Communication is a degree targeted to new opportunities in a media-savvy world. Students in the major take a common set of core courses that prepares them for careers in an industry where convergence in print, broadcast, and online media is growing. Students then choose one of four concentrations: Human Communication, Journalism, Public Relations and Graphic Design.

Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

Learning Outcomes

College-Wide Goals & Objectives

This section explains how the B.A. in Communication meets the overarching objectives at Chatham University.

1. Information Literacy

1. Students must effectively locate and gather information for research and media-related analysis through a variety of information media.
2. Students must be able to properly evaluate the quality of the information and its sources.
3. Students must utilize their knowledge gathered from various media sources to render well-communicated, designed and conceptualized projects and/or research papers in response to their contextual analysis.

2. Critical Reading

1. Students must evaluate their creative projects to critical communication studies through a combination of written and online texts, hand-outs, journal articles, and in-class lectures, conversations and demonstrations.
2. Students must assess the quality of gathered and presented information as well as its sources.

3. Analytical Thinking

1. Students must critically investigate and respond to case studies as well as the work of their peers during critique sessions.
2. Students must look for multidisciplinary relationships between communication and other fields of research, examining the role of the communication professional within a broader social context.
3. Students must exhibit a critical understanding of related technical concerns, representational issues, aesthetic practices, ideas and concepts through original projects and/or papers.

4. Problem Solving

1. Students must transform critical and analytical research into well-conceptualized projects and informed responses.
2. Students must be able to move from concept to project actualization.
3. Students must have a strong understanding of the technical in order to properly troubleshoot and solve technical issues related to a project.

5. Public Written Communication

1. Students must communicate clearly by writing research or response papers of various lengths, which support coursework requirements.
2. Students must communicate their conceptual and creative concepts clearly in written project statements.
3. Students must formulate a point of view and be able to defend it within the written format.

6. Public Oral Communication

1. Students must communicate ideas clearly in oral presentations.
2. Students must actively participate in classroom discussions and group critique sessions.
3. Students must formulate a point of view and be able to defend it orally.

Program-Specific Goals & Objectives

This section explains the discipline-specific goals and objectives of the Bachelor of Arts in the Communication program.

1. Analysis and Context

1. Students must demonstrate competence in researching facts for a communication context.
2. Students must look for interdisciplinary relationships between communication and other fields of research.

2. Professional Writing and Speech Processes

1. Students must develop and transform original concepts into well-conceptualized projects - demonstrating a competency in writing for Digital media, Public Relations, or Narrative.
2. Students must demonstrate competence in research methods for the academic study of communication.
3. Students must demonstrate competence in persuasive expression focused on speech and writing.

3. Technical Fundamentals

1. Students must have knowledge of the technology they are utilizing for their projects (saving/storing files, various software packages and techniques, hardware, scanning, digital video/photo equipment, etc.).
2. Students must create original projects that draw on their knowledge of the technological form in order to thoroughly investigate representation in news media and commercial media.

4. Professional Practice

1. Students must develop editorial projects with an understanding of a diversified audience.
2. Students must develop field-appropriate professional portfolios and be able to communicate their projects clearly.
3. Students must develop attitudes of professional responsibility and accountability.
4. Students must develop professional discipline (time-management, organizational skills).

Curriculum

+Required Courses for all Concentrations

COM101	Introduction to Communication Theory This course introduces students to theories in the field of communication. Students will survey the seven traditions of communication, covering classical topics as rhetoric, modern examinations of language with semiotics, and postmodern analyses of critical theory. The course will cover contemporary research to discuss paradigms, methods, and theories.	3
COM106	Media and Society The effects of mass communication on individuals and society, particularly as they relate to values and ethics, are examined. The course emphasizes the history and structure of the mass media.	3
COM223
COM234W	Persuasion This course explores rhetorical and experimental studies of persuasion. It introduces the student to research in the field and critically examines some of the techniques developed in "selling" products, politics, and culture. It also examines the ethical considerations relevant to these techniques.	3
COM251	News Writing and Editing This is an introduction to journalistic writing and editing for print and the Web. Students will explore lede writing, interviewing and structuring stories in a variety of styles. They also will learn Associated Press style. At the core of the class is an emphasis on ethics and news judgment.	3
COM264
FDT300W	Critical Theory Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.	3
COM313	Special Topics Special Topics	3
COM490	Integrative Capstone The integrative capstone , undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student’s major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs. Pre-requisites Complete the following course: FDT300W Critical Theory	3

+Major Requirements: Human Communication

Pick One:
FDT160	World Film History This course presents an overview of the history of film by focusing on key countries, both Western and non-Western, whose film industries have made important contributions to world cinema and/or whose filmmakers have pioneered important film movements. The course places film industries and movements in the context both of cinematic history and history of the societies in question.	3
CST183	Representations of Race and Gender This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.	3
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COM260W	Practical Public Relations Students learn the theories, practical writing skills, and strategies involved in planning and implementing public relations campaigns. The course is an exploration in how to influence public opinion/behavior and build connections with legacy and new media outlets through effective, ethical, and socially responsible communication.	3
COM209	Intercultural Communication The course introduces students to theories of culture and identity. Students will examine how culture and identity give people their sense of self. Students will also examine contemporary approaches to gender, race, and sexuality in international contexts. The course includes a term-long project emphasizing empirical research.	3
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Pick One:
COM374	Documentary and Photojournalism This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production	3
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COM351
COM355	Organizational Communication Organizational Communication will focus on five theoretical approaches to the study of communication in organizations. Those approaches are: classical, human relations/human resources, systems, cultural, and critical, with most time spent on the final theoretical perspective. Additionally, the course will examine how communication affects the gendered nature of the workplace.	3

+Major Requirements: Journalism Concentration

COM351	Advanced News Writing and Editing Students will build upon foundational skills and apply them to writing a variety of multi-source story styles, deadline writing, and briefs. The course also will cover advanced headline writing, copy editing, and media law basics, as well as the challenges and opportunities surrounding newsroom management/leadership in the digital age. Pre-requisites Complete the following course: COM251 News Writing and Editing	3
COM374	Documentary and Photojournalism This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production	3

+Major Requirements: Public Relations Concentration

COM260W	Practical Public Relations Students learn the theories, practical writing skills, and strategies involved in planning and implementing public relations campaigns. The course is an exploration in how to influence public opinion/behavior and build connections with legacy and new media outlets through effective, ethical, and socially responsible communication.	3
COM314
COM360	Advanced Public Relations Students will sharpen PR writing skills and critical thinking by applying communication theories and methods to analyzing case studies, developing multiplatform campaigns, and crafting crisis management plans. An emphasis on strategy will prepare students to work with clients in a range of industries, including small businesses, corporations, agencies, and nonprofits. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: COM260W Practical Public Relations COM260 Practical Public Relations	3
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Pick One:
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+Major Requirements: Graphic Design Concentration

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OR

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+Journalism Minor Requirements

Choose One:
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Choose One:
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Choose One:
COM213	Special Topics in Communications Special Topics in Communications	3
COM313	Special Topics Special Topics	3
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Choose Two:
COM251	News Writing and Editing This is an introduction to journalistic writing and editing for print and the Web. Students will explore lede writing, interviewing and structuring stories in a variety of styles. They also will learn Associated Press style. At the core of the class is an emphasis on ethics and news judgment.	3
COM255	The Communique Newsroom I This PRO course is designed to give students hands-on training in the various roles that work together to make a multiplatform newsroom function by fulfilling a staff position with the Communiqué. Students will develop skills related to developing/pitching story ideas, beat reporting, story budgets, print newspaper design and digital journalism.	3
COM256	The Communique Newsroom II This course will give students hands-on training in the roles that work together to make a multiplatform newsroom function, with an emphasis on newsroom management. By fulfilling a staff position with the Communiqué, students will work on skills for developing/pitching stories, beat reporting, budgets, newspaper design and digital journalism. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: COM251 News Writing and Editing COM255 The Communique Newsroom I	3
COM351	Advanced News Writing and Editing Students will build upon foundational skills and apply them to writing a variety of multi-source story styles, deadline writing, and briefs. The course also will cover advanced headline writing, copy editing, and media law basics, as well as the challenges and opportunities surrounding newsroom management/leadership in the digital age. Pre-requisites Complete the following course: COM251 News Writing and Editing	3
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Choose One:
COM374	Documentary and Photojournalism This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production	3
ART483	Event Photography In this practicum, students gain experience in studio-based and field photography. Students develop a portfolio of portrait and event photography with the potential to be used for the Communique, college publications, and other outlets, with name credits on all published work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART142S Photography I : Black and White Darkroom ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography	3

+Public Relations Minor

Choose Three:
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COM213	Special Topics in Communications Special Topics in Communications	3
OR
COM313	Special Topics Special Topics	3
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COM260W	Practical Public Relations Students learn the theories, practical writing skills, and strategies involved in planning and implementing public relations campaigns. The course is an exploration in how to influence public opinion/behavior and build connections with legacy and new media outlets through effective, ethical, and socially responsible communication.	3
COM264
COM314
COM360	Advanced Public Relations Students will sharpen PR writing skills and critical thinking by applying communication theories and methods to analyzing case studies, developing multiplatform campaigns, and crafting crisis management plans. An emphasis on strategy will prepare students to work with clients in a range of industries, including small businesses, corporations, agencies, and nonprofits. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: COM260W Practical Public Relations COM260 Practical Public Relations	3
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Choose Three:

+Graphic Design Minor

ART141

Media Literacy This course introduces students to computer graphic systems and related media practices. Students explore digital foundations, media-related histories, theoretical frameworks, and critical examination of production elements as they discover how digital practices are continuously changing the way imagemakers create and present their work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

3

+BA to MA Communications degree (3+1)