to develop, create, launch and manage marketing, digital marketing, and communication strategies and tactics for real clients. Working in teams, students assess client goals, develop an IMC campaign based on those goals, launch the campaign, then optimize it for success. In addition to gaining hands-on experience with industry-leading digital marketing and analytics tools, students learn critical career-ready skills such as client management, creative development, budget and deadline management, and cross-functional teamwork--while also upleveling their skills in traditional advertising, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), paid search, email marketing, landing page development, branding, analytics, and more.
Prerequisite: There is no specific prerequisite, but this course expects that participants will be nearing completion of their IMC major, that means they will have taken most of the required IMC curriculum.
Offered: This may become a two-semester continued course, now it's proposed as a single course/pilot.
COM 498 Internship II Seminar 3-9 Credits
Sequel to COM 488 for students taking multiple internships. Each student is limited to a combined total of 12 credit hours for COM 488 and COM 498.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing, minimum overall GPA of 2.50, minimum communication studies average of 2.70, & approval by department faculty. Restriction: must be COM major.
Offered: every semester.
COM 499 Independent Study 3 Credits
Student conducts original project or self-designed course of study under the tutelage of Communication Studies faculty member. Offered only in very specific circumstances. Independent studies require an application and approval by the associate dean.
Prerequisite: junior or senior standing; & permission of instructor, chair, & associate dean. Restriction: must be COM major.
