Bachelor of Arts in Communication – Strategic and Organizational Communication

Requirements

Summary

• General Education Requirements: 34
• College of Arts & Sciences Requirements: 12-24
• Communication Core: 15
• Strategic & Organizational Communication Core: 12
• Strategic & Organizational Communication Electives 12
• Minor Requirement: 18
• Additional Credits for Graduation: 17-5
• Total Hours: 120

General Education Courses

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree must complete the following General Education coursework. Diversity courses may also fulfill major or Breadth of Knowledge requirements. Integrated and Applied Learning courses may also fulfill requirements in the major.

Academic Foundations

• Mathematics, Statistics, and Logic
• Speaking
• Writing

The breadth of Knowledge

• Arts/Humanities
• Natural Sciences
• Social Sciences

Diversity

• Domestic Diversity
• Global Diversity

Integrated and Applied Learning

Select one class from one of the following subcategories:

• Complex Issues Facing Society
• Capstone

College of Arts & Sciences Requirements

Degree requirements in Arts & Sciences include either 1) the demonstration of ability to use another language by completion of the second year of a foreign language, or 2) the completion of a certificate program outside of the Communication department

Foreign Language

• Beginning I
• Beginning II
• Intermediate I
• Intermediate II

Survey of Deaf Culture in America (American Sign Language option only)

-or-

Certificate program

Students must also complete a minimum of 34 credits (excluding workshops) consisting of either:

• Upper-level (300/400) courses both in and outside of the student’s major;
• or other courses outside the major department approved by the student’s major department chair (permission should be obtained prior to enrollment); these may not include workshops.

Communication Core

• Introduction to Communication
• Multiplatform Production
• Argumentation
• Communication Research

Select one of the following:

• Communication Internship
• or Honors Project in Communication
• or Capstone in Communication

Strategic & Organizational Communication Core

• Interpersonal Communication
• Communication Theory
• Theories of Rhetoric
• Organizational Communication

Strategic & Organizational Communication Electives

12 credits from the list below or any 7600 courses not included above:

• Interviewing
• Non-Verbal Communication
• Persuasion
• Intercultural Communication
• Small-Group Communication
• Advanced Presentational Communication
• Freedom of Speech
• Rhetorical Criticism
• Analyzing Organizational Communication
• Training Methods in Communication
• Health Communication
• Communication & Conflict
• Political Communication

The following courses do not satisfy this requirement:

• Introduction to Public Speaking
• Effective Oral Communication

Minor Requirement

Completion of a Minor or Second Major (not in Communication) or earned Associate Degree.

Learning beyond the classroom

In many of your classes, you will be able to apply what you learn through service projects and real-world experiences. For example, our students have received “Pay it Forward” grants to assist nonprofits, and have completed communication audits for, and internships with, local organizations.

Program Flexibility

Our faculty have designed their courses to accommodate the schedules of working adults, parents, and others who cannot attend class on campus or during normal work hours.

As a bachelor’s degree, this program will typically take a full-time student eight semesters, or four years, to complete. You can take optional summer classes to finish the program sooner. Part-time students are able to finish the program in as few as six years, including summer terms.

What can I do with this degree?

Communication is one of the most versatile majors. Thus, graduates of our program follow many career paths, including human resources, training and development, sales and business development and production, health and science communication, speech writing, conflict mediation, community organization, public outreach for nonprofits, higher education student services, and recruiting, legal research and writing, social media content development, and more.

Some of our graduates also pursue master’s, doctoral and Juris Doctor (J.D.) degrees. Indeed, strategic and organizational communication majors are often recruited by law schools.