Communication Studies

Program Overview

Communication Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with options in Organizational Communication or Communication and Public Affairs and a minor in Communication Studies. At the graduate level you can earn a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. Also housed in Communication Studies is the nationally recognized Speech and Debate Team.


Areas of Concentration in the Communication Discipline

In the field of communication there are many areas of concentration where researchers and practitioners specialize in one particular area of study or practice. Students in the communication discipline can start to explore some of these areas during their studies in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, here at CSUC, and then continue on in any of the following areas as a part of a graduate or professional studies program.

Speech Communication

The study of the nature, processes, and effects of human symbolic interaction. While speech is the most obvious mode of communication, human symbolic interaction includes a variety of verbal and nonverbal codes.

Public Address

The study of speakers and speeches, including the historical and social context of platforms, campaigns, and movements.

Rhetorical Criticism

The study of principles that account for the impact of human communication between speaker and audience.

Communication Theory

The study of principles that account for the impact of communication in social interaction.

Applied Communication

The study of processes used to analyze communication needs of organizations and social interaction, including the design of training to improve communication between supervisors and employees.

Interpersonal Communication

The study of communication behaviors in dyads and their impact on personal relationships.

Organizational Communication

The study of information flow within an organization and the impact of communication on individuals entering, working in, and exiting an organization.

Communication Education

The study of speech communication in the classroom and other contexts.

Family Communication

The study of communication unique to family systems.

Health Communication

The study of communication as it relates to health professionals and health education; includes the study of provider-client interaction as well as the diffusion of health information through public health campaigns.

Gender Communication

The study of gender differences and similarities in communication and the unique characteristics of male-female communication.

International and Intercultural Communication

The study of communication among individuals of different cultural backgrounds, including the study of similarities and differences across cultures.

Legal Communication

The study of the role of communication as it relates to the legal system.

Mediation and Dispute Resolution

The study for the understanding, management, and resolution of conflict in intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup situations.

Political Communication

The study of the role that communication plays in political systems.

Small Group Communication

The study of communication systems among three or more individuals who interact around a common purpose and who influence one another.

Pathways to Careers in Communication (1995). Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association.