Communication, BA

Students pursuing a degree in Communication prepare themselves for a broad range of employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors. The General Communication track allows students to prepare for a career in communication with courses tailored to the individual student’s interests and career objectives. There are four tracks to choose from: Digital Filmmaking and Media Arts, General Communication, Media Studies, and Professional Communication. The Communication BA may also be completed as an online degree. All degree course requirements are detailed below.

Departmental Goals

To develop and graduate communication majors with demonstrable growth and competence in writing, creative, and analytical skills. Specifically, students will demonstrate effective use of language, clarity of expression, critical thinking, and ability to apply theoretical knowledge to actual cases, research skills, and appropriate organizational structure.
To prepare students for employment, future graduate studies, and research.
To provide a service function by contributing to the liberal education of noncommunication majors who take courses in communication.

Learning Outcomes

Students will develop a thorough background in the discipline of communication.
Students will experience growth and competence in writing.
Students will develop effective use of language and clarity of expression.
Students will experience growth in critical thinking and analytic skills.
Students will develop ability to apply theoretical knowledge and to conduct research appropriate to actual cases and appropriate organizational structure.

Departmental Honors

To qualify for departmental honors in Communication, students must have a GPA of 3.75 in their communication coursework at UCCS and an overall GPA of 3.5. Students who qualify for departmental honors will be contacted by the Department of Communication after they complete their senior audit. Those who choose to take the honors examination will then be eligible to graduate with departmental honors and to be nominated as the Outstanding Student in the Social Sciences at UCCS.

The honors committee will develop three exam questions, based on three communication areas of study that the student selects, for a three-hour written exam. Students will be permitted to use notes for the examination. Following the written examination, the student will participate in a one-hour oral examination. The oral exam/defense will include a discussion of the written examination and a question and answer session pertaining to each written response, at which time the student will need to be prepared to defend their work to the Honors Committee members.

General Requirements

The Communication, BA requires 39 credit hours in COMM courses, 18 of which must be upper division (3000+ level).
All Communication majors must take COMM 2030, the five required courses in their track/emphasis, three foundation courses, and four courses from the list of electives in their track. Some Foundation courses may be taken as electives, but none may be counted as both a Foundation course and an elective. Internships are encouraged for upper division students who have at least a 3.0 GPA.
All graduating Communication majors must take an exit exam that samples the student’s understanding of the major concepts of his/her content area. Students will take the exam during their last semester. Graduating seniors will receive information regarding test times, dates, and locations.
Communication majors must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in all COMM course work completed in order to graduate.