Undergraduates must declare their intention to major in communication by the time they have completed 60 semester hours; they must apply to the communication department to be accepted as majors.
The communication major requires that students take a total of 39 hours of course work in communication, 18 of which must be taken in residence at the Downtown Campus. At least 21 of the 39 hours must be upper division. Students must achieve a grade of C (2.0) or higher to receive credit for a course in the major and must maintain a minimum GPA of C+ (2.75) in their communication courses.
Students must complete 12 credits (4 courses) from the menu of core classes; they must complete at least 24 credits (8 classes) from the menu of electives; they must also complete at least 3 credits (1 class) from the menu of "exit" classes.
In addition to the four communication core courses, students are required to complete at least 24 credits (8 classes) from among the department's nine pathways, which include community service and public affairs, legal communication, health communication, mass media, human resources and organizational communication, mediation and conflict resolution, political communication and government, technical communication and public relations and advertising. Students may use the pathways to help craft a program of study, but they are not required to do so; the pathways are simply suggestions for ways to organize courses that will prepare students for careers.
For more information, see the faculty advisor and the department's Web site.